I don’t think promoting more women in the workplace is benefiting Japan

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:36 JST, August 28, 2022

Dear Troubleshooter:

I’m a male company employee in my 40s. Recently, there has been much talk about older men who don’t work, but I’ve personally seen many older women who don’t work in my office.

In keeping with the times, more women have been hired and promoted to managerial positions, with numerical goals taken for granted. However, I’ve seen nothing but problems as a result.

For example, there is a section manager who spends an hour every day in the hallway gossiping; a department manager who saw a new graduate’s photo on his resume and made a big deal about how good-looking he is, despite him being about the same age as her son; and an executive who is soft on male employees but hard on young female employees, and so on. Witnessing all this in the office is terrible.

I believe that people with high abilities, regardless of gender, should be promoted. However, if priority is placed on trying to reach a quota of sorts, the number of older women who don’t work will only continue to increase. I wonder where Japan is headed in the future.

H, Tokyo

Dear Mr. H:

At first, I thought this was from a young employee concerned about the future, but you are a middle-aged person.

These women are not directly troubling you, but you are complaining about female managers who could be found anywhere.

This column is neither a pub nor a social media site, so I don’t want you to use this place to vent. You are behaving just like the people you are criticizing.

Problems with employees who do not work are not a new phenomenon. As women’s entry into wider realms of society has become more common in recent years, those who are not working have only become more noticeable. This problem can be considered an achievement of a gender-equal society, as well as a side effect.

Firstly, are you sure they are not working? I think that gossiping and talking about good-looking men may give them energy to work. Being lenient with men but harsh on young women has nothing to do with your assertions — I think you are just complaining because your points are inconsistent.

Before you worry about Japan’s future, please make it clear what you are really angry about.

If you think you cannot make the best use of your abilities in such an environment, you should change jobs, start your own business or take some other action.

Improve yourself and go make friends if you have time to worry about others. Isn’t that how patriarchs have paved the way for their own success?

Hazuki Saisho, writer