Some years ago, I was invited to speak to a group of women at a regional university in Japan.
One of the young women in the audience was clearly tremendously talented. I could see that from the way she listened and asked questions.
Interestingly, when I asked her what she wanted to do in her life, she said she wanted to work at the local train station.
I was so surprised that someone with such potential had, in my mind, such a modest ambition.
But I realized that she didn’t have female role models to show her what could be possible for her.
How can you want something if you don’t know it even exists?
It’s no secret that Japan is struggling desperately to increase the percentage of women in management – which is just 15 percent today.
That’s below the global average of 23 percent and far from the Japanese government’s 30 percent target (which has already been pushed by 10 years because it just wasn’t happening).
It appears that it’s not necessarily that companies aren’t offering opportunities to women, but that women are often reluctant to be promoted.
According to the 2020 McKinsey Online Worker’s Survey, the top five reasons for women not wanting to be promoted were
- Will not be able to manage work–life balance
- Do not want to take the responsibility that comes with promotion
- Am not interested in management
- Am not confident in fulfilling the job when promoted
- Salary and compensation will not change much
In Episode 134 of the Sasuga! Podcast, you’ll hear
- What we can do to address women’s lack of motivation and confidence to step up in business
- The difference between why men want to be promoted versus women
- A new way that we can start to share inspiration and encouragement to uplift women in business in Japan
Enjoy!
Prefer to listen on your podcast player?
Links for you
Episode 91 – 4 Keys To Overcome Imposter Syndrome
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