DIVERSITY COLUMN

The need for a multi-faceted approach

At a celebration for Hosei University graduates and current students who passed the bar exam, I noticed that many of those who passed the exam were women. According to the Dean of the Graduate School of Law, more than half of the successful candidates from Hosei University Law School are women. [1]

This was my third year attending this event and the first time I have seen so many women among those honored. For those of us who value equality and inclusion and who know the positive impact of diversity, this is gratifying. At the same time, I sensed a hesitation to be aware of "gender" in the room, let alone to even recognize it. I also heard the opinion that "isn't everything a matter of "ability"" (i.e., it is not a gender issue)?

In 2020, women will account for 51% of the total population of Japan, but only 19.1% of lawyers, 22.6% of prosecutors, and 25.4% of judges. [2] If you show this data to students, they will immediately notice the gap and ask, "Why? A socially conscious student would explore the impact of such a gender bias on the legal rights of female citizens, on sentencing as it relates to women's lives, or on the fairness of the criminal justice system. Recognizing that gender bias is not "natural," one can understand that the narrowing of the gap does not reflect an increase in women's "competence," but rather is an indication of the effectiveness of efforts to recognize and utilize such "competence." Thus, progress in narrowing the gender gap is to be applauded.

The International Bar Association has embarked on a project to "promote an informed and effective gender policy blueprint that should benefit all legal sectors," and a pilot study for England and Wales found that while 51% of all lawyers are women, the percentage of women in senior positions is 32%, the study found that. [3] To address the gender bias, the initiatives most frequently employed were flexible work arrangements, coaching/mentoring, and unconscious bias training. This may reflect perceptions of the impact of life events on work, lack of coaching/mentoring, and (unconscious) bias on women's legal career development.

These barriers to women's career development do not appear to be unique to England and Wales or to the legal profession. A recent "Diversity Management" seminar for the University's management identified similar barriers to career advancement for women. This seminar also included Unconscious Bias training. Research has shown over the years that it is not always racists who engage in racism, and that apparent "care and compassion" contributes to gender inequality ("benevolent sexism"). It was suggested that in order to combat the unconscious bias that hinders women's career development, we need to start by learning what "unconscious bias" is, become aware of our own biases, and ultimately take action to counteract them. This change in awareness and action at the individual level is necessary, but it is not enough. In parallel with the change in awareness at the individual level, structural initiatives such as flexible work arrangements and coaching/mentoring/networking must be implemented. At the same time, it is also true that awareness-raising and action at the individual level will most likely drive structural change.

[1] https://lawschool.hosei.ac.jp/people/2023-1
[2] https://www.gender.go.jp/about_danjo/whitepaper/r03/zentai/html/honpen/b1_s01_03.html
[3] https://www.ibanet.org/document?id=IBA-Gender-Disparity-Report-England-and-Wales-2022

The need for a multi-faceted approach

At the celebration of Hosei University graduates or current students who passed the Bar exam this year, it was hard not to notice the high number of women. Indeed, according to the dean, among those from the Hosei Law School, more than half were women .

It was the third year I attended the event, and never have I seen so many women among those we honored. For someone who believes in equity and inclusion and who At the same time, I did notice hesitation among some as to whether we should even notice, let alone recognize, "gender ratio". And from others, "Isn't it all about "ability"?" (Read: What's gender got to do with it?)

In 2020, women made up 51% of the total population in Japan, but only 19.1% of lawyers, 22.6% of prosecutors, and 25.4% of judges. [2] If I were to present this data to my students, they'd immediately notice the gap and ask "why". The more socially conscious ones would probe the effects of such a skewed gender ratio on the legal rights of women citizens, rulings relevant to women& rsquo;s lives, and the effects on women& rsquo;s rights. If we recognize that the skewed gender ratio is not "natural", we will If we recognize that the skewed gender ratio is not "natural", we will understand that such narrowing of the gap does not reflect improvement in women's "ability" per se, but rather, it shows the effects of initiatives that allow us to notice and Therefore, any progress in narrowing the gap is not "natural", we will understand that such narrowing of the gap does not reflect improvement in women's "ability" per se, but rather, it shows the effects that allow us to notice and tap such "ability". Therefore, any progress in narrowing the gender gap should be celebrated.

The International Bar Association has embarked on a project to "facilitate an informed and effective gender policy blueprint which should The International Bar Association has embarked on a project to "facilitate an informed and effective gender policy blueprint which should benefit all legal sectors" and their pilot study of England and Wales found that while 51% of all lawyers are female, they make up on 32% of all lawyers The most popular initiatives adopted were flexible working arrangements, coaching/mentoring and unconscious bias training, reflecting an awareness of the impact of life in the legal sector . The most popular initiatives adopted were flexible working arrangements, coaching/mentoring and unconscious bias training, reflecting an awareness of the impact of life course events, lack of coaching and mentoring, and the consequences of the operation of biases on women& rsquo;s legal career development.

Such barriers to women's career development are apparently neither specific to England and Wales nor to the legal professions. A recent " Diversity Management" seminar for Hosei University managerial staff identified similar barriers to women's career advancement. It has long been shown in research that one does not need to be a racist to commit racist acts, and that one's apparent racist acts, and that one's apparent racist acts, and that one's apparent racist acts, are not necessarily specific to England and Wales nor to the legal professions. It has long been shown in research that one does not need to be a racist to commit racist acts, and that one's apparent "care and consideration" can perpetuate gender inequality ("benevolent sexism"). To combat the unconscious bias that can prevent women's career development, it was suggested that one needs to move from knowing what " While such individual- level consciousness-raising and action are necessary. While such individual- level consciousness-raising and action are necessary, awareness alone is not sufficient. At the same time, it is also true that a higher level of consciousness or action taken at the individual level is not sufficient. At the same time, it is also true that a higher level of consciousness or action taken at the individual level is likely to foster structural changes.

Diana Koh

Executive Trustee and Vice President for Diversity and Gender Equality Promotion, Hosei University
Professor, Faculty of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies