A change is in the air

Since 2022 Japanese companies are legally obligated to report their gender pay gap annually — and the figures do not make for comfortable reading. Japanese women earn just 78 percent of what men do: the widest gap in the G7 and nearly double the average of the 38 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to the latest figures women also represent just 11 percent of executives at major listed companies, and hold 13 percent of management positions in Japan, the lowest among the OECD. 

Things are changing, however. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to boost the number of executives at major listed companies to 30 percent by the end of the decade. The aviation industry appears to be leading the way. Research by the travel website FlightGlobal found that the number of women leading the top 100 airlines doubled in 2022 from six to 12. In January 2024, Mitsuko Tottori joined those ranks — making headlines worldwide when she became the first female president of Japanese flag carrier JAL. 

Misako Yaji, British Airways’ Regional Airport Manager for East Asia and Oceania, believes it is only natural that the aviation industry would be quick to change. 'As a global airline, we’ve been bringing people, places, and diverse cultures closer together for more than 100 years,' she says. 'Inclusion and diversity are at the heart of our strategy to transform our business.'

Yaji’s role involves supporting a team of airport managers in Japan, Singapore and Australia. It was, traditionally, a role held by men. 'Across British Airways globally, we set ourselves the target of 40 percent of women holding senior roles within our business by 2025,' says Yaji. 'I’m proud to say we are already exceeding that figure—we have hit 42 percent, a year early.'

Yaji believes that equality will not be achieved without help. 'We have colleagues' communities in British Airways promoting diversity and inclusivity,' she says. 'One of the communities is the Women's Inclusion Network Group for Success (WINGS). It's a network of colleagues, male and female, set up and dedicated to promoting gender equality at the airline. The vision is to lead a network dedicated to supporting and creating opportunities for women. The community represents anyone who identifies as a woman, from all areas across the business, with integral support from male allies.'

Despite progress being made, Yaji is not getting complacent. 'There is still a lot more to do,' she says. 'There is more to be done to encourage more women into STEM roles and specifically into our pilot and engineering communities. As a global business we know how important representation and role models are to drive greater diversity.'

Despite Japan’s gender pay gap, which the OECD says represents 'a serious misallocation of human resources', Yaji says there are signs of hope. 'I think the gender barriers in Japan are improving significantly as more organisations are promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce,' she says. 'We are seeing higher awareness of the need to discover talent, and to train and support colleagues to acquire knowledge and skills to set up an [inclusive] atmosphere.'