午夜剧场

I do not get angry very often. If anything, I think I am quite patient. However, strangely enough, when I say that I am "researching female managers," I am often viewed with the preconception of being an "angry, scary person." When treated that way, I find myself at a loss, thinking, "Management scholars are actually supposed to be cool-headed."

Admittedly, when I see how women have been treated in corporate organizations until now, even I, patient as I am, often feel anger. This is because there is the fact that natural efforts—such as utilizing abilities or providing challenges—have been exposed to statistical discrimination based on the assumption that "they will probably quit halfway through anyway" simply because they are women.

Traditionally, Japan's social center has been an "old boys' community" formed by similar types of men, and its defenses were solid. Recently, however, I have begun to see catchphrases every day that look suspicious when written down, such as "Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens" or "A Society Where All Women Can Shine." The reason is that amidst a rapidly declining population, corporate and social systems will cease to function unless women are made part of the workforce.

From a corporate perspective, the story of the last dozen or so years has been one of struggling to turn their attention to women—who had been treated as second-class citizens within the organization—and somehow trying to put them on the same track as men. They tried bringing in the methods of the old boys' community, but women did not respond well. To begin with, the "treasured sword" of promotion does not work very well on women. Men do not know how to handle them. And the more desperate the companies (the men) become, the more disillusioned women become toward promotions. This is because, in many cases, there is no real benefit to being promoted.

I wrote this book because I wanted to bridge the gap between the intentions of the corporate side and the female side. Based on research conducted at Hosei University Business School, where I teach, and among many people on the front lines of business including corporations, I have presented everything from situational analysis to implications. Books of this kind are often based on the author's strong anger or emotions. However, I deliberately wrote this book with a cool head. This may be thanks to the attitude of valuing jitsugaku (science) with the mantra "Keep the heart hot and the head cool," which was drummed into me at 午夜剧场 Business School (KBS), where I received my training as a scholar.

Asako Takada

Japan Productivity Center

244 pages, 1,800 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of the magazine's publication.