Few top-listed Japan firms have 30% female directors, report says

Only 68 companies on the Prime Market Index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange have 30% or more women represented on the board, the Nikkei daily has reported.

Just 3.7% of Prime Market companies now have reached that threshold, a target that Japan’s government is seeking for all top-listed businesses. Even so, that’s an increase from 2.7% last year, according to the newspaper.

The government is pushing companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to embrace the goal, according to plans disclosed earlier this year. Japan has sought to bring more women into the workforce to make up for its aging and shrinking population, but has long struggled to meet its targets on diversity in management. It ranked 116 out of 146 countries in last year’s Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, far below all of its Group of Seven peers.

At the same time, Prime Market firms with zero female directors fell to 10.9% from a year earlier. The Nikkei compiled data of annual reports of about 1,800 prime-listed companies.