Council for Gender Equality

On November 29, 2021, the Prime Minister attended the 65th meeting of the Council for Gender Equality at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on the formulation of the Intensive Policy for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality 2022 (Basic Policies Related to Women).
 
Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
 
“At the meeting of the Council for Gender Equality today, we commenced discussions on the formulation of the Basic Policies Related to Women. We received a number of comments from each expert. I appreciate your cooperation.
 
The Kishida Cabinet will aim to create a society that respects individuality and diversity. We will reflect diverse voices in every policy and forge a society in which all people can find life worth living. Meanwhile, as explained today, revitalizing local regions, promoting gender equality, and implementing measures against the declining birthrate are closely related to one another. Hence, it is necessary to encourage young women to settle down in local regions and create a virtuous cycle of gender equality in every corner of the country. Four pillars were presented as the keys to the realization of such society.
 
The first is economic independence of women. COVID-19 has had a strong impact on the employment and lives of women. We will conduct structural response to eliminate wage disparities between men and women by providing support for single parents and others and fully ensuring equal pay for equal work. In addition, we will strengthen our distribution strategy, including boldly increasing the deduction rate in the tax system that promotes wage increases, fundamentally strengthening investment in people, and reviewing public prices prior to wage increases in the private sector, thereby working on the realization of a new form of capitalism by raising the incomes of women through a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution.
 
The second is the realization of a society in which women can live with dignity and pride. We will fundamentally strengthen countermeasures against spousal violence and advance discussions to revise the Penal Code regarding sexual crimes as well. We will also put our effort into the promotion of so-called FemTech, or the solution of health issues facing women with technology.
 
The third is the expansion of areas for men to engage in such as family lives and local communities. We will strongly encourage male workers to take childcare leave and promote the establishment of diverse work styles including teleworking.
 
The fourth is initiatives to achieve targets set in the Fifth Basic Plan for Gender Equality. The Government, on its part, will encourage women to play an active role, including granting preferential treatment to women-friendly companies in public procurements. I request you to continue to deepen discussions and draw up viable and concrete measures toward the formulation of the Basic Policies Related to Women around in June next year. Thank you.”