UNIQLO Founder Takes Step Towards Women Empowerment Amid Gender Gap Issue In Japan

Tadashi Yanai, the founder and CEO of Fast Retailing Co., and its subsidiary UNIQLO, recently expressed his desire to have a woman as his successor and the CEO of his Company.

Tadashi Yanai, who owns 44 % stake in the popular retailing company Fast Retailing, was ranked the 31st richest person in the world by Forbes in June 2019.  Yanai is also the richest person in Japan, with a net worth of $ 24.9 billion. He founded Fast Retailing in 1984, which grew to become the third largest clothing retailer in the world with an annual revenue of $ 18.9 billion in 2018.

During an interview, Tadashi Yanai told Bloomberg Japan he believes women are more suitable for the job of CEO as they are “ persevering, detail oriented and have an aesthetic sense.”  Yanai’s statement was welcomed by everyone because it was seen as a shift from the male focused corporate world.  Yanai also discussed about the future CEO of the Company and named Maki Akaida, who is currently the CEO of UNIQLO Japan, as a possible candidate.

Yanai also shared he plans to increase the ratio of female executives to more than half in his Company.  The Company, in 2018, fulfilled its goal of filling 30 % of the Company’s managerial positions with women employees.  It has 6 women in executive positions. Yanai also added women are reluctant to join managerial positions due to a fear of lifestyle change.

Tadashi Yanai and his Company’s efforts to ensure gender diversity have been praised heavily as latest reports show Japan is still behind when it comes to employing women in managerial positions.  According to a report published by the World Economic Forum, Japan ranked 110th in its Global Gender Gap Index 2018 report. The Country has a wage gap of 24.5 % between women and men in similar positions.

This issue led Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addressing Japan’s shrinking workforce, a part of which is to provide better quality of work and senior positions to working women.

Although it is unclear when Yanai plans to step down from his position, the effort put in by him and Fast Retailing is a positive step for women working in the corporate sector in Japan as well as globally.