The coming of age for Womenomics

Like many other good ideas, it also has a dark side.

Credit: Canva

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As this year’s Ghostbusters remake was about to debut in theaters, You Tube users had given the movie’s official trailer a staggering one million ‘dislikes’ - approximately 3.5 times the number of ‘thumbs-up’ - an unusual pattern in the history of movie trailers. Based on the comments posted by fans, as well as the ramping media coverage, it’s safe to say that much of the passion was prompted by the all-female cast.

This was yet another iconic big screen franchise to swap genders in the lead role. We saw this happen in Star Wars, the highest grossing film of 2015, in which Rey had to step up her game as the last remaining Jedi (Luke) had gone missing. Charlize Theron left Max in the dust (literally and figuratively) in Mad Max: Fury Road. Batman vs. Superman put up a big show to re-introduce Wonder Woman to the main stage. And Pixar launched Dory into stardom.

Public tantrums aside, the girls-led Ghostbusters has arguably been Hollywood’s most overt nod to a broader social shift taking place, and specifically the changing role of women in the global landscape. Central to this change is women’s relationship with work, at a time in which the nature of work itself is changing dramatically.   

Kathy Matsui, vice chair of Goldman Sachs Japan, first wrote about “Womenomics” in 1999, and her firm has reported that closing the gender employment gap could boost her country’s GDP by 13%. "The bottom line is, if you want your economy to grow, you really need to run on both legs”, she said. 

Cultural Harakiri

With its population set to shrink by 30% over the next few decades, Japan has much to gain by boosting female participation in the workforce. In November of 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set the ambitious goal of having women occupy one-third of all senior positions in both the public and private sectors by 2020. Japan’s upper house approved legislation requiring companies with more than 300 employees to meet such benchmarks, while making their gender ratios public.

However, in light of widespread corporate failure to meet the government’s original target, the program has been scaled down. Japanese women, as it turns out, struggle with taking care of children while seeking full-time employment. This has led many to forgo pregnancy - and have less sex, in fact - as they pursue their careers. Plus, the shortage of childcare centers has long been a major issue, and so has the low wage of nursery teachers, who are mostly women and are now leaving their jobs because they can’t survive on the salary. Ooops!

Similar versions of the same dilemma are emerging throughout the world, and there is no simple solution. Gender parity requires that policymakers and boardrooms discuss not only demographic trends and societal norms, but also tax codes, school systems, immigration laws, part-time employment regulation, flexible work environments and parental leave, among other issues that can be quite thorny for both, women and men.

Risk of Overcorrection

In the last decade, numerous studies, reports, books and organizations have offered a variety of perspectives supporting an increase in female representation in business and elsewhere. Matsui’s initial concept of Womenomics became the title of a book. The United Nations included Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment among its 17 goals for sustainable development; Malala Yousafzai took the global stage by storm as the most recognized girls’ education activist. Sheryl Sandberg offered practical advice to help women achieve their goals in her bestseller Lean In. The U.S. women’s soccer team caused a media stir when the players filed a wage discrimination lawsuit. And yes, it has been suggested that the only way to fix FIFA is to hire more women for its executive ranks. 

There is little doubt that Womenomics has played a key role in raising awareness and kicking off an international conversation about the importance of female leadership. Women have become a greater source of talent, globally outnumbering men in tertiary education. Over the next two decades, an estimated 1 billion women will enter the global workforce. We have also seen significant leaps forward for women in the traditionally male-dominated field of politics. Just recently, Rome elected its first-ever female mayor, Virginia Raggi, with 67% of the votes. I can only imagine what Julius Caesar would make of  that.

Notwithstanding all this progress, it seems that the constructive approach that originally inspired Womenomics has morphed into a less-than-inspiring and gender-biased debate on who’s best suited for the post-industrial workplace. The back-and-forth frequently resembles a victory dance for her - e.g. The End of Men, by Hanna Rosin; Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men Into Boys, by Kay S. Hymowitz - along with a desperate effort to rescue him - e.g. The Future of Men: Masculinity in the Twenty-First Century, by Jack Myers; Channeling Testosterone: Men Aren’t Women Waiting to be Fixed, by Bruce Fleming.

A key problem is that doubling-down on male stereotypes as a strategy to dissolve female stereotypes is narrow-sighted, and obviously poised to backfire. Never-ending headlines about the low percentage of Fortune 500 female CEO’s only help fuel our obsession with power, and perpetuate the domination narrative which women have been battling against in the first place. Even more importantly, portraying men as losers - and deliberately sidelining them - can only end up in utter disaster.

As valid as diversity, inclusivity and parity are for opening the conversation, these ideals are not necessarily the ultimate destination. If we are sincere about broadening our horizons, we need to act smarter. Some think of Womenomics as a modern-day manifesto, a working woman’s call to arms. And yes, there is little doubt in my mind that our quality of life depends on women’s full participation in society. But respecting, caring for, and lifting each other up should really be the long game we play.

In her book The Real Wealth of Nations, Riane Eisler noted: “Giving less food to girls and women profoundly affects the development of both, boys and girls”. The same is true both ways. But hey, what do I know? I’m just a guy.

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