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(Conference Draft) “How International Gender Norms Change the Gender DRAFT ONLY – PLEASE DO NOT CITE OR DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT AUTHOR’S PERMISSION (Conference Draft) “How International Gender Norms Change the Gender Equality Landscape in Japan? Analysis of the Laws on Women’s Economic and Political Participation” Ayako Hatano 2021 Law and Development Conference Hamburg, Germany November 2021 The University of Tokyo, 3 Chome-8-1 Komaba, Meguro City, Tokyo 153-0041, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]. DRAFT ONLY – PLEASE DO NOT CITE OR DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT AUTHOR’S PERMISSION How International Gender Norms Change the Gender Equality Landscape in Japan? Analysis of the laws on women’s economic and political participation Ayako Hatano* Gender equality and women’s empowerment is taken as an important pre-condition and driver for the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite its highly developed economy and policy efforts, Japan’s record of gender equality, in particular in women’s political and economic leadership, has been stalled for long years. The government passed legislations promoting the economic and political activity of women in reforms aimed at improving gender equality: namely the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace (2015) and the Act on Promotion of Gender Equality in the Political Field (2018). However, its global ranking on gender equality even got lowered, driven by a widening of the political gender gap and remaining dearth of female managers. This study aims to analyse the effectiveness of the legal framework aimed at improving gender equality, through assessing their regulatory design, compliance and implementation (See Y.S. Lee 2018). It also highlights how international gender norms underlining the SDGs and international human rights law affected engrained social and cultural norms in the course of development, and implementation of those legal frameworks, as legal development may not be effective without changing cultural practice (See Cao 2016). The paper concludes the interactions among global and local stakeholders including the State, global and local civil society, and the international entities would give the momentum to drive the acts to work effectively for gender equality in economic and political participation and leadership. Keywords: international law and norms, sustainable development agenda, gender equality, women’s economic and political participation and leadership, law and development, Japanese women * Doctoral Researcher, the University of Tokyo DRAFT ONLY – PLEASE DO NOT CITE OR DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT AUTHOR’S PERMISSION 1. Introduction Gender equality and women’s empowerment is taken as an important pre-condition and driver for the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) whose subject extends to all countries and their people under the principle of universality. At the level of political messaging, Japan seems to be taking the issue seriously. Advancement of women called “Jyosei-katsuyaku” in Japanese for economic revitalization under the banner of “Womenomics” has been adopted as a key plank of the government’s programme since 2013.1 In addition to several policy measures, Japan enacted laws for promoting the economic and political activity of women including the 2015 Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace and the 2018 Act on Promotion of Gender Equality in the Political Field. However, it is still placed low at 121th among 153 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index for 2020 which benchmarks countries on their progress toward gender parity, driven by a widening of the political gender gap and remaining dearth of female managers.2 Why does Japan have yet to substantially move the needle on gender equality outcomes despite these efforts? While multiple factors are responsible for Japan’s low rankings and lack of advancement for women, in particular the poor results with regards to economic and political opportunities for women, it begs the question as to the effectiveness and impact of the abovementioned laws for promotion of gender equality in workplace and political representation in Japan. In this context, this study aims to analyze the efficacy of legal frameworks aimed at improving gender equality, in particular women’s leadership and participation, through assessing the regulatory design, compliance and implementation of those newly installed laws.3 In particular, for the purpose of analysis of their design and effects, this paper analyses how international gender norms underlining the international human rights treaties and the SDGs affected engrained social and cultural norms in the course of development, and implementation of those legal frameworks, as legal development may not be effective without changing cultural practice.4 In this regard, it highlights, based on the theory of internalization of international norms through transnational social movement,5 the interactions among 1 This paper focuses on recent development of laws on women’s participation, but the analysis of the reasons why gender equality policy has not advanced since its establishment of national machinery for gender equality, see W. Chida, Policy formation process for gender equality: Enactment of basic law and national machinery, 15 Hokkaido University Graduate School of Law Junior Research Journal (2008), 115-150; M. Iwamoto, National machinery of gender equality in Japan, 24 Mie University Journal of Law and Economics, no. 2 (2007), 1-40. 1 World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2020, available at: 2 World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2020, available at: <http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf>, accessed October 11, 2020. 3 See Y. S. Lee, Law and Development: Theory and Practice (London: Routledge, 2018). 4 See L. Cao, Culture in Law and Development: Nurturing Positive Change (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006). 5 H. H. Koh, How Is International Human Rights Law Enforced?, 74 Indiana Law Journal (1999) 1397-1417; T. Risse, S. C. Ropp, and K. Sikkink (eds.), The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999); R. Goodman, and D. Jinks, How to Influence States: Socialization and International Human Rights Law, 54 Duke Law Journal (2004), 621-703; R. Goodman, and D. Jinks, Incomplete Internalization and Compliance with Human Rights Law, 19 European Journal of International 2 DRAFT ONLY – PLEASE DO NOT CITE OR DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT AUTHOR’S PERMISSION global and local stakeholders including the State, global and local civil society, and the international entities such as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and International Labour Organization (ILO) which have strongly recommended Japan to take measures against gender discrimination in align with SDGs. 2. Global norms and Standards on Women’s Leadership and Political Participation There are numerous internationally agreed norms and standards relate to women’s economic empowerment and political participation. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted at the General Assembly of the UN in 1979, states in its preamble that “Recalling that discrimination against women violates the principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity, is an obstacle to the participation of women, on equal terms with men, in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their countries, hampers the growth of the prosperity of society and the family and makes more difficult the full development of the potentialities of women in the service of their countries and of humanity”.6 As for political and public participation, the CEDAW includes commitments under Article 7 on political and public life, and Article 8 on representation.7 The Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies were adopted in 1985 at the UN conference and provided guidelines for the advancement of women by the year 2000 and beyond to achieve/accelerate the economic and Political emancipation of women at all levels.8 The UN Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 on the Recommendations and conclusions arising from the first review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000 calls on governments, political parties, trade unions, and professional and other representative groups to adopt a 30 percent minimum proportion of women in leadership positions, with a view to achieving equal representation.9 The 2003 UN General Assembly resolution on women’s political participation (A/RES/58/142) stipulates that Member States should take Law, no. 4 (2008), 725-748; R. Goodman, and D. Jinks, Socializing States: Promoting Human Rights Through International Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013); P. Levitt, and S. Merry, Vernacularization on the Ground: Local Uses of Global Women’s Rights in Peru, China, India and the United States, 9 Global Networks (2009), 441-461. 6 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, New York, 18 December 1979, available at: <https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cedaw.aspx>, accessed February 9, 2021. 7 Ibid. 8 “United Nations. Economic Commission for Africa. African Centre for Gender and Development; United Nations. Economic Commission for Africa (1994-11). The African woman today : an overview of the implementation of the Nairobi forward-looking strategies for the advancement
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