Good morning, Broadsheet readers! President Biden signs an executive order on abortion rights, there’s a new Wimbledon champ, and the legacy of Shinzo Abe’s ‘womenomics’ lives on. Have a meaningful Monday.
– Womenomics lives on. The assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday shocked the world. The shooting sparked conversations about the dangers of homemade and 3D-printed weapons and the rarity of gun violence in Japan compared to the U.S.
But with more time to process the news, attention has turned to Abe’s lasting legacy in Japan. Like any world leader, his legacy is complicated. Abe, 67, was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister—a nationalist who objected to the pacifist constitution put in place by the U.S. after Japan’s defeat in World War II. He stepped down in 2020 amid a handful of scandals, including one involving his wife, Akie.
At the center of Abe’s domestic agenda, however, was “womenomics,” part of the prime minister’s overall “Abenomics” agenda to boost Japan’s economy. Womenomics attempted to tap women as an economic resource by boosting their labor force participation rate in Japan. Specifically, the womenomics theory calculated that “well-educated, yet underemployed, women could solve Japan’s twin problems of economic stagnation and demographic decline.” Prior to the policy rollout in 2013, economists projected that increasing women’s workforce participation to the same level as men’s could grow the country’s economy by 10%.
Abe told World Economic Forum attendees in 2014 that Japan “must become a place where women shine.” He argued that women had been “structurally and unjustifiably underused for generations” in the country’s labor force, the Financial Times reports. By speaking about the untapped power that women could bring to Japan’s economy, Abe elevated the issue of women’s roles in Japanese society, encouraging women to seek work outside the home and pushing men to accept the societal changes. By 2019, 71% of Japanese women were employed, up from about 56%.
To realize its women-focused policy goals, Japan mandated gender disclosures by major companies, expanded state-run benefits like childcare and paid leave, and adopted ESG standards in investing.
But when it came down to the details, womenomics was less successful, especially when compared to other aspects of the Abenomics agenda. Long wait lists for day care remain—a critical roadblock in bringing to life the womenomics vision. Women held just 10% of management positions at Japan’s public companies in 2020, far below a 30% target. And the COVID-19 pandemic further derailed progress women had made in the labor force.
When Abe stepped down as prime minister in 2020, Japanese women said his vision was far from reality. “I saw a huge gap between what he said and what was really happening,” a woman told the New York Times at the time. The reality of Japan’s brutal work culture, without adequate support for childcare or domestic responsibilities at home, prevented many women from taking advantage of the opportunities the country presented. (Sound familiar?) “If there are talented, competent women who get married or have children, their career paths are derailed,” the woman added.
The term “womenomics” was originally coined by Kathy Matsui, now a founding general partner of Japanese ESG venture capital fund MPower Partners. She came up with the name in 1999 while working for Goldman Sachs in Tokyo. In an op-ed for Fortune earlier this year, Matsui argued that womenomics still has potential and that the private sector needs to pick up the mantle to bring the vision to life.
With Abe gone, those who seek to carry on at least one piece of his legacy can certainly do so by working to ensure womenomics lives up to its initial promise.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Executive action. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on abortion rights on Friday. The order doesn't restore abortion access. Instead, it instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to complete a report on actions it is taking, such as increasing education and access to contraception; takes steps to prepare attorneys to represent people accused of accessing abortion; and seeks to protect patient privacy. Bloomberg reports that the White House rejected the idea of declaring a public health emergency.
- Deal's off. Elon Musk is trying to get out of his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter. While the result is not yet certain—Twitter is suing Musk to complete the deal—the end of Musk's vision for Twitter would be a relief for those worried about his support of "free speech" without limits. Fortune
- Tennis champ. Elena Rybakina won the women's final at Wimbledon—her first Grand Slam. Rybakina was born in Moscow but plays for Kazakhstan, and the title is the country's first. She defeated Ons Jabeur, who was also playing her first Grand Slam title match. If Jabeur had won, she would have been the "first Arab or African woman to win a Slam singles title in the professional era." Washington Post
- Hypocrisy in the HOV lane. Brandy Bottone of Plano, Texas is a new folk hero. Pulled over for driving by herself in the HOV lane, she told Texas police that at 34 weeks pregnant, her unborn child should count as a second passenger in the state that has banned abortion. The state shouldn't be able to have it both ways, she argued. Police gave her a $275 ticket. Dallas Morning News
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Furniture brand Interior Define hired Williams-Sonoma alum Catherine Sylvester as CMO. Voya Financial named Heather Lavallee its next CEO and a member of the board, effective January 2023. KKR hired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's Kathryn King Sudol as general counsel; at the end of the first quarter of 2023, she is set to become chief legal officer.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- Big payouts. Over the past 16 years, WWE CEO Vince McMahon has reportedly paid $12 million to silence allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity. The sum was split between four women who all had relationships with or incidents involving the CEO. Wall Street Journal
- Across the aisle. Democratic donors are giving big to GOP Rep. Liz Cheney after the Jan. 6 hearings. Jeffrey Katzenberg and Reid Hoffman are among the mega-donors who usually give to Democrats and who are now funding the congresswoman's primary race as she fends off a Trump-backed challenger in Wyoming. New York Times
- Defamation redo? Amber Heard is seeking a mistrial in the case that determined she was guilty of defaming ex-husband Johnny Depp by describing her experience as a survivor of abuse. Heard's legal team says that the wrong juror was seated for the trial in Virginia. A person with the same last name and address, but wrong age by two decades, ended up on the jury, her lawyers argue. NBC News
ON MY RADAR
'I was adopted by forced birthers' The Cut
How Este Haim leapt from making rock music to scoring Maid and Cha Cha Real Smooth The Wrap
Why are we restricting the abortion pill to first trimester pregnancies? The Cut
The older woman comes of age The Atlantic
PARTING WORDS
"Today, she adds to her medal count."
-President Joe Biden, before awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to all-time great Olympic gymnast Simone Biles last week.
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