INSIGHTS

International Women's Day: Asami Chung

Asami Chung, General Manager of FCM Japan, says unconscious gender bias still clouts decisions. But here’s the scoop- things can improve.
Asami Chung IWD Blog Skiing

Are you biased at workplace?

There’s a deep-rooted unconscious gender bias across organisations that influences judgements while hiring, promotion, and performance evaluation. 

Many working women in Japan choose to leave the workforce entirely, or opt out of leadership roles, and financial independence after marriage. In fact, nearly 50% of married Japanese women leave full time employment in their 30s. Let that sink in! Is it always by the women’s choice?

Despite the modern image, you can encounter subtle yet pervasive presence of gender bias in companies across Japan as traditional roles continue to dictate expectations back home, and the pressure on women to conform to societal norms is still overwhelming. This dovetails into either women getting limited career opportunities or bucketed into a certain type of roles without promotion or a voice.

The invisible force

I was on a panel of speakers at a prestigious event in Japan. The organisers had to specially invite women in audiences so that I don’t feel awkward. If I hadn’t made it to the panel, it can be safely assumed that the event would have been an ‘all-male’ show, not even feeling the absence of female leaders.

This is not one-off incident. The World Economic Forum ranks Japan far below in gender equality. Japan stands at 125th spot out of 146 countries. Is it due to unconscious bias? It was flagged during International Women’s Day back in 2020, where Japan’s gender disparity was attributed to unconscious bias related to traditional gender roles.
 

Shattering the glass-ceiling

Of course, the industry is changing, and top companies are becoming bold. Japan Airlines, for instance, crossed a historic milestone when they appointed a female President for the airlines.

At FCM too, substantial steps are taken to support inclusion of women in workforce and leadership roles. Recently, Sayaka Watanabe, who began her stint at FCM as a travel consultant, was promoted as team leader within a short span all due to her efforts, proactive engagement, and her leadership skills. She gained trust as a leader from her team, and it came quite naturally to promote her.

At FCM Japan, we always recognise and welcome such passion and talent to our leadership roles and provide equal opportunities to men and women without any gender bias.

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How to be conscious about unconscious gender bias?

In the travel industry, gender inclusion cannot be a textbook exercise. Accepting the unintentional gender conditioning is the first step followed by being conscious and fostering an environment for open conversations.

Also, more inclusive steps can be taken by:

  • Educating and raising awareness

  • Reviewing women participation in leadership roles

  • Encouraging internal promotions

  • Regularly holding sessions on diversity and inclusion

 

Women supporting women

Besides men becoming allies, women must support each other towards empowerment and help navigate complexities. I’m a firm believer in celebrating not only women’s careers, but their lives and I take a lot of inspiration from my team who balance work life, make themselves and teammates heard and refuse to accept conditioning.

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