One step forward, two steps back: Japan faces scrutiny over gender equality

Japan’s poor gender equality record came under the spotlight again this week as a result of comments made by Yoshiro Mori, a former Prime Minister and currently chief of the Tokyo Olympics organising committee. Mori has since apologised for saying at a Japanese Olympic Committee meeting that women ‘talk too much’.

Although it is the third largest economy in the world, Japan’s level of gender equality ranks the lowest of all advanced nations, with women occupying less than 15 per cent of leadership positions.

The 30 Per Cent Club Japan, Nikko Asset Management and Asset Management One are on a drive to improve gender diversity within Japan’s finance industry – but say progress is being held back by a masculine work culture, a shortage of childcare, and a slow decision-making process within companies.

In the UK, the government’s green economy push received a boost this week with the approval of a draft framework for local councils to issue ESG bonds for funding community projects. It is good news for long-term investors, given that 98 per cent of pension trustees say that integrating sustainability and ESG factors into their portfolios is a top priority for the year ahead.

The fixed income market is also an ideal venue for responsible investors to influence government and corporate behaviour toward more sustainable ventures, according to Insight Investment.

Pension schemes are preparing for mandatory climate disclosures to hit pension schemes later in the year, and a group of consultants including Aon, Mercer, and Willis Towers Watson have together published a new guide for pension trustees to assess the ‘climate competency’ of their consultants and investment managers.

Allocations towards forestry as an asset class are taking off as long-term investors seek out consistent returns in an era of low interest rates, as well as increasingly demanding that all investments have sustainable characteristics.

The CEO of alternative asset manager Gresham House spoke to Institutional Asset Manager about growing the firm’s forestry assets outside the UK, the impact of net zero and carbon markets, and the rise of alternative assets.

Madeleine Taylor
Editor, Institutional Asset Manager
maddy.taylor@globalfundmedia.com
 

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