Women lead the way in embracing new values. Women seeking "rational change"

DENTSU SOKEN INC. and Dentsu Future Forecasting Support Lab conducted the "Quality of Society Annual Survey 2021" in October 2021, targeting 12,000 men and women nationwide, under the supervision of Professor Yasufumi Shibauchi of Tokyo Keizai University. The "Quality of Society Annual Survey" aims to understand people's attitudes and values regarding society. The first survey was conducted in December 2019, making this the third iteration. Plans are in place to continue collecting and accumulating data on a regular basis.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we work and live, but how will people's acceptance of new values evolve? This survey gathers opinions on various topics, ranging from values concerning everyday lifestyles to those related to global social issues. This time, we report on the significant differences by gender and age group revealed by the results.

<Table of Contents>

▼Nearly 80% of Young Women Say "Telework Should Remain Standard Even After the Pandemic Subsides"

▼Values on Gender Equality Issues: How Acceptable Are "Separate Surnames for Married Couples" and "Men Taking Paternity Leave"?

▼Women Lead Not Only on Gender Equality but Also on Broader Diversity Issues

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Approximately 80% of young women responded that "telework should become permanent even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides."

First, we focus on attitudes toward "telework and remote work," which has already begun to take root during the pandemic.

*Employed individuals: Public servants / Business owners/executives / Company employees (clerical, technical, other) / Self-employed / Freelancers

First, among employed individuals overall, 71.6% responded that "[A] Even after the pandemic subsides, telework and remote work should become established ways of working." This sentiment is stronger among women than men. The most notable characteristic is that women aged 18-29 and women in their 30s show significantly higher agreement than the overall average. Specifically, 40.0% and 42.4% of these groups respectively answered "closer to A," more than 10 percentage points higher than the overall average. Combining those who answered "closer to A" and "somewhat closer to A," over 80% of women aged 18-29 and women in their 30s agreed.

In contrast, comparing the same age groups, men aged 18-29 and men in their 30s each had 30.9% answering "closer to A," which is almost the same level as the overall group and more than 10 percentage points lower than women in the same age groups.

So why do women aged 18-29 and women in their 30s show such a high preference for telework?
To understand the specific reasons, we conducted a simple qualitative survey to hear their voices directly.

The following reasons were cited by female office workers in their 20s and 30s for "wanting to telework":

〈Reasons female office workers in their 20s and 30s "prefer telework"〉

• Because they can't stand the wasted commuting time
• Because the stress of commuting by train is greater than imagined and they want to reduce it
• Because it allows for more efficient use of time
• Because it solves sleep deprivation
• Working from home allowed me to cook my own meals and become healthier (successfully lost 8kg)
• Because I can save money
• Because I get to spend more time with my kids
• Because I don't have to wear makeup, which makes me happy
• Because teleworking has had absolutely no impact on my work
• Because I hate having my work interrupted by answering calls meant for others in my department
• Because it's more comfortable with less face-to-face hassle
• Because I no longer have to smell cigarette smoke

I've heard opinions like "I can eliminate wasted commute time," "I can resolve sleep deprivation," and "I became healthier by cooking at home while working remotely," suggesting that people are leading more time-efficient lives and improving their health. Additionally, there seems to be the benefit of "not having to wear makeup."

On the other hand, when listening to the voices of male office workers in their 20s and 30s, while some also mention the benefit of eliminating commute time like women, a notably large number emphasized "communication" and "human relationships" as reasons for wanting office work.

〈Reasons Male Office Workers in Their 20s and 30s Prefer Office Work〉

• Office work allows for more in-depth communication
• I believe work progresses more smoothly when we go to the office and communicate while working
• Since meetings often involve in-depth discussions, I prefer coming into the office to talk face-to-face whenever possible
• I believe talking with someone and meeting face-to-face is very important as a human being. Human relationships are important
• Remote work makes communication difficult, and questions don't get answered promptly, which lowers work efficiency.

(Other)

• With telework, I just can't get serious about work and struggle to switch off from my personal life.
• I'd rather be out than stay home

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At least from this simple survey, it appears men tend to cite "improving work quality through communication" as their reason, while women tend to cite "a more rational lifestyle" as their reason.

While it's difficult to generalize about men and women in today's world, and we're not comparing men and women in exactly the same occupations, so we can't make sweeping statements, based on these survey results, we might infer that women tend to be "averse to waste and rational," while men tend to "find value in things that might seem wasteful at first glance and collaborate as a group to improve work quality."

Values in fields related to gender equality. How receptive are people to "separate surnames for married couples" and "men taking paternity leave"?

Next, we introduce acceptance levels for other familiar new values. First, we examine "separate surnames for married couples" and "men taking paternity leave" – areas where past inequalities against women are being addressed.

Similar to the preferences regarding work styles mentioned earlier, women showed higher acceptance than men. The "I think it can be accepted" response was particularly high among women aged 18-29 and women in their 30s. On the other hand, the low acceptance among men aged 40 and above stands out.

Women also lead in acceptance of values related to diversity beyond gender equality

So, what about acceptance in areas unrelated to improving inequality for women?
Here, we present acceptance levels regarding "same-sex marriage" and "foreign colleagues/supervisors."

This shows acceptance levels for globally hot topics. Starting with the Netherlands becoming the first country to legalize it in 2001, legislation recognizing "same-sex marriage" has expanded across Europe and beyond. In 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, leaving Japan as the only country among the Group of Seven (G7) nations that does not recognize same-sex marriage (※1).

※1
Source: BUSINESS INSIDER
https://www.businessinsider.jp/post-246360
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Overall, the combined percentage of those who "think it is acceptable" and "tend to think it is acceptable" was 43.2%, indicating acceptance levels of just under half. However, here too, women aged 18-29 showed the highest combined acceptance rate at 70.7%, followed by women in their 30s at 67.6%, revealing a similar pattern.

Finally, we present findings on the question regarding "foreign colleagues/supervisors," which are likely to increase in Japan.

As of 2020, there were approximately 1.724 million foreign workers in Japan (※2). Their nationalities are increasingly diverse, primarily from Asian countries. The Japanese government is actively promoting the acceptance of foreign talent with advanced knowledge and skills, aiming to certify 40,000 individuals by the end of 2022—double the 2017 target (※3). It is projected that foreign workers will cover 810,000 of the 6.44 million worker shortage expected by 2030. Post-COVID-19, there is a growing need to shift acceptance policies beyond short-term labor, toward valuing them as valuable human resources through Japanese language education and skill development (※4).

Given this situation, it is likely that many foreign nationals will be present in the workplace in Japan's future. Moreover, it seems entirely possible that they could become not only colleagues but also supervisors.

First, regarding acceptance of foreign colleagues among employed individuals, the combined percentage of those who "think they can accept them" or "tend to think they can accept them" is 73.4%. Among all men, this is 69.0%, while among all women, it is 83.0%, with women significantly higher. Notably, women in their 40s show the highest rate at 86.4%, and remarkably, women from 18 to their 50s all exceed 80%. Regarding "think they can accept," women aged 18-29 showed the highest value at 50.9%.

Acceptance of foreign bosses among employed individuals totaled 57.3% for "I think I could accept it" and "I think I could probably accept it." Here too, men overall were 52.1% and women overall were 68.8%, showing women significantly higher. Among women, those aged 18-29 showed the highest acceptance at 71.4%, followed by women in their 50s at 70.5%, women in their 40s at 69.2%, and women in their 30s at 67.6%.

This reveals that even regarding matters unrelated to resolving existing inequalities against women, women demonstrate a higher acceptance rate toward the new values that will be demanded in the future.

Based on these survey results, it appears that women, particularly young women aged 18 to 29, are leading the acceptance of new values in both gender equality and broader diversity-related fields.

According to the World Economic Forum's "The Global Gender Gap Report 2021," Japan ranks 120th out of 156 countries on the Gender Gap Index, which measures gender disparities. This places Japan at the lowest level among developed nations. Within Asia, Japan ranks lower than South Korea, China, and ASEAN countries (※5).

Looking beyond society to corporate activities, Japan also ranks 11th out of 14 countries in the Kantar Inclusion Index, which measures corporate inclusion and diversity—a position that is by no means high. Embracing new values that underpin such indicators will become increasingly important at the individual level (※6).

Expectations are rising for the activities of young women, who hold strong potential to lead the way in resolving Japan's "challenges in values."

※2
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Summary of Reports on "Employment Status of Foreign Nationals" (as of end of October 2020)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_16279.html
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※3
Source: PERSOL Research Institute "Japan's Appeal and Key Management Principles from the Perspective of Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals"
https://rc.persol-group.co.jp/thinktank/research/column/202101290001.html
Immigration Services Agency "Status of Acceptance of Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals"
https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/materials/nyuukokukanri06_00088.html
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※4
Source: PERSOL Research Institute "Future Projections of the Labor Market 2030" · Japan International Cooperation Center
https://rc.persol-group.co.jp/thinktank/research/activity/spe/roudou2030/
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※5
Source: Cabinet Office, Gender Equality Bureau website
https://www.gender.go.jp/public/kyodosankaku/2021/202105/202105_05.html
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※6
Source: KANTAR JAPAN
https://www.kantar.jp/solutions/reports/10837
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※Percentage composition (%) is rounded to the second decimal place, so totals may not always add up to 100%. Similarly, the total values shown on the right side of the graph are also rounded figures.
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[Survey Overview]
Title: "Quality of Society Annual Survey"
Survey Period:
1st Survey: December 11–18, 2019
2nd Survey: November 11–17, 2020
Third Survey: October 19–28, 2021
Survey Method: Internet survey
Target Area: Nationwide
Respondents: 12,000 men and women aged 18–74
Survey Company: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.
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<Contact for inquiries regarding this survey>
DENTSU SOKEN INC., Contact: Yamazaki, Nitta
E-mail: d-ii@dentsu.co.jp
URL: https://institute.dentsu.com
Future Prediction Support Lab Contacts: Ogura, Tachiki, Ono, Chiba
E-mail: future@dentsu.co.jp
URL: https://www.dentsu-fsl.jp
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