The Gender Gap in Religious Perspectives (World’s Trend and Japan’s Path)
UENO Kagefumi / Civilizational Thinker
July 15, 2021
According to “the Global Gender Index 2021” reported in late March by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Japan was ranked 120th within 156 countries.
At the root of the problems presented by the WEF, one could detect the tug of war taking place between “the Enlightenment” on one hand, which respects individual’s rights ---- especially women’s rights, and traditional views of women on the other, be they Christian, Islam or Confucian.
●”Traditionalism” vs “the Enlightenment”
I interpret the WEF’s list as comprising four layers of countries, according to the level of the gender gap, as below;
The 1st layer, countries of the smallest gender gap・・・・・・ Nordic and other secular, least religious countries (Group A)
The next layer ・・・・・・ Fairly religious countries in the West and Latin America, including the US (Group B)
The 3rd layer ・・・・・・ the East Asian countries with Confucian traditions (Group C), plus the South East Asian countries with Islamic traditions（Group D）
The 4th layer, countries of the biggest gender gap・・・・・Near and Middle East countries with conservative Islamic traditions such as Saudi Arabia (Group E)
In Group E, in particular, the two genders are even today segregated at religious ceremonies as well as at public education spaces, while in Groups A～C, the level of their gender segregation decades or a century ago was rather similar to today’s Saudi Arabia.
Then, how did Groups A～C depart from the Saudi Arabian path? In short, their traditionalism retreated, under the pressure imposed by the Enlightenment which advocates gender equality. Let me sum up what happened specifically at educational and religious spaces in each Group.
● Educational & religious spaces
In Group A, comprising major actors of the Enlightenment epoch, the gender segregation-barriers were lowered during the course of the 18-19th centuries ----ahead of other Groups. Countries of this Group, traditionally mainly Protestant, are today highly de-christianized, thereby valuing women’s rights while discarding the traditional views of women.
Group B followed a path similar to Group A, though with the delay of half or one century, due to their persistent traditionalism. This Group is composed by a number of Catholic countries plus the US.
Until the mid-20th century, Roman Pontiffs often stressed that gender mingling is undesirable, be that at school or at mass. At Catholic churches of that era, women were seated at the pews of the left side whereas men were seated at the pews of the right side; the two genders were thus separated on opposite sides. Around 1920 to 1930, however, the segregation-barriers at public schools started to be lowered, paving the way for coeducation.
Countries of Group C (Confucian) have a conservative view of women, similar to Catholics. They started to lower the gender segregation-barrier even later than Group B. In fact, in Japan, there are even today some gender-separating events like NHK’s very popular TV program “the Women (Red)-vs-Men (White) Singing Contest”
Countries of Group E (conservative Islam) remain very reluctant to accept the Enlightenment, and hence, even today, their gender segregation-barriers remain solid at educational and religious spaces. Some hardliners like the Taliban continue to make every effort to exclude women from the educational arena.
Countries of Group D (South-eastern Asian Islam) such as Indonesia, who are, unlike Group E, secularized to some extent, accept co-education at public educational systems.
● Gender segregation at politics
As I examined throughout Groups A～C, for the last one to two centuries, the gender segregation-barriers at educational as well as religious spaces were widely lowered, due to the admitted shift of people’s minds. Consequently, the normality of 100-150 years ago has proved obsolete today, except for Group E. Now, let me explore the gender gap of today at political spaces of each Group.
In Group A, women take the helm of governments in Nordics, Germany, New Zealand and so forth. 30 to 50 % of executives at listed corporations in Europe are women.
Even in Group B, previously regarded as conservative, some of them like Ireland and Spain lately have undergone a drastic transformation. Ireland had female presidents for some 20 years. In Spain, the Socialist Labor Party shaped the new government in 2018 where more than half of ministers were female. In 2021, the US came to have the first female Vice-President in its history. In the three countries, by the way, these changes took place when power shifted from the conservative to the liberal.
In Group C, people’s minds also steadily shifted due to generational changes. In Taiwan, they elected the first female president, while they legalized the same sex marriage. The Republic of Korea introduced a gender quota system for parliamentary elections, imposing a quota in favor of female candidates.
Although, in each Group, gender barriers still remain persistent in such arenas as politics, administration, jurisdiction, business and various professions, pressures stemming from the Enlightenment are rising.
● Whereto is Japan moving?
In Japan, conservatives don’t look quite happy with the enhancement of gender equality, as they retain Confucian, traditional mind-sets. Against this backdrop, is the transformation of Japanese society plausible? A clue may lie in the precedents of Catholics, as Japanese conservatives’ adherence to the particular role of women appears to be somewhat parallel to Catholic conservatism.
As some previously very conservative Catholic countries like Ireland and Spain shifted their stance closer towards the Enlightenment, thereby lowering their gender barriers, similar shifts may well take place in Japan.
In fact, younger politicians of Japan became more aware of the acuteness of the issue of the gender gap. For the last several years, in Japan, various endeavors are being made in arenas such as jurisdiction, administration, legislature, local bodies and businesses, so as to promote paternal child care, de-facto marriage, same sex marriage, LGBT, dualization of married couple’s surnames, introduction of gender quota system for parliamentary elections and so forth.
Unlike the West where confrontational approaches are common, Japanese prefer passivity (i.e. waiting) to crude confrontation, until social environments in favor of compromise (i.e. consensus building) are fermented. It is imperative that they comprehend their rival’s posture in advance and wait for the right circumstances to jell.
In this respect, it is worth noting that the domestic social environments of Japan are, little by little, changing. For instance, the government party started to make studies over some of the aforementioned issues. Can younger politicians capitalize on this new momentum, be they in power or in opposotion? We should watch this with scrupulous attention.
Kagefumi Ueno is former Ambassador to the Holy See. This essay is the shortened, revised version of an essay which first appeared at the online Kyodo-47NEWS site on June 19th 2021.
At the root of the problems presented by the WEF, one could detect the tug of war taking place between “the Enlightenment” on one hand, which respects individual’s rights ---- especially women’s rights, and traditional views of women on the other, be they Christian, Islam or Confucian.
●”Traditionalism” vs “the Enlightenment”
I interpret the WEF’s list as comprising four layers of countries, according to the level of the gender gap, as below;
The 1st layer, countries of the smallest gender gap・・・・・・ Nordic and other secular, least religious countries (Group A)
The next layer ・・・・・・ Fairly religious countries in the West and Latin America, including the US (Group B)
The 3rd layer ・・・・・・ the East Asian countries with Confucian traditions (Group C), plus the South East Asian countries with Islamic traditions（Group D）
The 4th layer, countries of the biggest gender gap・・・・・Near and Middle East countries with conservative Islamic traditions such as Saudi Arabia (Group E)
In Group E, in particular, the two genders are even today segregated at religious ceremonies as well as at public education spaces, while in Groups A～C, the level of their gender segregation decades or a century ago was rather similar to today’s Saudi Arabia.
Then, how did Groups A～C depart from the Saudi Arabian path? In short, their traditionalism retreated, under the pressure imposed by the Enlightenment which advocates gender equality. Let me sum up what happened specifically at educational and religious spaces in each Group.
● Educational & religious spaces
In Group A, comprising major actors of the Enlightenment epoch, the gender segregation-barriers were lowered during the course of the 18-19th centuries ----ahead of other Groups. Countries of this Group, traditionally mainly Protestant, are today highly de-christianized, thereby valuing women’s rights while discarding the traditional views of women.
Group B followed a path similar to Group A, though with the delay of half or one century, due to their persistent traditionalism. This Group is composed by a number of Catholic countries plus the US.
Until the mid-20th century, Roman Pontiffs often stressed that gender mingling is undesirable, be that at school or at mass. At Catholic churches of that era, women were seated at the pews of the left side whereas men were seated at the pews of the right side; the two genders were thus separated on opposite sides. Around 1920 to 1930, however, the segregation-barriers at public schools started to be lowered, paving the way for coeducation.
Countries of Group C (Confucian) have a conservative view of women, similar to Catholics. They started to lower the gender segregation-barrier even later than Group B. In fact, in Japan, there are even today some gender-separating events like NHK’s very popular TV program “the Women (Red)-vs-Men (White) Singing Contest”
Countries of Group E (conservative Islam) remain very reluctant to accept the Enlightenment, and hence, even today, their gender segregation-barriers remain solid at educational and religious spaces. Some hardliners like the Taliban continue to make every effort to exclude women from the educational arena.
Countries of Group D (South-eastern Asian Islam) such as Indonesia, who are, unlike Group E, secularized to some extent, accept co-education at public educational systems.
● Gender segregation at politics
As I examined throughout Groups A～C, for the last one to two centuries, the gender segregation-barriers at educational as well as religious spaces were widely lowered, due to the admitted shift of people’s minds. Consequently, the normality of 100-150 years ago has proved obsolete today, except for Group E. Now, let me explore the gender gap of today at political spaces of each Group.
In Group A, women take the helm of governments in Nordics, Germany, New Zealand and so forth. 30 to 50 % of executives at listed corporations in Europe are women.
Even in Group B, previously regarded as conservative, some of them like Ireland and Spain lately have undergone a drastic transformation. Ireland had female presidents for some 20 years. In Spain, the Socialist Labor Party shaped the new government in 2018 where more than half of ministers were female. In 2021, the US came to have the first female Vice-President in its history. In the three countries, by the way, these changes took place when power shifted from the conservative to the liberal.
In Group C, people’s minds also steadily shifted due to generational changes. In Taiwan, they elected the first female president, while they legalized the same sex marriage. The Republic of Korea introduced a gender quota system for parliamentary elections, imposing a quota in favor of female candidates.
Although, in each Group, gender barriers still remain persistent in such arenas as politics, administration, jurisdiction, business and various professions, pressures stemming from the Enlightenment are rising.
● Whereto is Japan moving?
In Japan, conservatives don’t look quite happy with the enhancement of gender equality, as they retain Confucian, traditional mind-sets. Against this backdrop, is the transformation of Japanese society plausible? A clue may lie in the precedents of Catholics, as Japanese conservatives’ adherence to the particular role of women appears to be somewhat parallel to Catholic conservatism.
As some previously very conservative Catholic countries like Ireland and Spain shifted their stance closer towards the Enlightenment, thereby lowering their gender barriers, similar shifts may well take place in Japan.
In fact, younger politicians of Japan became more aware of the acuteness of the issue of the gender gap. For the last several years, in Japan, various endeavors are being made in arenas such as jurisdiction, administration, legislature, local bodies and businesses, so as to promote paternal child care, de-facto marriage, same sex marriage, LGBT, dualization of married couple’s surnames, introduction of gender quota system for parliamentary elections and so forth.
Unlike the West where confrontational approaches are common, Japanese prefer passivity (i.e. waiting) to crude confrontation, until social environments in favor of compromise (i.e. consensus building) are fermented. It is imperative that they comprehend their rival’s posture in advance and wait for the right circumstances to jell.
In this respect, it is worth noting that the domestic social environments of Japan are, little by little, changing. For instance, the government party started to make studies over some of the aforementioned issues. Can younger politicians capitalize on this new momentum, be they in power or in opposotion? We should watch this with scrupulous attention.
Kagefumi Ueno is former Ambassador to the Holy See. This essay is the shortened, revised version of an essay which first appeared at the online Kyodo-47NEWS site on June 19th 2021.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
宗教観からみたジェンダー・ギャップ（世界の潮流と日本の進路）
上野 景文 / 文明論考察家
2021年 7月 15日
３月末に世界経済フォーラム（ＷＥＦ）が発表した「ジェンダー・ギャップ指数２０２１」では、日本は１５６カ国中１２０位の評価であった。ＷＥＦが提示している問題の根源をたどると、個人の権利を重んじて、女性の権利擁護にこだわる「啓蒙思想」と、伝統的な女性観（キリスト教圏であれ、イスラム圏であれ、儒教圏であれ）とのせめぎ合いに行き着く。そこに、日本の今後を探るヒントを探ってみたい。
▽「伝統主義」対「啓蒙思想」
そこで、大雑把だが、ＷＥＦのリストを、格差の高低により、４層に分けて俯瞰しよう。
第１層は、男女格差が最小で、世俗主義（脱宗教色）が強い北欧などの国（Ａ群）だ。次に来る第２層は、米国を含め、まだ厚い信仰心が残る欧米や中南米の国（Ｂ群）だ。第３層は、儒教圏、東アジアの国々（Ｃ群）、ならびに東南アジアのイスラム国（Ｄ群）だ。格差が最も大きい第４層は、サウジアラビアなど中近東の保守的イスラム国（Ｅ群）だ。
特にE群では、宗教儀礼でも、公教育でも、今日なお、男女は「隔離」されている。 ただ、Ａ～Ｃ群でも、数十年から百数十年前までは、男女別々（隔離主義）が基本で、今日のサウジに近かった。
では、Ａ～Ｃ群は、どのようにサウジ的なものから別れたのか。男女平等をうたう啓蒙思想の攻勢を受け、伝統主義が後退したのだ。宗教や教育の場に絞って、概観する。
▽教育、宗教の現場
Ａ群は、啓蒙思想の本場であったことから、１８～１９世紀以降、男女間隔壁は他群に先駆けて低減した。同群は、かつてはプロテスタント色が強かったが、現在では「脱キリスト教化」が進み、もって、伝統的な女性観を捨て、女性の権利にこだわるようになった。
Ｂ群は、Ａ群と似た軌跡を歩んだが、Ａ群より伝統主義が強く、半～１世紀の遅れがあった。Ｂ群には、米国も含まれるものの、カトリック国が多い。
２０世紀半ばまで、ローマ教皇は、「ミサであれ、学校であれ、男女が交じることは望ましくない」と説いていた。当時のカトリック教会では、教会堂に入ると、左側に女性席、右側に男性席が設けられ、男女は隔離されていた。が、１９２０～３０年ごろになると、教育現場では共学化が進み、隔壁は崩れ始めた。
Ｃ群（儒教圏）での女性の位置付けは、カトリック国と同様に保守的だ。男女間隔壁の低減は、Ｂ群同様、比較的最近のことである。因みに、「紅白歌合戦」のように、男女分離の発想を踏襲しているものは、日本ではなお少なくない。
E群（保守的イスラム諸国）は、啓蒙思想の受容に極めて消極的であり、教育・宗教の両面で男女間隔壁はなお堅固である。タリバンのように、教育から女性を排除する勢力すらある。
一方で、インドネシアなどD群（東南アジアのイスラム国）は、Ｅ群とは違い、そこそこ世俗化が進んでおり、公立学校では男女共学を取り入れている。
▽政治等の分野での隔壁
以上、過去１～２世紀を振り返れば、人々の意識は大きく変わり、教育面・宗教面での男女間隔壁は低下した。１００～１５０年前の常識は、Ｅ群を除き、今日では通用しない。以下、政治の分野につき見てみよう。
Ａ群では、北欧、ドイツ、ニュージーランドなどで、女性が首相を務めており、欧州の上場企業における女性役員比率は３０～５０％のレベルが普通だ。
保守色が濃いと言われていたB群のアイルランドやスペインなども近年変貌を遂げた。アイルランドでは、２０余年女性が大統領を務め、スペインでも、２０１８年に成立した社会労働党政権では閣僚の半数強が女性であった。米国では初の女性副大統領が誕生した。因みに、この３国における「変貌」は保守からリベラルへの政権交代期に起きている。
Ｃ群でも、世代交代に伴い国民の意識は着実に変わってきている。台湾では女性の総統を出し、同性婚の合法化をアジアで初めて実現。韓国は、議会選挙で候補者の一定割合を女性に割り当てるクオータ制を採用している。
A～C各群を通し、男女間の隔壁は、政治、行政、司法、ビジネス、専門職などの領域でなお根強いが、啓蒙思想からの挑戦は続く。
▽日本では？
日本の保守派は概して、儒教的、伝統的心性を残しており、男女平等の深化には違和感があるようだ。 日本で変革は進むだろうか。カトリック圏の事例が参考となりそうだ。「女性独自の役割」にこだわる日本の保守派の考え方は、カトリック保守派に通じるものがあるからだ。
つい数十年前まで保守的と言われていたカトリック圏のスペインやアイルランドですら、ジェンダー間の隔壁は低減し、啓蒙主義へと軸足が移った。とすれば、日本でも、カトリック圏同様、ジェンダー問題が進展する可能性はある。
現に、日本でも、若年層を中心にジェンダー問題への意識は高まっており、この１～２年、司法、行政、立法、自治体、ビジネスなどの各場において、育休、事実婚、同性婚、ＬＧＢＴ、夫婦別姓、議会選挙女性クオータ制などの動きが活発化している。
日本では、派手な衝突は避けつつ、相手の意向や内外の状況の変化をくみ取り、妥協のための「空気」が醸成されるのを待つ手法が、なお有力だ。
その国内の「空気」であるが、少しずつだが、変化している。上述の諸課題について、与党内でも、取り組みが始まったことは、その一つだ。与野党を含め、特に若手政治家がこの機運をうまく捉えることになるか、見守りたい。
筆者は元駐バチカン大使。本論考は、２０２１年６月１９日に共同通信オンラインサイト47NEWSに掲載されたものを、短縮改定したもの。
▽「伝統主義」対「啓蒙思想」
そこで、大雑把だが、ＷＥＦのリストを、格差の高低により、４層に分けて俯瞰しよう。
第１層は、男女格差が最小で、世俗主義（脱宗教色）が強い北欧などの国（Ａ群）だ。次に来る第２層は、米国を含め、まだ厚い信仰心が残る欧米や中南米の国（Ｂ群）だ。第３層は、儒教圏、東アジアの国々（Ｃ群）、ならびに東南アジアのイスラム国（Ｄ群）だ。格差が最も大きい第４層は、サウジアラビアなど中近東の保守的イスラム国（Ｅ群）だ。
特にE群では、宗教儀礼でも、公教育でも、今日なお、男女は「隔離」されている。 ただ、Ａ～Ｃ群でも、数十年から百数十年前までは、男女別々（隔離主義）が基本で、今日のサウジに近かった。
では、Ａ～Ｃ群は、どのようにサウジ的なものから別れたのか。男女平等をうたう啓蒙思想の攻勢を受け、伝統主義が後退したのだ。宗教や教育の場に絞って、概観する。
▽教育、宗教の現場
Ａ群は、啓蒙思想の本場であったことから、１８～１９世紀以降、男女間隔壁は他群に先駆けて低減した。同群は、かつてはプロテスタント色が強かったが、現在では「脱キリスト教化」が進み、もって、伝統的な女性観を捨て、女性の権利にこだわるようになった。
Ｂ群は、Ａ群と似た軌跡を歩んだが、Ａ群より伝統主義が強く、半～１世紀の遅れがあった。Ｂ群には、米国も含まれるものの、カトリック国が多い。
２０世紀半ばまで、ローマ教皇は、「ミサであれ、学校であれ、男女が交じることは望ましくない」と説いていた。当時のカトリック教会では、教会堂に入ると、左側に女性席、右側に男性席が設けられ、男女は隔離されていた。が、１９２０～３０年ごろになると、教育現場では共学化が進み、隔壁は崩れ始めた。
Ｃ群（儒教圏）での女性の位置付けは、カトリック国と同様に保守的だ。男女間隔壁の低減は、Ｂ群同様、比較的最近のことである。因みに、「紅白歌合戦」のように、男女分離の発想を踏襲しているものは、日本ではなお少なくない。
E群（保守的イスラム諸国）は、啓蒙思想の受容に極めて消極的であり、教育・宗教の両面で男女間隔壁はなお堅固である。タリバンのように、教育から女性を排除する勢力すらある。
一方で、インドネシアなどD群（東南アジアのイスラム国）は、Ｅ群とは違い、そこそこ世俗化が進んでおり、公立学校では男女共学を取り入れている。
▽政治等の分野での隔壁
以上、過去１～２世紀を振り返れば、人々の意識は大きく変わり、教育面・宗教面での男女間隔壁は低下した。１００～１５０年前の常識は、Ｅ群を除き、今日では通用しない。以下、政治の分野につき見てみよう。
Ａ群では、北欧、ドイツ、ニュージーランドなどで、女性が首相を務めており、欧州の上場企業における女性役員比率は３０～５０％のレベルが普通だ。
保守色が濃いと言われていたB群のアイルランドやスペインなども近年変貌を遂げた。アイルランドでは、２０余年女性が大統領を務め、スペインでも、２０１８年に成立した社会労働党政権では閣僚の半数強が女性であった。米国では初の女性副大統領が誕生した。因みに、この３国における「変貌」は保守からリベラルへの政権交代期に起きている。
Ｃ群でも、世代交代に伴い国民の意識は着実に変わってきている。台湾では女性の総統を出し、同性婚の合法化をアジアで初めて実現。韓国は、議会選挙で候補者の一定割合を女性に割り当てるクオータ制を採用している。
A～C各群を通し、男女間の隔壁は、政治、行政、司法、ビジネス、専門職などの領域でなお根強いが、啓蒙思想からの挑戦は続く。
▽日本では？
日本の保守派は概して、儒教的、伝統的心性を残しており、男女平等の深化には違和感があるようだ。 日本で変革は進むだろうか。カトリック圏の事例が参考となりそうだ。「女性独自の役割」にこだわる日本の保守派の考え方は、カトリック保守派に通じるものがあるからだ。
つい数十年前まで保守的と言われていたカトリック圏のスペインやアイルランドですら、ジェンダー間の隔壁は低減し、啓蒙主義へと軸足が移った。とすれば、日本でも、カトリック圏同様、ジェンダー問題が進展する可能性はある。
現に、日本でも、若年層を中心にジェンダー問題への意識は高まっており、この１～２年、司法、行政、立法、自治体、ビジネスなどの各場において、育休、事実婚、同性婚、ＬＧＢＴ、夫婦別姓、議会選挙女性クオータ制などの動きが活発化している。
日本では、派手な衝突は避けつつ、相手の意向や内外の状況の変化をくみ取り、妥協のための「空気」が醸成されるのを待つ手法が、なお有力だ。
その国内の「空気」であるが、少しずつだが、変化している。上述の諸課題について、与党内でも、取り組みが始まったことは、その一つだ。与野党を含め、特に若手政治家がこの機運をうまく捉えることになるか、見守りたい。
筆者は元駐バチカン大使。本論考は、２０２１年６月１９日に共同通信オンラインサイト47NEWSに掲載されたものを、短縮改定したもの。
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟