Synopses & Reviews
Japanese women, who comprise more than 40% of their country's workforce, are essential to the Japanese economy. Yet they are not typically thought of as managers, at home or abroad. Jean Renshaw challenges that perception in this pathbreaking book, showing readers where and how an "invisible evolution" is occurring in Japanese business.
Traditional norms of lifetime employment, the seniority system, and the bureaucratic, tightly knit nature of Japanese industry all restrict women's entry into management. Despite these enormous barriers, the number of Japanese women managers has almost doubled in the last ten years. In an effort to discover the secrets of their success, Renshaw interviewed over 150 successful Japanese women managers. She explored family backgrounds, personal characteristics, socialization, professional experiences, and corporate cultures. This book presents her sometimes surprising discoveries. Renshaw completes the picture by surveying the history of Japanese women in management and discussing the even newer phenomenon of Japanese women who own their own businesses.
An eye-opening work for managers of international firms and scholars of business and women's studies, Kimono in the Boardroom reveals the potential of the rising female managerial class to profoundly change the male-dominated culture of modern Japan.
Review
"[Her] thesis is a strong one, and Renshaw supports her view not ony with statistics and other publicly available data but also with the stories of the interviewees and rich metaphors drawn from Japanese culture itself....A welcome addition to our knowledge of women in business in Japan, a wide-ranging exploration of the multifaceted context in which these women strive to succeed, and a book rich in information and imagery."--Academy of Management Review
Synopsis
This book describes the little known world of Japanese women managers. Though largely unrecognized, women in Japan are moving into management positions in increasing numbers, and their importance to Japan's future competitiveness is becoming more understood.
About the Author
Jean R. Renshaw is a management consultant specializing in international management. She has a special interest in the role of women in management and has studied women managers in the South Pacific, Japan, Korea, and the United States as a Fulbright Hayes Research Scholar. Her consulting work -- from a cross-cultural perspective -- has been with corporations, small businesses, government, and educational and nonprofit organizations. She has written for Asian and Western publications about the emergence of women managers in Japan and the rest of Asia. She has been professor of management at Pepperdine University, University of the South Pacific, University of Hawaii, and Eastern Oregon State College. She is a principal of AJR International Associates, International Management Consultants, and has a Ph.D. in Management from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Table of Contents
Part I - Japan's Hidden Assets
Introduction
1. Today's Japanese Woman
2. Growing Up Japanese and Female
3. Sex Roles, Creation Myths, and Power
Part II - The Drama of Corporate Life Roles, Action, and Status
4. Otoko no Shakai: A Man's World
5. The Search for Japanese Women Managers
6. Paths to Management
7. Glass Ceilings and Shoji Screens
Part III - Pawaa: A Redefinition of Power and Leadership
8. Samurai and Women Warriors
9. Moving Shoji Screens to Include Women
10. A Search for Identity
11. The Men in Their Lives
12. Visions and Strategic Choices
Epilogue - A Future for Japanese Women Managers?