1. ‘Gender is inherently a political matter’. Do you agree with this statement?

Discuss by
exploiting concrete examples.
From my perseptive, I totally agree with the statement of “Gender is inherently a political
matter”.
Gender and politic are part and parcel. It is no longer only a matter of belief, but a feild of
study. The concept of gender is not solely a neutral or objective aspect of human identity but is
deeply entwined with social, cultural, and political dynamics. Gender encompasses the roles,
behaviors, expectations, and identities associated with being male or female, and these aspects
are shaped by societal norms, power structures, and political systems. Based on this, political
decisions and legal frameworks can either challenge or reinforce traditional gender norms.
A few modern instances will highlight the relevance of gender in politics in a clearest way.
When we look at some of the fundamental issues that split US politics today, such as
reproductive rights, which are most contentious in the form of abortion and accessing to
contraception, or same-sex marriage, we can see that many of the 'culture wars' are fought over
the immensely gendered problems of sexuality and bodily autonomy.1
The most popular phenomenon that directly relate to gender-politic is the
underrepresentation of women in political leadership positions. Globally, women are generally
underrepresented in legislatures, cabinets, and executive administrations. Gender quotas and
affirmative action programs are examples of efforts to solve this issue, highlighting gender's
political dimension.
Or talking about gender-based economic disparities, these are often influenced by political
decisions, such as wage policies and workplace regulations, which is still a hot debate ever. The
discussion over equal pay legislation, transparency measures, and affirmative action to address
salary gaps highlights the political component of gender-sensitive economic policy. In 2023, EU
had introduced the rules of paying. Under the rules, pay structures to compare pay levels will
have to be based on gender-neutral criteria and include gender-neutral job evaluation and
classification systems. Vacancy notices and job titles will have to be gender neutral and
recruitment processes led in a non-discriminatory manner.2
We can see from this is that the affected groups are usually women and “other gender” as
many societies have historically been structured around patriarchal systems, where men, usually,
hold more power and privilege than the rest and there are also stereotypes of the gender.
All in all, recognizing gender as a political issue is critical for comprehending and dealing
with the intricacies of several oppressive regimes.

1
Gender Matters in Politics, published in The Political Quarterly, vol 38, no 1, 2012
2
Gender pay gap: Parliament adopts new rules on binding pay-transparency measures, European Parliament
2. In what ways does women’s employment provide a useful perspective to assess and
understand the economic transition since the 1970s?
The 1970s saw a rise in women's engagement in the workforce. Since then, they have been
a growing factor in the economic transition.
This tendency was fueled by shifting societal standards, women's liberation movements,
and the requirement for multiple incomes in many homes. More women have entered and stayed
in the workforce, resulting in a bigger and more varied labor pool. Also, women are breaking
away from conventional roles and entering professions that were previously dominated by males,
contributing to a more gender-inclusive workforce. Furthermore, there are more and more
women pursuing higher education, leading to a better-educated female workforce that contributes
to innovation and economic growth.
Besides the undeniable positivity of the greater quantity as well as quality of women’s
employment having brought to the labor force, this also brings some hidden pros. This is because
men and women have the same potential, but they bring distinct talents and ideas—that are
economically valuable—to the table (Ostry and others 2018). A recent IMF research (Ostry and
others 2018), based on macroeconomic, sectoral, and firm-level data, reveals that men and
women complement each other in the workplace by bringing distinct talents and perspectives,
including different attitudes toward risk and collaboration. As a consequence, expanding
women's employment raises growth and earnings more than previously thought, outperforming
the benefit of merely adding workers. Closing the greatest disparities in participation rates
contributes 35 percent to GDP on average. Four-fifths of the advantages come from increasing
labor force participation, but the remaining one-fifth comes from increased productivity as a
result of greater gender diversity. The study also demonstrates that increasing women's labor
force participation yields considerable improvements in economic welfare, which account for
changes in consumption goods, home production, and leisure time; these gains surpass 20% in
South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.3
Taking the case of the US, the additional productive power of women entering the
workforce from 1970 until today accounts for approximately a quarter of current GDP. As the
United States struggles to maintain historic GDP growth rates, it is crucial to get more women
into the workforce and fully employ high-skilled women to drive productivity improvement.
From 1970 to 2009, women held roughly 48% of all employment, up from 37%. That equals to
about 38 million more women in work force. Without them, the economy would be 25% less
today, which is equivalent to the combined GDP of Illinois, California, and New York.4
In general, since entering the work force, women have made major contributions to the
economy, presenting a positive image of the economic change since the 1970s.

3
Closing the Gender Gap: The benefits of bringing more women into the labor force are greater than previously
thought, Era Dabla-Norris and Kalpana Kochhar
4
Unlocking the full potential of women in the US economy, Joanna Barsh and Lareina Yee
3. Women's underrepresentation in Japan is persistent because of the lack of government action.
Do you agree with the statement? Discuss by exploiting concrete examples.
It is true that the low number of female political MPs in parliament exemplifies Japan's
stagnant political and economic empowerment of women. As of 2 February 2019, there were 47
female MPs in the House of Representatives (the lower house in Japan). This figure represents
10.2 per cent of the total number of MPs and, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s
‘Women in National Parliaments’, which ranks countries in order of the proportion of female
representatives in the lower house, Japan is positioned 164th out of 191, sandwiched between the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gambia (jointly 163rd) and Samoa (165th). Needless to
say, Japan’s ranking is the lowest among the OECD as well as East Asian countries, including
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea, 127th). 5
At some extends, the underlying cause of this phenomenon is due to the lack of
government action. Japan has done very little to address the lack of women in politics. The Act
on Promotion of Gender Equality in the Political Field (the Gender Parity Law) in 2019 to boost
the number of women elected to office. Unfortunately, this law lacks an enforcement mechanism
and hence has had little effect. In the 2021 Lower House election, the number of female
lawmakers fell to 45, two less than in the 2017 election.
The key to getting more women into politics, at least at the national level, lies with the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The LDP has controlled the National Diet virtually constantly
since 1955, yet it opposes the implementation of gender quotas.
The 2022 Upper House election will be the third national election after the Gender Parity
Law was introduced. So far, the CDPJ, SDP, and JCP have met or surpassed their aim of 50%
female candidates. In contrast, the LDP has no aim, and women account for fewer than a fourth
of its candidates. Unless the Gender Parity Law is enforced, it is unlikely to foresee a large rise
in the number of women elected to the Diet.
However, besides that, there is a question is that whether the women truly want to run for
that position? Given the obstacles that politically ambitious women face, it is not surprising that
many women are turned off by the idea. Sexual harassment and assault is one of the challenges
that they have to face. Legislative councils and parliaments must be appealing places to work for
women in order to recruit them. Eliminating sexual harassment from all workplaces should be a
top concern. The Gender Parity Law was updated in 2021 to include a provision aimed at
preventing sexual harassment in politics. While this is a positive step, given the law's lack of
influence thus far, it is difficult to predict the prospective impact of this modification. 6
Overall, women's underrepresentation is a global issue, not exclusive to Japan. However, as
a developed country belonging to the G7 group, this is quite problematic for Japan. It prevents
5
Discursive Politics of Gender in Japan, Hiroko Takeda
6
Japan’s stubborn gender inequality problem, EastAsia Forum, Dr Emma Dalton - School of Global, Urban and Social
Studies at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)
Japan from benefiting from the significant contributions that women could have made if they had
been more represented.