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RENGO is furthering its activities by creating guidelines for each of the four stages based on the "Plan of Action for Promoting Female Participation" (agreed upon at the 2nd Convention in October 1998).
The Plan of Action calls for 15% female membership in the Central Executive Committee, in each affiliated organization by the year 2000. RENGO is now in the fourth and final stage (the 4th Working Guideline, decided at the 8th Central Executive Committee Meeting in April 1998). RENGO endorsed this stance at the 23rd Central Executive Committee Meeting on April 15, stating it will reinforce the "4th Working Guideline on the Gender-Equal Opportunity Promotional Plan" as follows. Based on its progress as of the end of December 1998, RENGO will initiate work on the plan until October 2000.
| I. Progress outline for the current period (1998) |
The ratio of female officials at RENGO headquarters is 7.7% or 4 out of 52 officials (an increase of one official since the last stage).
The ratio of female officials at affiliate organizations, including Presidents, Deputy Presidents, Secretaries General, and Central Executive Committee Members, is 6.5% (an increase of 0.9 since the last stage) or a total of 102 women out of 1574 members (an increase of 8) in 74 organizations as of February 1999.
The number of female officials at local RENGO has steadily grown to 74 (an increase of 16 officials over the last stage). However, there are no female officials at six local RENGO.
Ever since establishing the Plan of Action, the rates of female officials at all affiliate organizations are 5.46% for the first stage (1992-3), 5.7% for the second (1994-5), 5.59% for the third (1996-7), and 6.5% for the ongoing 4th stage.
Female officials account for 18% of the total number of officials sent by RENGO to national deliberative councils. That is, 22 officials (2 more than the previous year) in 18 councils (an increase of 2 councils).
| II. Reinforcement of the 4th Working Guideline Precepts |
- Since the 4th Working Guideline, set in April 1998, will expire in the year 2000, its term will be extended by one year to three years from 1998 to October 2000. The 2nd "Gender-Equal Opportunity Promotional Plan" will plan for movements after the year 2001.
- The amended Equal Opportunity Law enforced in April 1999, prohibits gender bias in employment (undue dismissal or favoritism of females, discriminatory treatment due to one's gender) while encouraging management to take "positive action" (equality-promotion policies) to create gender-equal conditions in the workplace. We must appoint more female officials in labor union activities that support the promotion of gender equality in the workplace. Furthermore, government and local government have set a goal of increasing the number of female deliberative council members to 20% and continue in that effort. Deliberation on "The Basic Gender Equal Society Bill" is underway at the current 145 Diet session. The bill stipulates "the right to jointly participate in the policy and decision-making processes at private organizations." Labor unions need to better grasp the conditions surrounding male/female workers in unions thus far and the actual situation that stems from traditional practices or commonly held notions based on conventional gender roles. It is becoming all the more essential to improve conditions that make it difficult for females to function, and make a systematic effort to encourage females to participate in overall union activities.
- Each affiliate organization should recognize anew that the target number for the Gender-Equal Opportunity Promotional Plan is 15% by the year 2000. They should further the concrete actions in place to assign female officials at the headquarters, local organizations, and member unit unions as soon as possible.
- Local RENGO will promote female participation in their overall activities by placing female officials in districts where there previously were none, appointing women to permanent official positions, and reconsidering the managing of female committees among other things.
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