Yahoo Finance Uniqlo boss says $28b job is better for a woman
Women have an “aesthetic sense”, are “persevering” and detail-oriented, Uniqlo boss Tadashi Yanai has said, arguing that his job would be better filled by a woman once he leaves the business.
Tadashi Yanai is the 70-year-old founder of the Fast Retailing clothing empire, and he believes his successor should be female, as Bloomberg Japan reports.
“The job is more suitable for a woman," Yanai said.
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"They are persevering, detailed oriented and have an aesthetic sense."
The founder and CEO of the AU$28 billion company has previously said he plans to increase the ratio of female senior executives to more than 50 per cent of the total, with Fast Retailing currently having six women in executive roles.
Fast Retailing last year posted an operating profit of US$2.3 billion, with Maji Akaida - the head of Uniqlo’s Japan operations - a likely successor. Yanai has previously said it’s “a possibility” that she will become his successor.
Japan placed 110 in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index for 2018 with women receiving wages an average 24.5 per cent lower than men in 2017 in the same role.
And across the country, only 4.1 per cent of executive titles at publicly traded firms are occupied by women.
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