TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp.’s incoming chief executive officer Koji Sato called his new management team a "diverse lineup” in terms of communication styles when explaining the carmaker’s strategy towards an electrified future.
It wasn’t so diverse in other ways. All seven of his top deputies are men.
The lack of female executives at the top of a Japanese business isn’t new.
Of the companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime bourse, 19% don’t have any women at an executive level, according to the government’s cabinet office.
At Toyota, the world’s No. 1 carmaker, only one of the nine current board members is a woman - Teiko Kudo (pic). She’ll stay on when the new directors, none of whom are female, come on board after shareholder approval later this year.
Sato’s two top deputies are now Hiroki Nakajima, who becomes chief technology officer, and Yoichi Miyazaki, who will be chief financial officer - both men.
Toyota does at least have a woman executive in Yumi Otsuka, who is chief sustainability officer.
She’s being appointed as a senior fellow from an operating officer position, according to today’s announcement.
Among Japan’s automakers, Nissan Motor Co.’s executive vice president Asako Hoshino stands out as the most senior-ranked women within the industry.
While Toyota is spending ¥4 trillion (RM131bil) to roll out 30 electric vehicle models by 2030, its strategy of offering multiple options for car buyers - gasoline engines, hybrids, battery-based EVs and hydrogen-powered cars - has led to criticism it isn’t shifting fast enough.
Sato said he’d seek to change that.
