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TOKYO, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Japan Airlines named its first woman president on Wednesday She will be a former flight attendant who rose to senior management.This is a deeply symbolic move in a country struggling to close the wide gender gap in the workplace.
Mitsuko Tottori, chief executive who joined JAL in 1985, the year the company suffered one of the worst plane crashes in the company’s history, will become president from April 1.
The appointment comes at a time when Japanese companies face increasing pressure to promote gender diversity and address the gender pay gap, which is the worst among Group of Seven countries and nearly double the group average of the advanced economies in the OECD.
“There are employees who are having difficulty taking a step in their professional careers or who are going through major life events,” Tottori said at a news conference.
Current Japan Airlines President Yuji Akasaka and new President Mitsuko Tottori attend a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (REUTERS / Reuters)
“I hope that my appointment as president can encourage them or give them the courage to take the next step,” she added.
The change comes as the airline tries to recover from the pandemic-induced recession and tourists return to Japan in droves.
Following the collision between a JAL aircraft and a Japanese Coast Guard aircraft, airline safety is the focus this month at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. All 379 passengers escaped when the plane burst into flames.
JAL said Tottori acquired a “high level of knowledge and field experience” in security and service operations.
Japan Airlines said it will appoint its first female president, a former flight attendant, setting an extremely rare example by taking over as a female executive at a major Japanese company. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP) / Japan OUT (Photo by -/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty) (- via Getty Images)
The current president, Yuji Akasaka, will become president of the council The airline continues to hold the position of representative director, it said in its statement.
Yoshiharu Ueki, the current CEO, will step down from his position in April and step down as a director in June following shareholder approval.
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JAL has set a target for 30% of senior management across the group to be women for the end of the financial year ending March 2026.
At the end of March 2023, the corresponding value was 22.8%.
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya, Mariko Katsumura and Satoshi Sugiyama;
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