Women are forbidden to wear glasses at workplace in Japan

Employers in Japan recently faced severe backlash for their discriminatory and sexist policies at the workplace. Women workers in Japan has been prohibited wearing eyeglasses based on the premise, "It makes them look cold, unfriendly, unfeminine or too intelligent," as reported by Business Insider.

Japan is known for its discipline and productive work culture. However, it remains to be in the news for its biased and inappropriate work appearance expectations from female staff. Earlier this year #KuToo movement gained prominence in support of women demanding to nullify laws that compel them to wear high heels. Over 21,000 people signed an online petition to stop Japanese firms from putting into place such laws.

No wonder, Japan ranked 110 out of 149 countries in the World Economic Forum's latest global gender gap report, which is way behind other developed countries. The question remains why a developed country like Japan is unable to bridge the gender gap while being adamant of imposing archaic, harsh, sexist laws in their companies. A much more significant question is, does development ensures equality?