Match each challenge to measures in the same area
A low share of women among new hires and a low share of women in management both indicate disparities, but they can call for different responses. Counting the number of measures would give credit for a long list of recruiting initiatives even when promotion is the more pressing issue. The relevant comparison is between the firm's challenge in an area and the measures it specifies for that area.
The analysis covers 16,888 Japanese firms with at least 101 employees that made the required information public. It examines indicators of hiring, promotion into management, retention, and long hours by industry and firm size, then classifies measures in 33,776 documents across two types of action plan.
Firms are more likely to list measures that match larger challenges
Moving from the 25th to the 75th percentile of a challenge indicator, the main analysis finds that the change in the probability of listing a measure was 8.07 percentage points larger for matching measures than for other measures. The comparison asks whether the increase is concentrated in measures that address the particular challenge.
That pattern is consistent with firms directing attention to areas where their indicators show greater difficulty. The analysis did not support the hypotheses that similar plan wording weakens the match or that larger promotion gaps lead firms to list only work or return-to-work support. The cross-sectional comparison cannot establish that a challenge caused the choice of measure.
An action plan and a delivered result are separate observations
Consider a firm with a promotion gap that commits to developing candidates for management. The plan shows that the stated response is relevant. It does not tell us who received development opportunities or whether the pool of candidates grew. Evaluating delivery and impact requires implementation records and later outcomes.
The plans are useful as a starting point because they connect a visible challenge to a stated response. When those links are clear, it is easier to decide what to follow up on and which outcomes would be informative.