1. Family values

2. Social Stratification Mobility Survey

3. The Equal Employment Opportunity Law

4. Gender Inequality Index

5. Gender roles through traditions and modern society

6. Gender gap in employment and wages

7. Other incidents

8. See also

9. References

Japan is a high income society with high levels of gender inequality. In 2015 Japan had a per capita income of 38,883 USD^[1], which ranked it #22 among 188 countries and it ranked 17 in on the Human Development Index^[2], yet its Gender Inequality Index rank was #21, relatively high for such a developed nation.^[3] This disparity between welfare achieved and gender inequality owes to the persistence of gender norms. Gender inequality manifests in various aspects of social life from the family to political representation, playing a particular influence in employment opportunities and income, and occurs largely as a result of differing gender roles in traditional and modern Japanese society

Family values

Japan's family dynamics have historically been defined by a female housewife/caregiver role and a male earner role, a historically common gender division of labor. After Japan's involvement in World War II ended, the resulting Japanese Constitution included article 24, "The Gender Equality Clause", which was introduced to steer Japan towards gender equality. However, deeply-embedded family and gender norms led to resistance among Japanese citizens, and the culture largely remained the same.^[4]

It was not until the mid-1970's that Japanese women began transitioning from primarily family duties to playing a larger role in the "visible" paid economy. Japanese men generally did not step in to play a larger role in the house during this transition. Studies have shown that there is a negative correlation between the number of hours worked by fathers at their jobs and the amount of housework (including childcare) that the father provides.^[5] After work, the father would come home, spend most of his time eating or in non-social interactions such as watching T.V. with his family.^[5] This led to the term "Japan INC", synonymous with males committing their life to their job while in a long term relationship.^[6]

Another term that became popular in Japan was the "relationless society", describing how men's long work hours left little-to-no time at home for them to bond with their families. Society in Japan came to be one of isolation within the household, since there was only enough time after work to take care of oneself, to the exclusion of the rest of the family.^[6] This held especially true for families who wished to have a second child. Due to corporation and work regulation laws, men of all ages in large firms are forced to prioritize work over the rest of their life.^[7] The limited amount of help from their male spouses forces the women of their respective houses to take up the majority of household chores and activities.^[7]

Social Stratification Mobility Survey

The SSM (Social Stratification and Mobility) survey was first conducted post-WWII and has been conducted every decade since.^[8] The first SSM survey took place in 1955 and aimed to study the economic foundations of Japan after the events of the second world war. A large scale survey like the SSM has its problems: many local issues go unnoticed and inequality stays hidden behind the curtains of households until a more focused survey can unveil more.^[8] However, even this survey was a major step toward national awareness around issues of gender equality.

In the fourth survey, finished in 1985, there was a significant recorded movement towards equality.^[8] Up until the fourth survey, women were only counted as housewives and family business labor (help with family owned businesses, like farm-work) did not count toward measures of economic mobility.^[8] It is here that we finally start to see a shift toward a more equal culture.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Law

With national surveys finally including women, the government introduced the Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL). Before the enactment of the EEOL, women were generally found labor-intensive jobs with poor working conditions, mostly on farms or in unsafe factories. Most other women generally found jobs as secretaries or assistants to high ranking males in offices^[8]. Post-EEOL Japan began to see blue collar jobs fill up with machines leaving the women to have better opportunities elsewhere in society^[8].

The Equal Employment Opportunity Law aimed to create equality within the workforce for people of all genders. Despite these goals, women were still being discriminated against in every field.^[9] Despite this constant discrimination, modern Japan continues to push forward with support from the EEOL (and other equality laws like the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)) toward safer and better-paying jobs for women. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe placed 5 women into political roles within his cabinet in 2014. Of these 5 women, only 3 kept their positions due to scandals related to workplace sexism^[10].

Gender Inequality Index

The Gender Inequality Index has Japan ranked as 21st out of 188 countries as of 2016.^[3] For this index, 0 represents full equality and 1 is total inequality, Japan places at 0.116 ^[10]. The GII measures three divisions: Reproductive Health, Empowerment and Labor Market. ^[11]

The Gender Inequality Index confirms that Japan has room for improvement. Japan lacks female voices in parliament, compared to similar Asian countries: Japan ranks as 4th lowest within the 51 highest developed countries. In terms of women in the labor force, Japan has the 6th lowest score. However, Japan ranks fairly well when it comes to adolescent birth rate and female population with some secondary education. Overall Japan is ranked among the countries with lowest GII because of its high scores in reproductive healthcare and women's education levels.^[2]

Gender roles through traditions and modern society

Gender roles in Japan are deeply entwined with Japan's religious and cultural history and tradition. Japan's most popular religion, Confucianism, enforces its own set of gendered rules, including fashion and public behavior. For instance, from a young age, Japanese men are taught the importance of professional success, higher education, honoring the family name, and providing for the family. Women, under the Confucianist tradition, only receive eduction through middle school, and are taught to focus on being respectful, learning to cook, and taking care of children. Under this framework, women are not supposed to have a paying job.

It was not until 1900 that women in Japan were allowed to earn a college degree. Contemporarily, instead of following the gendered traditions of family-rearing and home=keeping, women now can choose to focus on a professional career. Women taking a career instead of focusing on a family have become a target for blame regarding Japan's unusually low birthrate. While the cultural understanding of women's roles in society has changed, that of men's has not — honoring the family name and being a breadwinner are still deeply instilled priorities.

Gender gap in employment and wages

The gender gap in employment and wages in Japan is becoming an increasingly serious problem, with Japan being the fastest aging country in the OECD.^[12] In order to maintain Japan's economy, the government must take measures to maintain its level of productivity. Although more women are going to college, with women holding 45.4 percent of Japan's Bachelor's degrees, they only make up 18.2 percent of the labor force, and only 2.1 percent of employers are women.^[12]

There are several theories explaining Women's low participation in the workforce. One theory points to the importance of family in Japanese society.^[13][14] This emphasis on the male-breadwinner model persists today because government tax policies and company benefits are not as beneficial for women, especially women with families. There is a government policy that guarantees healthcare and pensions for spouses who make less than 1.3 million yen, or about $11,500, thus discouraging couples from both working.^[15] Japanese companies have extensive benefits for men because they are expected to provide for their families at home.^[13] Women therefore do not have the same financial incentives as men to work. Job salaries and benefits are also heavily influenced by tenure and seniority, making it hard for women with families to be in regular employment.^[15] Furthermore, three-generational households, which includes the grandparents, parents, and children, are very common in Japan.^[14]So the husband's salary and benefits provide for the whole family while the wife stays home and cares for the elderly and children.

There is also a large gap in wages between men and women. In 2005, Japan had a gender wage gap of 32.8 percent, and in 2017, the number decreased to 25.7 percent. Japan has the third highest wage gap in the OECD.^[12] The country's long work hours create an environment that reinforces the wage gap because there is a disproportional difference between how much time men and women spend on paid and unpaid work.^[12]On average, women spend 5.5 hours on unpaid housework per day, whereas men only spend one hour.^[15] Men do very little housework in Japan, and this is part of the gendered labor division.^[16] The Japanese prioritization of seniority hurts the women who want to have children first, as promotions will be awarded much later in life. The number of women in upper level positions (managers, CEOs, and politicians, etc.) are rather low. Women only make up 3.4 percent of seats in Japanese companies' board of directors.^[12] According to scholars, in order to remove these barriers against women, the government must introduce more women- and family-friendly policies.^[13][17]

Labor market segregation is associated with the gender wage gap. Post-World War II, the state deliberately made decisions to divide the labor pool by gender.^[18]

Findings show that majority-female workplaces have 5.1% lower wages than majority-male workplaces, for all genders. This percentage only accounts for full-time workers, and does not account for part-time female workers who may also be raising children.^[19][20]

An alternative theory, The Compensating Wage Differential hypothesis, states that women are not forced into these jobs per se, but instead that they pick and choose their occupations based on the benefits package that each can provide. From work availability, to health compensation, women may choose to have a lower wage in order to have certain job benefits.^[20] A study by Wei-hsin Yu shows that there is also a connection between wage raises if you are currently working in an environment that includes a majority of women.^[21]

A competing theory from Mary Brinton suggests that the government is structured around devices that disallow women to find "good jobs."^[19] The third key theory comes from Higuchi Keiko, claiming that changes in public policy are needed to encourage gender diversity in the workplace.^[19] Keiko argues that existing government policies disincentivize women from working.^[19] One such law pushed in the 1960's was called hitozukuri policy, or human-making policy.^[19] This policy burdened women with the responsibility to reproduce a new generation capable of economic success.^[19]

Other incidents

In 2018 it was revealed that several university medical schools favored male applicants by using different passing marks for men and women.^[22]

See also

• Gender Equality Bureau, Japan
• Family policy in Japan
• Feminism in Japan
• Kyariaūman, career woman
• Women in Japan

References

• Ream Chbong Yeung
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