Japanese Women in Management: Getting Closer to ‘Realities’ in Japan

Japanese female employment expanded considerably over the post-war period, as in other industrial countries. The number of paid female members of the labour force tripled over the past forty years. The ratio of female workers to total number of employees has grown from 31.1 per cent in 1960 to 41.0 per cent in 2002. This development, however, did not greatly improve the gender equality in Japanese workplaces. Women managers are still seldom seen in Japan. According to the Gender Empowerment Measure, ¹ Japan ranks 44th among 70 countries (UNDP, 2003: pp. 314–317). Taken together with the index of the rate of female legislators, senior officials and managers, Japan's score drops to 62, with only 8 countries behind. The small number of female managers, coupled with a shorter length of service among female workers, is regarded as the most crucial factor underlying the persistent gender wage gap in Japan (MHLW, 2003). In 2002, female Japanese workers earned 66.5 per cent of male workers' earnings. The gap has since been slightly narrowed, but it is still one of the worst among industrial countries (WEC, 2003: p. 49).