ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. Career is the central concept to understanding these women's lives, because it is their professional career that sets them apart. Japanese women have been employed in professional career tracks for decades, thanks in part to the 1985 Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL), which guarantees women equal opportunities and treatment. Despite this, women still must fight institutionalized prejudice in order to be accepted as equals in the workforce. Since the Japanese economic recession of the 1990s, the female workforce has experienced revolutionary changes as even more women have sought to establish careers. Women can finally enter the marketplace and remain employed, even after marriage and childbirth. The academic literature on the female Japanese labor force focuses on the work of farmer's wives, urban housewives, and blue-collar workers but very little attention has been paid to professional career women.
