Equal Opportunity for Japanese Women - What Progress?

Extract

In addition to political participation, women's groups in Japan continue to advocate for equality in employment opportunities and to challenge gendered labor structures. Charles Weathers discusses the question of whether Japan has truly progressed towards equal career opportunities for women after twenty years of legislative interventions (1985-2005). Weathers provides a concise overview of some of the lingering obstacles that women confront in Japan's workforce. First, he highlights the reality that companies in Japan find ways of evading gender equality in hiring and promotion structures. The so-called “dual-track” personnel system allowed corporations to hire managers (men) versus clerical workers (women). Even after the equality laws established in 1985 and 1999, firms could still divide workers into “regular” versus “non-regular” categories. Female employees often fall into the category of “non-regular” workers, which include “part-timers” who may work full hours or temporary employees with limited contracts. Non-regular workers lack job security, an issue particularly discriminatory when some firms continue to offer “regular” male employees lifetime employment.