- Catalyst

The Case for
GENDER DIVERSITY
IN JAPAN
Women are Japan’s underutilized resource.
JAPAN’S LABOR FORCE IS IN DECLINE
TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE WORKFORCE IN 20121
65.55 million people
Changing demographics
are affecting
the workforce:
63.8%
50.9%
2010
Highest in
2060
SHRINKING WORKING-AGE
POPULATION (15-64)2
24.1% the world4
20123
children per woman
1.37
1.74
Japan
OECD
average
GROWING ELDERLY
POPULATION (65+)
39.9%
20605
LOW FERTILITY RATE6
Population is expected to decrease
7
by 32.3% by 2060.
WOMEN ARE AN UNDERUTILIZED RESOURCE
PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN PARTICIPATING IN THE
LABOR FORCE BY AGE GROUP9
UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT8
MEN
57%
77.6
68.6
68.7
WOMEN
67.7
71.7
75.7
73.4
64.6
43%
45.8
13.4
-6
4
65
+
60
-5
9
-5
4
55
50
-4
9
-4
4
45
40
-3
9
35
-3
4
30
-2
9
25
-2
4
20
15
-1
9
14.6
Male comparison
Approximate time of marriage and children10
WOMEN ARE DROPPING OUT OF THE WORKFORCE
Women are expected to be their children’s primary caregivers.
60%
OF WOMEN STOP WORKING AFTER
BEARING THEIR FIRST CHILD.11
DAYCARE USAGE RATE12
0-2 YEARS OLD
NUMBER OF CHILDREN
ENROLLED IN DAYCARE
26.2%
2,291,581
ALL DAYCARE
AGED CHILDREN
NUMBER OF CHILDREN
WAIT-LISTED FOR DAYCARE13
35%
22,741
Men are not engaged in childcare/housework.
TIME SPENT ON CHILDCARE/HOUSEWORK BY MEN PER DAY14
FRANCE
2 hr 30 min
U.S.
2hr 45 min
UK
2hr 46 min
20%
JAPAN
1hr 7 min
GERMANY
3 hr
OF WORKING MEN
AGED 30 TO 4915
WORK
60 hours
OR MORE PER WEEK.
2
WOMEN ARE NOT ADVANCING IN WORKPLACES
THE MAJORITY OF WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE
ARE “NON-REGULAR” WORKERS
(i.e., they hold positions that are part-time, temporary, or
fixed-term through a staffing agency)16
WOMEN
MEN
54.5
%
Women dropping out of
the workforce in their early
30s miss the managerial
19.8%
promotions that tend to
occur at this age.17
Two track system
Many large corporations in Japan use a two-track system.
MAIN CAREER TRACK
“SOGOUSHOKU”
Male dominated
Career path for management
Employees on the main career track are often required to transfer
within the company and/or relocate in order to advance.18
CLERICAL CAREER TRACK
“IPPANSHOKU”19
Female dominated
Career path for support and administrative positions
MAIN CAREER TRACK EMPLOYEES20
5.6%
Women
94.4%
Men
65.1%
of women on the main career track leave their company within 10 years.
MAIN CAREER TRACK EMPLOYEES WHO REMAINED WITH THE COMPANY FOR 10 YEARS21
63.3
35.5%
Non-managerial positions
Managerial positions
%
41.5%
55.4%
Non-managerial positions
Managerial positions
3
SOLUTIONS
1
2
3
Create workplaces that do not
Encourage leaders to role
Create talent management
penalize women for having
model work-life effectiveness
systems that focus on
children: encourage
by working fewer hours, taking
performance and not hours
return-to-work programs,
vacation and parental leave,
at work.
flexible work arrangements,
and building a safe
and working virtually.
environment for all employees
to do so as well.
If Japan can close its gender employment gap, it can raise its
22
GDP by 12.5%. Working women work for Japan.
SOURCES
1.
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internalhttp://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c0117.htm#c02
Affairs and Communications, Statistical Handbook of Japan 2013 (2013).
2.
National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, “II.
Summary of Population Trends,” Population Projections for Japan 2011 to 2060
http://www.ipss.go.jp/site-ad/index_english/esuikei/gh2401e.asp
(January 2012).
3.
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c0117.htm#c02
and Communications, Statistical Handbook of Japan 2013 (2013).
4.
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c0117.htm#c02
and Communications, Statistical Handbook of Japan 2013 (2013).
5.
National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, “II.http://www.ipss.go.jp/site-ad/index_english/esuikei/gh2401e.asp
Summary of Population Trends,” Population Projections for Japan 2011 to 2060
(January 2012).
6.
http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/japan/
OECD,“ Japan,” OECD Better Life Index (2013).
7.
http://www.ipss.go.jp/syoushika/tohkei/newest04/point.pdf
“Japan’s
Population Projection,” National Institute of Population and Social Security Research press release (In Japanese), January 30, 2012.
8.
Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology, “Heisei 24-Nendo Gakko Kihon Chosa (kakuteichi) No Kohyo Ni Tsuite”
http://www.mext.go.jp/component/b_menu/other/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2012/12/21/1329238_1_1.pdf
(In Japanese) (2012).
9.
Statistics Japan,
I-A-2
Population
Labour
h t t“Table
p://w
w w.
s t a t . g oof. j15
p /Years
e n gold
l i s hor/ More
d a t ain/ ro
u d oForce
u / reand
p onot
r t /in
2 0Labour
1 2 / i nForce
d e xby
. hage,”
tm
Labour Force Survey 2012 (2012).
10.
Gender
Equality Bureau Cabinet Office, “Work,” Women and Men in Japan 2013 (2013).
http://www.gender.go.jp/english_contents/pr_act/pub/pamphlet/women-and-men13/
11.
Gender
Equality Bureau Cabinet Office, “Work,” Women and Men in Japan 2013 (2013).
http://www.gender.go.jp/english_contents/pr_act/pub/pamphlet/women-and-men13/
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/file/04-Houdouhappyou-11907000-Koyoukintoujidoukateikyoku-Hoikuka/0000022681.pdf
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Hoikusho Kanren Jyokyo Torimatome (Report on Day-Care-Related Status) (In Japanese), (April 1, 2013).
12.
13.
14.
15.
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Hoikusho Kanren Jyokyo Torimatome (Report on Day-Care-Related Status) (In Japanese), (April 1, 2013).
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/file/04-Houdouhappyou-11907000-Koyoukintoujidoukateikyoku-Hoikuka/0000022681.pdf
Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office, “Work-Life Balance,” Women and Men in Japan 2013 (2013).
http://www.gender.go.jp/english_contents/pr_act/pub/pamphlet/women-and-men13/pdf/1-4.pdf
http://www.gender.go.jp/english_contents/pr_act/pub/pamphlet/women-and-men13/pdf/1-4.pdf
Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office, “Work-Life Balance,” Women and Men in Japan 2013 (2013).
17.
Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office, Danjo Kyodo Sankaku Hakusho Heisei 25-Nendoban (Gender Equality White Paper) (In Japanese) (2013).
http://www.gender.go.jp/about_danjo/whitepaper/h25/zentai/html/honpen/b1_s02_01.html
h t t pCabinet
: / / w wOffice,
w . g eToward
n d e r .Active
g o . j Participation
p / e n g l i s hof_Women
c o n t eas
n tthe
s / aCore
bou
_ d a n jStrategies—From
o / w h i t e p a p ethe
r / “White
i n d e xPaper
. h t mon
l
Gender Equality Bureau
oftGrowth
18.
http://asiaintensiv.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/60111353/IMF%20Can%20Women%20
Chad Steinberg and Masato
Nakane, IMF Working Paper: Can Women Save Japan? (International Monetary Fund, 2012).
19.
OECD, Policies for Revitalisation of Japan (2012); Shiho Futagami, Non-Standard
Employment in Japan: Gender Dimensions (International
http://www.oecd.org/general/50190618.pdf
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---inst/documents/
20.
Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office, Toward Active Participation of Women as the Core of Growth Strategies—From the “White Paper on
Gender Equality 2013” Summary 2/2 (2013).
21.
Gender
Equality Bureau Cabinet Office, Danjo Kyodo Sankaku Hakusho Heisei 25-Nendoban (Gender Equality White Paper) (In Japanese) (2013);
http://www.gender.go.jp/about_danjo/whitepaper/h25/zentai/html/honpen/b1_s00_03.html(
Ministry
of Health, Labour, and Welfare, Kosu-Betsu Koyo Kanri Seido no Jisshi Shido Jyokyo (2010).
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/general/seido/koyou/danjokintou/dl/cource_joukyou.pdf
22.
http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/investing-in-women/bios-pdfs/womenomics3_the_time_is_now_pdf.pdf
Kathy
Matsui, Hiromi Suzuki, Kazunori Tatebe, Tsumugi Akiba, Womenomics 4.0: Time to Walk the Talk (Goldman Sachs, May 30, 2014).
16.
Gender Equality 2013” Summary 2/2 (2013).
Institute for Labour Studies, 2010).
publication/wcms_192841.pdf
h t t p : / / w w w . g e n d e r. g o . j p / e n g l i s h _ c o n t e n t s / a b o u t _ d a n j o / w h i t e p a p e r / i n d e x . h t m l
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
created: 16 June 2014
www.catalyst.org
w catalyst.org
w w. c a t a l y s t . o rg
4