Japan’s Neglected Resource: Female Workers

Inequality in Japan's workplace is not only keeping Japanese women down, but also Japan itself. With population decline threatening huge labor shortages and possible economic collapse, it would seem Japan might be eager to tap into an underutilized segment of the population. Indeed, many experts maintain that expanding the role of women in the workplace could be the best stimulus for Japan's lagging economy. As it is, however, women occupy only 9 percent of the country's managerial positions – compared to 45 percent in the US – and are generally hired to perform clerical tasks and tea service, no matter what their experience. Many companies refuse to promote women because they see childbearing as an insupportable disruption, often firing those who become pregnant or wish to take maternity leave. Such discrimination, coupled with a severe deficit of daycare centers, makes maternity perhaps the foremost obstacle facing working Japanese women. In a country threatened with population decline, discouraging women to bear children seems immensely counterproductive. However, even high ranking officials harbor entrenched biases and maintain that overeducation – not inadequate support or discrimination – is the reason Japanese women are having fewer children. – YaleGlobal