Japanese Working Women Essay

It is often deemed that Japanese women are obedient and respectful to men. Likewise, Japanese women have been required to prioritise their households among other matters, and their commitments to family were high. Japanese working women typically begin their jobs after graduating high school or junior college, retire after marriage or childbirth, and then return as part-time or temporary workers in their forties.

Gender equality in employment in Japan was mainly developed through the Constitution, the Labor Standards Law (“LSL”), the Civil Code, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Law (“EEOL”). Article 14 of the Constitution establishes legal equality of opportunity for men and women in relations between citizens and the State . Later the

The enactment of the EEOL was deemed to resolve gender inequality issues which the Constitution, the LSL, and the Civil Code previously could not solve. However, lack of prohibitory language in the EEOL and the EEOL’s one-sidedness were still disadvantageous for gender equality. In lieu of sanctions, the EEOL established an informal dispute resolution system based on mediation. However the dispute resolution system cannot effectively replace sanctions and punishments. For Japanese working women to begin the dispute resolution, they firstly need their employer’s consent. Even though the dispute resolution has started with the employer’s consent, the employer may refuse to accept orders from the mediator since the settlement under this system is not binding. Furthermore, as the EEOL focuses only on employment of women, it may be unfavourable or unfair for working men in Japan. Since the societal gender stereotype in Japan is one of the issues with gender inequality in employment, the EEOL should consider men as well for a balance of their career and households. Also, future development of the EEOL should be able to make men to refrain themselves to consider women as a threat in

Japanese society still automatically and strongly perceives women as carers, and it results in women giving up their career opportunities. Two main qualities of Japanese style of employment management are lifetime employment and seniority-based promotions. In these circumstances, it would be very difficult for Japanese women to have their careers. This societal perception is directly and precisely shown in Articles 1 and 2 of the EEOL . The Articles explain the purpose of the law as assisting women in harmonising career and family. It is the existence of gender stereotype in the law and Japanese society what maintains gender inequality in