Research

Women in the Workforce: Japan (Quick Take)

Nov 24, 2020

POPULATION

Japan’s Population Is One of the Fastest-Declining in the World1

Japan’s overall population is estimated to drop from 126.2 million in 2019 to 92.8 million by 2060.2

Three factors contribute to Japan’s rapidly changing demographics:

The population is aging. Over one-quarter (28.8%) of Japan’s population is 65 years old or older.3

  • Japan holds the highest share of the world’s population in this age group.4
  • By 2060, over one-third (38.1%) of Japan’s population will be 65 years old or older, compared to 24.1% of the population in the United States and 17.2% in India.5

The birthrate is falling. In 2019, Japan recorded the lowest number of annual births (865,239) in its recorded history (since 1899).6

Women are having children later, contributing to the falling birthrate. In 2019, the average age that a Japanese woman had her first child was 30.7, compared to 25.6 in 1970.7

EDUCATION

More Japanese Women Are Entering Higher Education8

Close to two-thirds (64%) of women age 25-34 have attained tertiary education degrees,9 compared to 59% of men.10

  • In 2019, slightly more than half (50.7%) of Japanese women advanced from secondary schools to universities, an increase from an advancement rate of only 15.2% in 1990.11
    • That same year, 56.6% of men advanced to universities.12
  • In 2019, women made up 45.4% of Japanese undergraduate students, yet only 32.4% of graduate students.13

LABOR FORCE

Japan Is Looking to Women to Offset Its Shrinking Labor Force14

Japan’s workforce is projected to decrease dramatically over the next two decades, from 65.3 million in 2017 to 52.5 million in 2040 (a loss of 19.6%).15

  • Since 2012, Japan has added more women, workers 65 years and older, and foreign workers to its labor force.16
Government Efforts Have Brought More Women into the Labor Force17

The employment rate of highly educated18 women has increased in the past decade, reaching 82% in 2019.19

In 2019, 53.3% of all Japanese women age 15 and older participated in the nation’s labor force, compared to 71.4% of men.20

  • In 2019, women represented 44.4% of the entire Japanese labor force.21
However, Japanese Women Are Highly Concentrated in Part-Time, Low-Paying Jobs22

In 2019, 44.2% of employed women were part-time and temporary workers, compared to only 11.7% of employed men.23

  • Women working in irregular, face-to-face, and rigidly scheduled jobs experienced economic losses equivalent to 9.8% of their earnings due to the Covid-19 pandemic, compared to 5.2% of earnings for men in these jobs.24
Working Mothers Face Numerous Challenges With Little Support25

Japanese women spend, on average, 3 hours and 44 minutes on unpaid labor (e.g., household chores and childcare) per day, compared to an average of only 41 minutes for men.26

Childcare providers are not keeping pace with the increasing numbers of working mothers. As of April 1, 2020, there were 12,439 children on waiting lists for daycare centers across the country.27

  • Cultural stereotypes and expectations of women as perfect mothers create high levels of pressure for women to perform in caregiving roles.28
    • Women, especially mothers, report higher feelings of guilt for missing home responsibilities (such as school events or taking care of parents) because of work, compared to men.29

The government of Japan is encouraging fathers to take parental leave,30 although only 6.2% of fathers in private corporations took leave in 2018.31 The goal for 2020 was set at 13%.32

LEADERSHIP

Cultural Norms and Stereotypes Exclude Women from Leadership Positions33

In 2018, women accounted for only 11.2% of directors and 18.3% of section chiefs in private corporations.34

  • Factors preventing women from advancing include long work hours, gender-segregated career tracks, traditional gender stereotypes, a lack of childcare options, maternity harassment (matahara), and a taxation system that prefers sole breadwinners over dual-income families.35

In 2019, only 5.2% of board directors in Japanese companies were women.36

Out of 192 countries, Japan ranks 167th in women’s representation in government. Women make up only 9.9% of the lower house and 22.9% of the upper house in Japan’s national parliament.37

  • As of September 2020, only two women serve as cabinet ministers in Japan’s government.38

PAY GAP

Despite Progress, Japan’s Gender Pay Gap Is the Second Largest Among OECD Countries39

In 2019, Japanese women earned 23.5% less than their male counterparts—a pay gap larger than all other OECD countries except South Korea (32.5%).40

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Catalyst Japan.

Women in the workforce – China: Quick Take. Catalyst.

Women in the workforce – Global: Quick Take. Catalyst.

5 actions managers can take to break the gender bias cycle – Asia Pacific [Webinar recording]. (2019, February 26). Catalyst.

Harding, R. (2019, December 25). Japan’s women say #KuToo and ditch high heels. Financial Times.

Matsui, K., Suzuki, H., & Tatebe, K. (2019, April). Womenomics 5.0. Goldman Sachs.

Salib, E.R. & Shi, Y. (2017, October 17). The journey to inclusion: Building workplaces that work for women in Japan. Catalyst. (In Japanese.)

What lies behind Japan’s dismal gender gap? (2019, December 19). The Japan Times.

World Economic Forum. (2020). Japan. Global Gender Gap Report 2020.

 

How to cite this product: Women in the workforce – Japan: Quick Take. (2020, November 24). Catalyst.

  1. Inagaki, K. (2020, May 18). Japanese couples put off parenthood as coronavirus fears mount. Financial Times.
  2. Statistics Bureau of Japan. (2020). Population: Table 2.2: Trends in population (as of October 1). Statistical handbook of Japan 2020. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
  3. Statistics Bureau of Japan. (2020). Population estimates by age (five-year groups) and sex, November 1, 2020 (provisional estimates) [Data set]. Monthly report.
  4. The World Bank. (2020). Population ages 65 and above (% of total population) [Data set]. The World Bank Databank.
  5. Statistics Bureau of Japan. (2020). Population: Table 2.5: Age structure of population by country. Statistical handbook of Japan 2020. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
  6. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. (2020, September 17). Population, live births, deaths, infant deaths, neonatal deaths, natural change, foetal deaths, perinatal deaths, marriages, divorces [Data set]. Summary of Vital Statistics.
  7. Statistics Bureau of Japan. (2020). Population: Table 2.7: Changes of mothers’ age at childbirth. Statistical handbook of Japan 2020. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
  8. Gender Equality Bureau. (2020). Facts and figures: Education and research fields. Women and men in Japan 2020. Cabinet of Japan, Cabinet Office.
  9. According to the International Standard Classification of Education, “tertiary education builds on secondary education, providing learning activities in specialised fields of education. It aims at learning at a high level of complexity and specialisation. Tertiary education includes what is commonly understood as academic education but also includes advanced vocational or professional education. It comprises ISCED levels 5, 6, 7 and 8, which are labelled as short-cycle tertiary education, Bachelor’s or equivalent level, Master’s or equivalent level, and doctoral or equivalent level, respectively. The content of programmes at the tertiary level is more complex and advanced than in lower ISCED levels.” International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011. (2012). UNESCO. (See p. 46 for direct quote).
  10. OECD. (2020). Country note: Japan. Education at a glance 2020.
  11. Ministry of Education. (2019). Advancement rate (1948-) [Data set]. School basic survey (in Japanese).
  12. Ministry of Education. (2019). Advancement rate (1948-) [Data set]. School basic survey (in Japanese).
  13. Statistics Bureau of Japan. (2020). Education and culture: Table 16.2: Number of university students (as of May 1). Statistical handbook of Japan 2020. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
  14. Ip, G. (2019, January 11). How aging Japan defied demographics and revived its economy. The Wall Street Journal.
  15. Employment Policy Study Group Report (in Japanese). (2019, July 26). Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare; Fleming, S. (2019, February 12). Japan’s workforce will be 20% smaller by 2040. World Economic Forum.
  16. Ip, G. (2019, January 11). How aging Japan defied demographics and revived its economy. The Wall Street Journal.
  17. Rich, M. & Ueno, H. (2020, September 13). Shinzo Abe vowed Japan would help women ‘shine.’ They’re still waiting. The New York Times.
  18. Those who have attained a tertiary education. According to the International Standard Classification of Education, “tertiary education builds on secondary education, providing learning activities in specialised fields of education. It aims at learning at a high level of complexity and specialisation. Tertiary education includes what is commonly understood as academic education but also includes advanced vocational or professional education. It comprises ISCED levels 5, 6, 7 and 8, which are labelled as short-cycle tertiary education, Bachelor’s or equivalent level, Master’s or equivalent level, and doctoral or equivalent level, respectively. The content of programmes at the tertiary level is more complex and advanced than in lower ISCED levels.” International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011. (2012). UNESCO. (See p. 46 for direct quote).
  19. OECD. (2020). Table A3.2: Trends in employment rates of 25-34 year-olds, by educational attainment and gender (2009 and 2019) [Data set]. Education at a glance 2020.
  20. Statistics Bureau of Japan. (2020). Labour. Statistical handbook of Japan 2020. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
  21. Statistics Bureau of Japan. (2020). Labour: Table 12.1: Population by labour force status. Statistical handbook of Japan 2020. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
  22. Inagaki, K. (2020, March 5). Japanese companies woo mothers to fill vacancies. Financial Times.
  23. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. (2020). Population aged 15 years old and over by labour force status, status in employment, type of employment (employee by number of persons engaged in enterprise), duration of employment contract, and agri-/non-agriculture [Data set]. Labour force survey.
  24. Feng, Y. (2020, July 20). Japan’s women disproportionately hurt by Covid-19 income slump. Bloomberg; Kikuchi, S., Kitao, S., & Mikoshiba, M. (2020, July 20). Who suffers from the COVID-19 shocks? Labor market heterogeneity and welfare consequences in Japan. Center for Advanced Research in Finance.
  25. Tsalikis, C. (2020, January 15). ‘Womenomics’ opens doors for Japan’s female workers, but at great cost to their personal lives. The Globe and Mail.
  26. OECD. (2020). Employment: Time spent in paid and unpaid work, by sex [Data set]. OECD Stat.
  27. Record-low 12,000 on Japan’s nursery waiting lists, but zero goal out of reach. (2020, September 4). The Japan Times.
  28. Japanese women feeling pressured by rise of perfect “mama”: Study. (2020, July 1). Kyodo News.
  29. Aoyagi, C. & Munro, A. (2019, November 27). Guilt, gender, and work-life balance in Japan: A choice experiment [Working paper]. International Monetary Fund.
  30. Tsalikis, C. (2020, January 15). ‘Womenomics’ opens doors for Japan’s female workers, but at great cost to their personal lives. The Globe and Mail.
  31. Gender Equality Bureau. (2020). Measures for gender equality: The fourth basic plan for gender equality. Women and men in Japan 2020. Cabinet of Japan, Cabinet Office.
  32. Gender Equality Bureau. (2020). Measures for gender equality: The fourth basic plan for gender equality. Women and men in Japan 2020. Cabinet of Japan, Cabinet Office.
  33. Binder, B.C.K., Dworkin, T.M., Nae, N., Schipani, C.A., & Averianova, I. (2019). The plight of women in positions of corporate leadership in the United States, the European Union, and Japan: Differing laws and cultures, similar issues [Working paper]. University of Michigan, Ross School of Business.
  34. Gender Equality Bureau. (2020). Measures for gender equality: The fourth basic plan for gender equality. Women and men in Japan 2020. Cabinet of Japan, Cabinet Office.
  35. Binder, B.C.K., Dworkin, T.M., Nae, N., Schipani, C.A., & Averianova, I. (2019). The plight of women in positions of corporate leadership in the United States, the European Union, and Japan: Differing laws and cultures, similar issues [Working paper]. University of Michigan, Ross School of Business; Tsalikis, C. (2020, January 15). ‘Womenomics’ opens doors for Japan’s female workers, but at great cost to their personal lives. The Globe and Mail.
  36. Gender Equality Bureau. (2020). Measures for gender equality: Appointment of women to board positions. Women and men in Japan 2020. Cabinet of Japan, Cabinet Office.
  37. Inter-Parliamentary Union. (2020, October 1). Percentage of women in national parliaments [Data set]. IPU parline: Global data on national parliaments.
  38. Rich, M. (2020, September 16). Japan’s new leader picks his team: Familiar men, and fewer women. The New York Times.
  39. Eda, M. (2020, March 6). Wanted: A strategy to narrow Japan’s widening gender gap. The Japan Times.
  40. OECD. (2020). Gender wage gap [Data set].