The current status of working women in Japan

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare published the 2003 edition of "The Actual Status of Working Women," which revealed the situation today's working women find themselves in. The main issues are as follows:

1. The participation rate of women in the labor force (the proportion accounted for in the population of the labor force aged 15 and older) in 2003 dropped 0.2% over the previous year to 48.3%, registering a decrease for the 6th continuous year.

2. There were a total of 25.97 million working women in 2003: the first increase in six years (an increase of 30,000 people over 2003, and up 0.1% from the previous year). Of these working women, 21.77 million were employed. This number was 160,000 more than the previous year, and the proportion for which women accounted for in the total number of employees rose further from the previous year to 40.8%.

3. The number of totally unemployed women was 1.35 million (versus 2.15 million men), and the totally unemployed rate was 4.9% (versus 5.5% for men), marking the first decrease in 13 years. The number of totally unemployed men also dropped for the first time in 13 years.

4. The average length of service for women at one location was 9.0 years (versus 13.5 years for men), which was 0.2 years longer than the previous year. The proportion of those working 10 years or longer was 35.2% (up 0.8 percentage points from the previous year), showing that one out of every three women has worked for 10 years or more at the same location.

5. As for the difference between men and women in terms of the amount of general workers' scheduled cash earnings, women's earnings were 66.8% of those of men (versus 66.5% in 2002). The difference appears to be shrinking gradually in the long term.

6. If the average starting salary of male college graduates holding technical jobs is set at 100, that of women was 100.1, surpassing that of men for the first time.

7. The proportion for which female part-time workers account in the non-agricultural and forestry sector rose further to 40.7%, surpassing the 40% mark for the first time.

8. The differences in wages between female regular (full-time) workers and female part-time workers decreased for the first time in five years to 65.7 (versus 64.9 in 2002). This is based on setting female full-time workers at 100.

As regards changes in women's vocational awareness and lifestyles according to age group, the following were revealed.

1. Motivation to be employed has dropped somewhat among young men. Among women, however, the younger the age group, the higher their awareness of being employed.

2. The proportion of women who quit their jobs in their late 20s because of marriage fell from 20.2% for those who started working in 1986 (the year when the Equal Employment Opportunity Law between Men and Women was enforced) to 14.5% for those who started working in 1996. Similarly, the proportion of women who quit their job because of childbirth and childrearing dropped sharply from 16.2% to 9.3%, respectively.

3. The younger the age group of men and women, the higher the proportion of their citing "working and raising a family at the same time" as their ideal life path.

4. As for goals which women held as new recruits, the higher the age group, the higher the proportion of their having wanted to be promoted to a managerial post.

5. As of 2003, if women's latent wish to find employment were to be realized, a labor force amounting to 8.15 million people would be secured, and if the so-called "M-shaped curve" were to be resolved, a labor force amounting to 1.12 million people would be secured.

It is true that Japan's labor environment has undergone dramatic changes now that close to 18 years have elapsed since the Equal Employment Opportunity Law between Men and Women was enforced. Still, numerous tasks still remain unresolved before a society where highly motivated, career-minded women can fully demonstrate their abilities, and be evaluated fairly and appropriately, can be established.