Tuesday, June 18, 2002
Japanese working women are paid less says government study
A story released today by the Associated Press reports that according to a report released by the Japanese government, Japanese working women are staying longer at their jobs but still haven't made any major inroads in the workplaces of this tradition-bound nation.
In its annual report, the Gender Equality Bureau said few women hold managerial positions, and working women continue to earn less than their male counterparts.
Moreover, women still face limited career choices despite the fact that more Japanese women are joining the work force as gender roles change and the nation's decade-long economic slump drags on.
While Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appointed a record five women to Cabinet posts, women still make up a far smaller proportion of Japan's Parliament, only 7.3 percent, compared with 14 percent in the United States and 42.7 percent in Sweden.
Local governments of major Japanese cities have begun to employ more women in recent years, but women remain vastly in the minority, said Mariko Bando, director-general of the Gender Equality Bureau.
In the private sector, many companies cited the number of women quitting work for marriage and motherhood as the biggest obstacle stopping them from reaching higher positions, the report said.
