Kara Haney
HONORS 384
8/2/19
Women in the Workplace
Effect of Parental Leave Policies on the Female Labor Force Participation in Japan
Introduction
Gender roles play an important part within Japanese society, contributing significantly to how the workplace functions and how different individuals are restricted or supported within it. These split gender roles dictate that men should be breadwinners and focus on work, while women should be caretakers and tend to children and the house. These expectations have contributed to the trend of women quitting their jobs in their 20’s and 30’s and leaving the workforce entirely when it’s time to start a family, despite the desires of many to remain in the workforce. Within a social framework that makes it difficult to have control over one’s own fate, resources that help give women flexibility and opportunity are significant. Parental leave policies in Japan are built to help women in this situation find both of these things. However, despite impressive policies in place, few parents use parental leave in Japan. This leads me to my research question, which is “why do so few parents take parental leave in Japan and what are the consequences of these low rates on female labor force participation?” The goal of my research is to analyze the social, cultural, and economic factors that result in gender inequalities in the workplace, as well as examine whether or not parental leave policies enable women to have more opportunities and give them the autonomy to take advantage of those opportunities. After conducting research over the past four months, I have come to the conclusion that the low rates of usage of parental leave are mainly a result of social, cultural, and economic factors. The reasons differ somewhat between maternity leave and paternity leave, but overall they can be pared down to these three underlying aspects. Furthermore, I found that low rates of parental leave usage do in fact hinder women’s opportunities and their ability to take on both work and family. Almost all women who successfully manage to retain their jobs when they have children use parental leave, citing it as an important reason that they were able to manage both work and family. However, they also note that parental leave alone is rarely enough to overcome the pressures which push women out of the workforce. Parental leave is just one layer of help, one resource to help bridge the gap that Japan’s existing social, cultural, and economic frameworks create for women.
Literature Review
In large part due to expectations and gender roles, female labor force participation in Japan is considerably lower than male labor force participation. According to an article from the International Monetary Fund, around the age of 25 when men first reach the peak of their participation, labor force participation for women is 25% less than men (Kinoshita & Guo); this is significantly greater than the 10% participation gap that the Bureau of Labor Statistics observes in America (“Changes in Men’s”). Over the next five to ten years, this 25% participation gap increases to 45% as Japanese women drop out of the workforce in order to start a family. Female labor force participation in Japan is known for its “M” shape, unusual for postindustrial economies; it illustrates how Japanese women tend to join the workforce after college, leave around the time of marriage and childbirth, and return part-time in their later years, after it’s too late to restart a career (Mun & Brinton).
It’s important to define “participation” in order to properly interpret these numbers. Labor force participation here includes both part-time and irregular employees, meaning that not all women counted in the workforce are working full-time. Kinoshita and Guo note that, of Japanese women considered to be participating in the workforce, about 55% are non-regular or part-time workers (Kinoshita & Guo). This is especially common in women over 35, who gradually return to the workforce as their children grow up. Because it’s considerably difficult to start a career so late in life in Japan, for many of these women part-time is the only option. This difficulty is in part the result of the way that the Japanese workplace has historically functioned, with a system that utilizes lifetime employment and emphasizes seniority and loyalty. As one journal explains, Japanese companies often base promotions and vertical growth off of an employee’s apparent commitment to the company; this includes working long hours, being available, and having seniority. Furthermore, lifetime employment has been a major player in Japanese society since the post WWII high-growth period, giving employees who have committed to one company an edge (Moriguchi & Ono). This is one reason why mid-career hiring is so challenging in Japan, why it’s so important for women who want to have a career to not quit the workforce, and why parental leave policies are so critical.
On paper, parental leave policies in Japan look good. According to the OECD, they are some of the most generous and progressive to be found in OECD countries, allowing both parents paid parental leave until their child is 12 months old. Furthermore, in the event that both parents take leave, this age limit is extended until the child is 14 months old. The first six months on leave requires 67% of earnings to be paid to the individuals, dropping to 50% for the remainder of the leave. This is in stark contrast to the US, where there are no national policies in place that ensure paid parental leave (OECD). These statistics, however, don’t reflect the reality of these policies being put into practice. According to the Japan Times, only 3% of men take paternity leave after their wife gives birth, and of those 3% even less use the full 12 months (Shoji). Meanwhile, one research project suggests that 60% of Japanese women don’t take maternity leave, and end up quitting the workforce altogether upon the birth of their first child (“15th National” 17).
Despite how few parents use parental leave, it is still a helpful resource for women trying to retain their careers. Parental leave gives flexibility in a situation where there is little. Of women who maintain both a career and a family, 82% utilize maternity leave (Mun & Brinton). Moreover, according to one article, maternity leave usage resulted in a 71% increased likelihood of a woman returning to her job after having a child (Waldfogel, et. al). Both of these sources highlight the fact that maternity leave is a critical resource for women. However, paternity leave is also very helpful. Following the birth of a child, many men continue to focus on work and place all the pressure of taking care of children and their house on their wives, working the same amount of hours after becoming a father as they worked before. As one article from Sage Journals points out, this absence makes it especially difficult for women to have the opportunity to return to the workforce or focus on things other than caregiving (Yasuike). Ever so gradually, the numbers of fathers using paternity leave are increasing, and interviews with women whose husbands have chosen to take it have remarked on how much it does to relieve stress and responsibility (Shoji).
Increasingly, Japanese women are wanting to stay in the workforce and have a career rather than quit. One research project indicates that, over each generation, the number of Japanese women who say they want a career and a more independent, free life is steadily rising. Fewer women want to be full-time housewives (“15th National” 8). The young women that I interviewed all agreed with this, saying that they wanted a career but weren’t sure if they would be able to have one due to societal expectations and the workplace structure. So, while the female labor participation rate is low, many unemployed women would like to be participating in the labor force. Parental leave usage, then, is a critical resource for Japanese women to overcome the barriers of their society and have autonomy over their own path in life.
Research Methods and Cultural Sensitivity
My research began with close readings of articles, scholarly journals, and books which covered the concepts that I’ve thus far discussed in my paper. These resources were used in order to build a solid background for my research. I added on top of this background while in Japan, where I focused on interviews. I conducted five interviews during my time in Japan. Two were with professional women over sixty years of age, two were with female university students, and one was with a male university student. My sample size was small and not representative of the population I am studying, but I considered the interviews as a way to delve deeper into the research I had previously gathered in the close readings. My final method of conducting research was by doing observation in Japan. I did this as a way of engaging with my research and checking in with how the information I’d gathered appeared (or didn’t) in the real world. I paid attention to both the employees and families I saw, taking into consideration factors such as age, gender, time, and place.
While researching, I was made aware of certain biases that I had to consider throughout the process. The first bias that I noted was the fact that I am a woman and as such have certain perceptions of the kind of life a woman should have, or be able to have. I believe women should have independence and be able to make choices about their own life for themselves, without social pressures forcing them into a role they may not want to take on. This bias made me approach the project from a perspective that viewed the women involved as victims, in a sense, which shaped the nature of the project.
Furthermore, another bias I encountered came from me being an American. I was an outsider throughout this entire process. I’m not a Japanese women, so I have never experienced any of the expectations or concerns that a Japanese women might have. Also, American society in general differs from Japanese society. America is highly individualistic compared to Japan, which is highly collectivistic. To an extent, Japanese individuals put their community before themselves. This changes the idea that an individual has of personal responsibility, which is a key aspect of my research.
Lastly, it’s important to note that my research is not intended to take any stance on whether or not the Japanese workplace is good or bad, nor whether or not women should choose work over being a housewife. Rather, I’m concerned with the negative impacts that Japan’s work culture has on Japanese society, as well as the fact that women often don’t have a choice at all whether to quit the workforce or not. To this end, throughout the data collecting process – especially the interviews – I tried not to incorporate moral judgements and instead pertain to the true nature of the project.
Analysis and Findings
After conducting research, I began to piece together my findings by paring down the reasons for low rates of parental leave usage into three main reasons. While there are some distinctions between the reasons for low rates of paternity leave and the reasons for low rates of maternity leave, both develop out of these three things.
Firstly, societal norms inhibit parents from using parental leave. As mentioned earlier in the literature review, Japan has a division between male and female roles. While it can be argued that this mindset is gradually changing, these split roles remain ingrained in Japanese society and have significant impact on the way that society functions in Japan. When asked about the cultural role for women in Japan, women in the documentary No Sex Please, We’re Japanese agreed that it is expected of women to take care of children when the time comes, while men commit themselves to work (BBC). I found further of evidence of this in my interviews with female university students; most of them felt like they would quit their jobs to preserve their husbands’ jobs in the case of a work transfer or family matter. The male of gender roles was also highlighted in my interviews as well. The university students I talked with all agreed that Japanese men are pressured academically much more than women; job opportunities rely highly on one’s academic success, and men experiencing more pressure indicates the set role that society has for men. When there is a clear line between who does what – men being in the workplace and women taking care of the family – the incentive to take parental leave, which crosses those lines, is greatly reduced. This is an issue emphasized by time and consistency; the lack of parents taking parental leave, and instead adhering to these societal norms, discourages individuals from breaking the mold as it may be seen as “not normal.”
Secondly, cultural expectations within the Japanese workplace discourage either parent from taking parental leave. Japan’s work culture, as mentioned before, is intense and requires high commitment in order to succeed. Perceptions of the “ideal worker” in Japan include workers who actively fulfill their own role and don’t put their responsibility onto the shoulders of their coworkers. Furthermore, with wage largely being based off of participation, being in the workplace and working long hours is important. Pertaining to ideas of the “ideal worker” is important for one’s success, which discourages many fathers to not take paternity leave. Because they consider their role to be getting income for their family and focusing on work, they often see paternity leave as a step in the wrong direction. Taking time out of the workplace is less accepted for men than women and being away from work by using paternity leave can be perceived as doing less than meeting the workplace standards. Moreover, for mothers these standards seem impossible. Returning to the workforce after maternity leave – maintaining the high levels of commitment and inflexibility – while still taking care of a family seems an impossible task. Rather than take it on, many women simply quit the workforce instead of use maternity leave to try and keep their careers.
Lastly, economic tensions make it difficult for parents to rely on parental leave. Especially in Tokyo where the cost of living is expensive, 67% of one’s earnings isn’t always sustainable. The university students I interviewed all noted the difficult economic environment in Japan. All of the young women felt stressed because of how expensive children are to raise, especially in addition to other necessities like housing and food. This is an especially important reason for men to not take parental leave; in addition to societal norms and the fact that taking it would already be going against the norm, men who take it aren’t getting their full income, which adds a different kind of pressure to a household. Therefore, many men continue to focus on work and getting the income that will help their families thrive.
While I found that these three factors were the most noteworthy for explaining low rates of parental leave usage, there were other potential reasons that came up. These are not included as main reasons because, with my limited research, I was not able to come to a conclusion about their actual prominence and effect. However, one potential reason was the relative newness of paternity leave policies. Because they are newer, Japan is still getting used to them and the change they indicate. This may partly explain why usage of paternity leave is drastically less than usage of maternity leave. Another possible reason for the low rate of parental leave usage is fear of discrimination. There are a few articles and journals that I found in my close readings suggesting that many individuals worry about discrimination from coworkers and employers if they use parental leave, and stories of this discrimination can be found. However, one of my interviewees said that she had never experienced or knew of anyone who had experienced discrimination, saying it was usually only present in some small private companies. So, while a conclusion cannot be made with the available data, these are possible factors.
Overwhelmingly, my research made it clear that parental leave policies are important for women. The women who I talked with who had managed to successfully have both a family and a career both went into depth about the importance of parental leave policies in enabling their success. They commented on how inflexible the Japanese workplace is and how there are few other ways to find the time off to take care of a newborn child than to use parental leave. However, that time off is necessary to deal with the stress and needs of a baby, as it’s impossible to handle Japanese work standards and a new child at once. One of my interviewees mentioned that she felt it was the duty of the employee to take maternity leave if she has a child in order to keep her stress, tiredness, and illness out of the workplace. In these ways, parental leave provides necessary flexibility and time off in an environment where there are few other resources that offer that.
However, while parental leave is a valuable tool for mothers to have flexibility and not have to quit the workforce, it is only one part of the story. In order to overcome the current system, more help is generally needed. Both of the women I talked with made note that layers of help are needed, rather than just parental leave. Things like childcare are critical resources for women as well, and layering these resources on top of each other is the best way to empower them. These additional resources enable women to personally build a support system that works for their own specific needs.
Lastly, it is important to realize that parental leave does not solve the root of the issue; it does not alter the social and cultural frameworks which support the issue in the first place. It only helps women achieve their own ideas of success in the system that they currently live in.
Key Learning Moments
The entire research process was riddled with moments of learning. Most of these occurred in my interviews, where the knowledge that I had previously accumulated through readings were sculpted out and compared with the real world. The firsthand accounts I heard of being a woman in the workplace, using parental leave, and dealing with societal pressures were all very insightful. Most of my sudden realizations developed from these conversations.
One thing I was surprised about was how different the situation in Japan is from my experience as an American. One of the things that was brought up multiple times was the lack of female role models in the Japanese workplace. There are very few examples of high-ranking women for young Japanese girls to see and aspire to be like. This naturally limits the vision of what young Japanese women see themselves achieving. The women who I talked to who were most successful career-wise both grew up in unconventional families where women were encouraged to work and they personally knew women who worked. In America, there are a much higher number of female role models and young women are encouraged to aspire and dream big. Unlike in Japan, American women are not generally pressured to quit their jobs to have children or to rely on their husbands for income. Another issue brought up that differs from many American workplaces is the situation of women feeling uncomfortable remaining in the workplace in their mid-to-late 30s when most of the women around them have left to take care of family. For a number of reasons, these women find themselves uncomfortable in the male-saturated environment. Hearing stories and concerns in my interviews were very insightful to understanding the experience of being a woman in Japan.
I also faced some unexpected challenges with this project. The topic I researched proved difficult because of how complex an issue it is. The Japanese workplace in itself is a massively intricate system; there are hundreds of research papers just focusing on various aspects of it. Expanding this into topics of gender, societal expectations, and so on and so forth only further complicates things. It was difficult to not get off-topic while researching and summarizing my research. This is a huge topic and making sure I didn’t get too far from my main focus – parental leave and its effect on female labor force participation – was always on my mind.
Additionally, the smallness of my sample size made coming to conclusions difficult. I had a very limited male perspective, meaning I wasn’t able to get a clear image of the experiences and opinions of men regarding this topic. I also wasn’t able to interview any younger working women who might be in the midst of confronting many of these issues. The professional women who I interviewed were both over the age of 60, meaning that there are generational differences between their experiences and the experiences of young women in the workforce today. My limited perspective meant that the conclusions I could reach were also limited.
Comparative and Thematic Extensions
Comparing this issue to other issues in America, it’s clear that there are some distinctions. This issue cannot be directly translated to America because the social and cultural frameworks that create the issue don’t exist in America. The way gender roles become present in Japanese society is not the same as in America. America doesn’t have the same duality of breadmakers and caretakers that Japan does; parents tend to balance responsibilities more in America. Women in America, like men, are pressured to aspire and be successful, disinclining them to the idea of quitting their jobs. Furthermore, although America doesn’t have required parental leave policies like Japan, there is greater access to other resources like childcare here. Additionally, the workplace tends to be more flexible in America, making it easier to cater the system to one’s personal needs.
Connecting my research to the general themes of the course, there are clear lines to draw to Japan’s history of industrialization as well as ideas of gender. Industrialization in Japan is what brought about the current structures and values which make the Japanese workplace as high-commitment and inflexible as it as today. From this period, “work is family” became a concept that characterizes Japan’s workplace, indicating the high expectations and time commitment.
In terms of gender, our discussions of Confucianism made note that gender roles for Japanese women changed when the religion became widespread during the Tokugawa period. Previously, women were active in work and politics. Ideas of women as caretakers developed from these initial seeds of Confucian values, and remain present even today. Despite these long entrenched ideas, modern feminist movements are growing in Japan. Such examples are the DV movement we studied in class and the current #KuToo movement fighting against the requirement of high heels in the workplace. Japan is often under fire from other countries for slow gender developments and an apparent lack of feminist movements, but it is slowly rising up and showing objection in its own way.
Conclusion
Women in Japan face unique issues when it comes to work and family. Societal pressures push women into having children and raising a family, and maintaining both a family and a career is very difficult in the Japanese system. This results in them leaving their jobs and ending their careers. Parental leave is an important tool for women to find flexibility and options, taking off some of the stress and limitations that the system puts on them. However, cultural, social, and economic restraints hold many parents back from using parental leave. Overcoming these restraints is critical for Japanese women to be able to find independence and autonomy in their own lives, creating opportunities that wouldn’t be there for them otherwise.
Should I continue to pursue this project in the future, I would be interested in conducting more interviews and getting better insight into both working women’s and men’s sides of the issue. I’d like to look more into success stories, and how women have been able to achieve having both a career and a family. What kind of environment did they grow up in? What resources did they use? What challenges did they find? How would they change the system, if they could? I’d also like to delve deeper into men’s perspectives. How restricted do they feel by Japan’s gender norms? How does this affect the way they approach housework and taking care of family and their view of their wives? There is also a lot more to consider regarding comparisons between Japan and America, as well as generational differences. As a four month research project, I have been able to understand a lot about the basis of this issue. However, there is a lot more potential for further research, and I would be interested in pursuing it more in the future.
Reference List
“15th National Fertility Survey of Japan.” National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, 2015, http://www.ipss.go.jp/ps-doukou/e/doukou15/Nfs15R_points_eng.pdf.
BBC Two. “No Sex Please, We're Japanese.” This World, 24 Oct. 2013.
“Changes in Men's and Women's Labor Force Participation Rates.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10 Jan. 2007, www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2007/jan/wk2/art03.htm.
Kinoshita, Yuko & Guo, Fang. “What Can Boost Female Labor Force Participation in Asia?” International Monetary Fund, Mar. 2015, https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=rVPnBwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=japan+female+labor+force+participation&ots=R3QJj3RNT6&sig=JzSvwVY2Q4d6dYyr47K4yHcym4U#v=onepage&q=japan%20female%20labor%20force%20participation&f=false.
Moriguchi, Chiaki & Ono, Hiroshi. “Japanese Lifetime Employment.” Institutional Change in Japan, June 2005, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780203968819/chapters/10.4324/9780203968819-19.
Mun, Eunmi & Brinton, Mary C. “Work Matters: The Use of Parental Leave Policy in Japan.” Sage Journals, 6 Mar. 2015, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9667/380a8b555a7f2d89bbc427b5971009f810da.pdf?_ga=2.92085722.1972948969.1560539683-247969063.1560539683.
OECD. “Parental Leave Systems.” OECD, 26 Oct. 2017, pp. 21, https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/PF2_1_Parental_leave_systems.pdf.
Shoji, Kaori. “Japan’s companies are beginning to rethink paternity leave policies.” The Japan Times, 31 Mar. 2018, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/03/31/national/media-national/japans-companies-beginning-rethink-paternity-leave-policies/#.XOcRZMhKjZs.
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