Is Japan a particularly gender unequal society? Comparison with South Korea

Is Japan a particularly gender unequal society? Justify your answer using comparisons with South Korea.

Gender equality is now a major issue and movement worldwide. We have seen movements emerge and grow on social media, such as #MeToo, in 2017, which has made a lot of buzz and encouraged many women to speak out about the discrimination they face. A common misconception about gender equality is that the goal is to get society as a whole to recognize the place of women in comparison to men. Rather, it is a question of demanding and seeking solutions so that the disparities between men and women disappear, and not of favouring women to the detriment of men. Changing mentalities is also in the interest of men, who can suffer from sexism just as much as women, because of society's image of the role of men. Gender parity concerns all aspects of society. Political, social, economic, but also labour rights or legal representation.

The aim of this essay is to find out whether Japan is a particularly gender-unequal society, especially in the workplace, in comparison with South Korea.

Faced with an ageing population and a declining birth rate, Japan does not seem to want to take advantage of one of its assets for its economic recovery: women. Although Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed his desire to give women more opportunities in the workplace, in his "Abenomics" plan, on access to regular contracts but also the possibility of reaching higher positions, Japan is not progressing in terms of gender equality compared to the rest of the world. Despite the beginning of the implementation of this development policy, Japan ranked 110th out of 149 in 2018 on the World Economic Forum's gender gap. The purpose of this ranking is to calculate a country's progress towards parity based on four main areas. Although this ranking position is higher than it was in 2014 (Japan was 114th at that time), it does not reveal any real progress in this direction.

The wage gap between men and women is one of the main reasons for this low ranking. It stands at 24.5% in 2018, second only to South Korea among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. What are the reasons for this wage disparity in Japanese companies? One of the main reasons is that a large proportion of working women are employed in non-regular jobs. This type of contract does not benefit of the same protection as a regular worker, especially in terms of job security but also health protection. About 51% of women aged 20-65 are non-regular employees. Not only is this a large proportion of women, but it also means that a large proportion of the working population is in non-regular employment and does not enjoy the protections and security of regular employment, or the same level of pay as regular employees.

The gaps do not stop at the large number of women in non-regular jobs. There are also significant wage differences between men and women in regular jobs. According to a 2016 survey by the Japanese Ministry of Labour, women occupy only 6.4% of managerial or executive positions. The reason given by the HR departments of large companies is that women lack the abilities and qualifications to occupy positions of responsibility.

However, Japanese women are particularly well qualified, since 59% of women between 25 and 35 years old now have a university degree, compared to 52% of men. However, the difference in wages is there. The reason behind these differences is rather that women do not have the same opportunities for promotion as men even with the same levels of education and experience.  Japan's recruitment system favours young graduates who are available for long-term training, in keeping with Japan's tradition of the three pillars of employment. An employee is expected to be available to work long hours, willing to relocate and change jobs regularly to provide training throughout the company. The source of these gender differences in access to managerial positions lies in the traditional view of women and their role.

Gender equality in Japanese companies is far from being achieved: even today, it is still considered traditional for a Japanese woman to resign after marriage, or at the latest when she is pregnant with her first child. As a result, the employment rate for women in Japan with children under the age of three is only 30 per cent, which is very low compared to the average of 52 per cent in OECD countries. Those who prioritize their working lives have great difficulty climbing the ladder of hierarchy, with 0% women on boards of directors in the banking sector, compared to 1% in other sectors. The situation persists: very few women are given positions of responsibility, especially in very large companies.

The latest studies reveal poor results of sexism in Japanese companies: more than one in five pregnant women suffer moral or physical abuse at work from superiors or colleagues. The phenomenon, known as "matahara" (maternity-related harassment), seeks to make the victims resign. Nearly 29% of Japanese female employees say they have already suffered some form of sexism and 21.4% have been mistreated when they were pregnant in their company, according to a study commissioned by the Japanese Ministry of Labour and Health and published on 2 March 2016.

Due to gender-based practices, women do not have the opportunity to move into professions other than those deemed suitable for them. The main careers open to Japanese women are an extension of their traditional role in the family, namely childcare, nursing and support tasks in health care. Japanese employers need to recognize that working life is not an extension of gender divisions in the home, but rather a space where everyone should realize their potential and contribute to society. But such recognition is in many cases far from being achieved. Although the authorities aim to ensure equal pay for equal work - especially for regular and non-regular workers doing the same job - it is more important to ensure equal professional opportunities, especially for prestigious and managerial positions, in order to reduce the gender pay gap. Moreover, as unequal opportunities for women persist not only because of recruitment methods but also because of the long working hours required, the authorities must work to create the conditions for a better work-life balance. To this end, they could change the work culture based on long hours and promote flexible working conditions. They could also change the mindset that women alone are responsible for the care of the home and children.

Since Korea's independence, the status of women has improved. The economic activity rate of Korean women increased from less than 30% before the Korean War (1950-53) to 42% in 1985 and 52% in 2016. But despite this progress, women's participation in the economy is still far below the OECD average. For example, the 2016 ranking placed South Korea in 116th position. This poor ranking is justified by the same reasons as Japan's, the difference in wages between men and women. In fact, women are on average paid 36.6% less than men, which is the largest gap among OECD countries. Although there are laws condemning discrimination in hiring and in the workplace, it still exists. A study conducted by the job search site Saramin (2016) found that a third of employers have already rejected a woman's application on the grounds that "it is a job for a man only".

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