Moreover, in the prevailing climate the female labor force as a whole is still less evaluated than the male labor force. For instance, women workers are treated only as a temporary and complementary 2 work force and have very limited opportunities for capacity development or for promotion and upgrading. This may be regarded as another factor for the lower wage level for women workers. Wage Level for Women Workers and Wage Differentials Between Women and Men 3 Since there is no definite concept of the wage rate in Japan, data about wages referred to here represent the total amount of monthly cash earnings received, on the average, by a worker. Under the high growth of the economy, women's wages rose from 12,414 yen in 1960 to 97,392 yen in 1974, increasing approximately 8 times. The yearly increase rates of women's wages during the period were almost always higher than those of men's wages. Between 1960 and 1974 women's wages (average monthly total cash earnings) rose from 43 percent to 54 percent of men's wages. This indicates a narrowing tendency of the wage gap between women and men. The wage difference further narrows when regular payments alone are compared, excluding overtime pay and special payment such as bonuses. In 1974 the average regular payment for women corresponded to 60 percent of that of men. The fact that the wage gap between women and men has narrowed, though only gradually, certainly is due to the various changes mentioned above. These include: increased demand for female labor as a consequence of the growing labor shortage; higher educational attainment among women workers; higher age and longer duration of service, on the average; and the fact that the field of employment for women has been slightly expanded, as seen in the increased employment of women in managerial jobs and professional and technical occupations. The wage gap still indicated in statistics may be attributable to the fact that the majority of women workers are concentrated in simple and lighter jobs of low productivity and to the shorter length of service of women workers as compared with that of men workers (5.5 years for women, 9.8 years for men). Analysis of Wage Differentials Between Women and Men The basic factors affecting the wage gap between women and men may be found in the difference between ? Supplementary; not considered part of the permanent work force. 3 A yen is currently worth about three-tenths U.S. cent (297.6 yen equaled $1 in August 1975). Thus, the wages quoted rose from about $41.71 monthly in 1960 to $327.26 in 1974. the fields of employment of women and men and the shorter length of service of women workers. Difference in the Fields of Employment Because women are generally expected to stay in employment only a short period, there is a tendency among employers to consider women workers as a temporary and complementary work force, and some employers are reluctant to recruit women with higher educational background or to provide for women the opportunities for capacity development and promotion. Moreover, those who reenter employment after a long interruption have to be contented with simple and light work since they have no skills. Thus, one of the factors affecting the wage gap is no doubt found in the fact that women are mostly employed in simple and light work. Difference in Length of Service As pointed out above, in Japan, where the so-called seniority wage system has been widely adopted, personal attributes, especially length of service, are important elements in wage determination. Naturally, the shorter length of service of women workers than that of men workers is a factor affecting wage differentials between women and men. The shorter length of service for women is largely due to interruptions in their worklife, which women often experience owing to marriage, childbirth, or childrearing. On the other hand, employers are, as pointed out already, strongly inclined to regard women workers as a temporary and complementary work force. Also, there are some who apply to women workers compulsory retirement upon marriage or a retirement age far earlier than that applied to men. In recent years, as a result of changes in the labor supply and demand relations and in the conditions of labor, there has been a tendency to introduce a wage system under which function and job content are taken into account as wage determining factors, in addition to personal attributes such as length of service, for the purpose of expediting labor mobility and effective utilization of workers' potentialities. However, in the situation where the majority of women workers are concentrated in complementary jobs and unskilled labor which rarely provide opportunities for promotion and upgrading, it cannot be expected that the introduction of pay according to function and job content will be directly effective for the dwindling of the wage gap between women and men. When we compare women's wages with men's by monthly total cash earnings, in addition to the facts mentioned above, the difference between the hours worked by women and men is a factor in the wage gap. In 1974 the average number of hours actually worked in a month by women was 163.9, somewhat less than the 598-511 O-76-4 180.6 hours worked by men. These hours included overtime which was 4.5 for women and 16.6 for men. This indicates that much of the difference in hours worked is due to the difference in overtime for which extra wages were paid. In this respect, we have already pointed out that statistics show a smaller wage gap between women and men when regular payments alone are compared, excluding payment for overtime. Wages in Japan often include various allowances to cover living costs, such as family and housing allowances, which have little to do with job content or hours worked. Since women workers are rarely principal supporters of their families, these living allowances are paid mainly to men who are family heads, but seldom to women. The difference in the amount of living allowances received by women and men no doubt constitutes one of the factors affecting the wage differentials. There have been some instances of wage discrimination based on sex, as for instance the failure to pay a certain allowance to a woman for the reason that she is a woman in spite of her full eligibility for the pay. ment. (In these cases the inspector takes action to remedy the situation.) MEASURES FOR WOMEN WORKERS-Chapter 2 Measures by the Government Administrative Arrangements Of 13 ministries in the Government of Japan, the particular matters concerning women workers are mainly taken charge of by the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Ministry of Labor In the Ministry of Labor the Women's and Minors' Bureau is charged with the responsibilities for matters relating to women workers and for the improvement of the status of women as a whole. The Bureau is staffed with 64 men and women at the central office, as well as with 180 female staffs across the country in 47 local offices, one in every prefecture, under the direct supervision of the national office. In the central office, one of the four Divisions in the Bureau, the Women Workers' Division, is responsible for women workers' problems. The Bureau undertakes surveys and educational campaigns, and offers guidance to local governments, employers, and workers. It enforces the Working Women's Welfare Law under its jurisdiction. The Bureau further deals with matters concerning the establishment, revision, abolishment, and interpretation of related stipulations of the Labor Standards Law with special reference to women. There is the Advisory Committee on Women's and Minors' Problems of a tripartite nature attached to the Bureau, which has the advisory function to the Ministry of Labor. Attached to the local offices is a network of Extension Agents, consisting of 3,000 learned citizens, appointed by the Minister, who assist the work of the local offices on a voluntary basis. The Bureau carries out such works as: Taking measures to promote the welfare of working women specified by the Working Women's Welfare Law, including formulation of the basic welfare policies. Subsidizing local autonomous bodies to encourage and help them develop appropriate works for the needs of the area, such as the establishment of welfare facilities. There are now 63 working women's welfare centers and 48 industrial homework consulting centers. Offering cooperation to the work of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women and inviting to seminars women officials from countries in the Asian region. Other Bureaus of the Ministry of Labor are closely related to the work of the Women's and Minors' Bureau through their own functions. The Labor Standards Bureau enforces the Labor Standards Law, including protective provisions for women and young workers. It also enforces the Industrial Home Work Law which is to protect industrial homeworkers. The Labor Standards Bureau has 47 prefectural labor standards bureaus, one in each prefecture, and 348 labor standards inspection offices throughout the country, with a total staff of 9,000, among which 3,000 (about 50 are women) are professional labor inspectors who visit shops and factories to inspect labor conditions. Matters of employment opportunity are taken care of by the Employment Security Bureau, which has 500 employment security offices all over the country with a staff of 16,000. In some large offices there is a special corner for women, called Women's Corner, which takes care of professional occupations for women. The vocational training is exercised by the Vocational Training Bureau, with 440 vocational training centers. Ministry of Health and Welfare The Ministry of Health and Welfare has a Children and Families Bureau in which the Mothers' and • Finding facts, collecting information by means of Dependent Children's Welfare Division is in charge of field surveys, meeting of experts. • Educating the public by organizing meetings and campaigns and publishing materials, as well as through the mass media. • Administering the matters concerning the establishment, revision, abolishment, and interpretation of the provisions of the Labor Standards Law with special reference to women, and advising the DirectorGeneral of the Labor Standards Bureau concerning matters relating to the enforcement of the said provisions of the law. the matters concerning child care and welfare of widowed mothers and their children. The Division gives supervision and guidance on, as well as subsidies for, the installation and management of welfare facilities, which include day care centers for children of working mothers. The Division also is responsible for training nurses and personnel for welfare institutions. Others In regard to women working in agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry implements various projects to give information necessary for their production and for improving their working and living environments in rural villages. The Ministry of Education is responsible for the education of women, including women workers. The school attendance rate of girls in compulsory education of 9 years is nearly 100 percent; in high school of 3 years, it is 90 percent. The Women's Education Division of the Ministry of Education is responsible for education outside the school system. Through local Boards of Education, they organize various educational activities for women. The Prime Minister's Office organizes coordination meetings several times a year for the various Ministries concerned. Legislation The Constitution of Japan, promulgated in November 1946 as the mainstay of the postwar democratic reformation of the country, granted Japanese women basic human rights comparable to those enjoyed by women in other modern countries, and at the same time proclaimed that women are entitled to every right-political, economic, and social-on equal terms with men. • The Civil Law is a basic law regulating rights and obligations of private individuals, and providing general rules governing all kinds of private acts. As such it stipulates in article 1 that the law shall be interpreted on the basis of the recognition of the essential equality of the sexes. Also, article 90 denies any legal effect of "an act which has for its objects such matters as are contrary to public policy or good morals," and it is understood that the principle of equality of the sexes makes up part of the "public policy" referred to in this provision. The Working Women's Welfare Law, promulgated in 1972, lays down the fundamental principles concerning the welfare of women workers and states that due consideration should be given to women workers so that they may "secure a working life with a sense of fulfillness, by making the best use of their abilities, with their maternity respected and yet without discrimination based on sex." Laws and Regulations Concerning Protection of Women Workers The Labor Standards Law, which came into force in 1947 in compliance with the provision of article 27 of the Constitution, has established minimum standards regarding working hours, rest, and other working conditions. The law, as well as the Ordinance on Labor Laws and Regulations Concerning Equality of Standards for Women and Minors, provides for limitathe Sexes in Employment • The Employment Security Law (art. 3) prohibits discrimination based on sex in employment exchange, vocational guidance, etc., embodying the principle of equality before law (art. 14) and the right to freedom to choose one's occupation (art. 22) insured in the Constitution. • The Constitution also guarantees the right of workers to organize and to bargain and act collectively (art. 28). Besides, the Trade Union Law (art. 5) stipulates that the constitution of the trade union shall include a provision prohibiting discrimination on the ground of sex as regards the qualification for union membership. • For the purpose of improving the social and economic status of women workers, which was hitherto lower than that of male workers, the Labor Standards Law (art. 4) prohibits discrimination because of sex concerning wages. In regard to discrimination in working conditions other than wages, there is no provision prohibiting discrimination based on sex, though the same law (art. 3) prohibits discrimination on grounds of nationality, creed, or social status. • In correspondence with the provisions in the Labor Standards Law which are applied to general workers other than public employees, the National Public Service Law (art. 27) and the Local Public Service Law (art. 13) prohibits sex discrimination for public employees. tions on working hours, prohibition against employment in hazardous or injurious jobs, maternity protection. and other matters relating to working conditions of women workers. The scope of working hours is limited, as a general rule, to 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week. Even when the extension of working hours is sanctioned through the agreement between representatives of workers and the employer, the extension shall not exceed 2 hours per day, 6 hours per week, and 150 hours in a year. (Labor Standards Law, arts. 32, 36, and 61) The employer must provide at least 1 rest day per week to the worker, and as a rule is not allowed to employ women workers on the rest day. (L.S.L., arts. 35, 36, and 61) The employer is not allowed to employ women workers during the night from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., except those engaged in certain jobs (hygiene and sanitation services, entertainment and recreation services, telephone service, airplane stewardess, producer and announcer in the enterprise of broadcasting, etc.). (L.S.L., arts. 62 and 8, Ordinance on Labor Standards for Women and Minors, art. 6) The employer is not allowed to employ women in certain hazardous and injurious jobs (operating powerdriven cranes; conveying heavy weight goods; jobs in places where gas, vapor, or dust of injurious substances such as lead and mercury are generated; jobs in mines; etc.). (L.S.L., arts. 63 and 64, Ordinance on Labor Standards for Women and Minors, arts. 7-9) When a woman worker is pregnant, she is entitled, at her request, to a leave of 6 weeks before childbirth and, as a rule, 6 weeks' leave after childbirth, which is compulsory of the employer. Also, when the pregnant woman requires, the employer must change her to a lighter job. (L.S.L., art. 65.). Furthermore, the employer is not allowed to discharge a woman who is pregnant or who has given birth during the period of leave stipulated in the law and for 30 days thereafter. (L.S.L., art. 19) A woman nursing a child less than 1 year old is entitled to nursing time twice a day, each at least 30 minutes, in addition to ordinary recesses. (L.S.L., art. 66) A woman worker who suffers heavily from menstruation or who is employed in a job injurious to menstruation (including jobs in which extreme mental and nervous tension is involved and jobs which require a lot of muscular labor) is entitled to menstruation leave at her request. (L.S.L., art. 67, Ordinance on Labor Standards for Women and Minors, art. 11) Working Women's Welfare Law The Working Women's Welfare Law was enacted and came into force in 1972. The purpose of this law is to clarify the fundamental principles concerning the welfare of women workers, to strengthen the actions taken by the State and local public bodies for the promotion of the welfare of women workers, and to urge employers to make efforts for any step effective for the welfare of women workers. The substance of the measures provided in the law to be taken by the State, local public bodies, and employers is as follows: Measures To Be Taken by the State and Local Public Bodies Promotion of vocational guidance (art. 7).-Employment security agencies are required to offer employment information and to undertake vocational guidance and employment counseling, taking into consideration the characteristics of women workers in order to help women select suitable jobs and adapt themselves smoothly to the jobs. Promotion of access to vocational training (art. 8).— The State and prefectural governments are required to undertake educational and informational activities concerning vocational training in order to help women workers acquire skills and develop their abilities, and also to take appropriate measures necessary to facilitate the training of working women, including arrangements to diversify training subjects and the terms of training. Educational activities (art. 5). In order to foster better understanding and concern about the welfare of working women, and to increase awareness among working women, the State and local bodies are required to undertake necessary educational activities. Guidance, counseling, and courses (art. 12).-In order to help women workers enjoy a full worklife with their dual responsibilities at home and at work well harmonized, the State and local bodies are required to undertake more actively guidance and counseling services and training courses on such subjects as living techniques, home management, and health care. Promotion of welfare centers for working women (art. 13). Local public bodies are required to establish welfare centers for working women to undertake their overall projects related to the welfare of women workers, and to make efforts for the improvement of the operation of the centers. The State gives to the public bodies subsidies for the establishment of the centers as well as guidance and advice on the method of operation. Measures To Be Taken by Employers The Working Women's Welfare Law makes it obligatory for employers to make efforts to work out and implement special arrangements to protect women workers' health during pregnancy and after childbirth, as well as to help them during the childrearing period. As stated above, the Labor Standards Law provides for minimum standards for conditions of work peculiar to working mothers, including maternity leave, transfer to lighter jobs, and nursing time. The Working Women's Welfare Law, on the other hand, specifies measures to be taken by employers as appropriate in their enterprises for the promotion of maternity protection beyond the measures prescribed in the Labor Standards Law. Arrangements for the health care of working mothers during pregnancy and after childbirth (arts. 9 and 10).— To preserve the health of women workers who are pregnant, or within 1 year after childbirth, the law requires that employers take appropriate measures such as: arrangements to enable pregnant women to have necessary hours to undergo health examinations and receive health guidance; transfer to another duty station or arrange for more flexible business hours to enable these women workers to avoid commutation rush; limitation on overtime and night work; provision of rest rooms. Arrangements for child care (art. 11).—Employers are urged to introduce child care leave, which enables a working mother with an infant to stay at home for a certain period without losing her employment status at the enterprise and with the guarantee of returning to employment on completion of the leave. Other actions recommended to employers include special arrangements relating to working hours for working mothers whose infants are taken care of at day nurseries, or who want to receive health guidance for their infants, and the provision of a feeding room and other facilities for nursing mothers. |