How Do Women “Shine?” Exploring Professional Women’s Perceptions of “Women’s Advancement” in Japan

Abstract

AbstractThe Abe administration has introduced policies and legislation to increase women’s participation in the workforce, known as Abenomics, under the slogan “ society where all women shine.” The study investigates the perceptions of professional women in Japan regarding the “women’s advancement” policy and the prevailing gender dynamics in a society known for its severe gender inequality. To accomplish this, semi-structured interviews with 30 professional Japanese women were conducted. The findings show that women perceive many barriers to “shining.” For example, the law promoting women’s participation and advancement in the workplace only applies to some women working in large companies. The number of women liable to benefit is small, so the initiative may have the unintended consequence of fueling divisions among women, highlighting the challenge of promoting women’s activity horizontally and vertically. As Japan’s economy has been stagnant for the past 30 years, it is perhaps natural that the government would implement policies to increase and exploit women’s labor. However, women are likely to be overburdened and stressed unless men’s participation in the home is substantially increased at the same time. Women face the challenges of working regular hours, giving birth, raising children, doing housework, and caring for family members. For this reason, the government and companies need to implement more family-friendly policies, such as improving social welfare policies, expanding public daycare centers, and setting up in-house daycare centers. Only when these issues are resolved will women be able to “shine.”