In 2024, Japan had a gender gap index score of 0.57 in the area of economic participation and opportunity, ranking 120th out of 146 nations covered by the global gender gap index. Japan received the lowest score in the area of legislators, senior officials, and managers, which evaluates the ratio of women to men in highly skilled occupations. With 0.77 points, the highest score was achieved in the category of labor force participation rate.
Female labor force participation
For a long time, Japan relied on the male breadwinner family model to support its post-war economic growth. The model, in which men are responsible for earning an income and women stay at home to take care of the household and children, is still ingrained in people’s perceptions of traditional gender norms. The share of women in the workforce in Japan has increased over the past decades, which is the reason for the rather high score in the category of labor force participation. However, women’s careers tend to be interrupted for a longer period of time upon the birth of their first child, making it difficult for them to return to the career track.
Irregular employment among women
Significantly more women than men in the workforce are in irregular employment. This means that they work part-time or engage in temporary or contract work where they do not have the same access to social security benefits as regular full-time employees.
Given Japan’s seniority-based employment system with long working hours and a lack of child care, many choose to work in jobs that allow them to balance their domestic and professional responsibilities. In fact, the percentage of women in regular employment reaches its highest point in the age group of 25-29-year-olds and then gradually declines after the mean age of childbearing is reached.