Abstract

With more and more women joining the workforce, a gendered division of household labour has gradually decreased in Japanese society. The national government and corporations are striving for the promotion of gender equality in the workplace, and such efforts are highly praised within society. However, the results of gender equality do not always match their expectations. For example, while the number of female managers has increased in many Japanese companies and government agencies, most of the female managers are at the middle-management level, such as section or subsection chiefs. The reality is that female staff are scarce at the top management level. There remain human resource management practices that limit women’s promotion to executive positions and the board of directors, who can directly influence the company’s decision-making.