Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

The women's movement in Japan and its effect on the workplace

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/st74cv03m

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  • The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of women in the Japanese workplace. Data obtained from in-depth interviews and questionnaires, shows that the Japanese workplace is in a state of change moving toward a higher level of opportunity for female workers. While similar to the circumstances experienced by Western women, the changes which Japanese women are experiencing have their own history and thus are analyzed from a non-Western perspective. Some key aspects of the analysis include: training, separate positions for men and women, tasks, and perceptions of gender discrimination. For men and women who held the same jobs it was found that the majority of training experiences were gender neutral. This is consistent with the fact that Japanese companies must make training equal as mandated by the 1985 Equal Employment Opportunity Law. In the workplace, however, discrimination has taken the form of separate positions for men and women. While there were informants who were both supportive and un-supportive of job separation, it was clear that this practice resulted in lower salaries and fewer high level positions for women. When males and females held the same positions, 17% of women were given different duties. These duties included serving tea, cleaning, and hostessing, all of which are tasks generally done by a wife for her husband. Thus in some instances domestic roles determine tasks assigned in the workplace. From the informants' responses a Japanese definition of gender discrimination was formulated. Culturally, gender discrimination was noted in terms of treating women differently than men, but also included improper sexual advances. A full 80% of the study's informants acknowledged the existence of gender discrimination in the Japanese workplace. Finally, from this sample it was determined that cultural relativism, internal labor market theory, and human capital theory are all compatible tools for analysis of the Japanese labor market.
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