One of the complaints I usually hear about Japan is the wage gap between women and men. While a man earns 1200 yen an hour, a woman with a similar service receives only 1,000 yen. This seems unfair, but to what extent is this wage inequality?
A diferença salarial entre as mulheres costumam ser grande, e existe uma enorme gama de fatores que são responsáveis por isso. Enquanto homens conseguem ganhar na faixa de 350.000 ienes por mês, existem mulheres que fazem a mesma coisa e ganham na faixa de 250.000 ienes. A diferença entre a média de salários pagos a homens e mulheres corresponde a 25,9% do salário médio dos homens.
Lembrando e deixando claro aqui: Não generalizem!
Table of Content
Why are women paid less?
There are several factors that explain this distortion in Japan's compensation patterns. Let's see a list below:
- National and international trends that influence Japan's diverse labor market have contributed to greater gender inequality;
- The working hours of women tend to be shorter.
- Women are often employed in occupations that pay less;
- Employers believe that women should be paid less because they should put in less effort than men;
- Gaps in the laws allow companies to pay women less for the same job that men do.
- The salary difference is most seen in factories.
- A slight hint of sexism still prevails;
- Many women end up leaving their careers due to family reasons, which ends up scaring companies from investing too much in them.
There is still a philosophy that men hold the role of head of the family and provider while women only need a part-time job to supplement the income.
Women's work in Japan
Women fill 63% of part-time job vacancies in Japan. The consequence of this is that irregular workers earn 38% less than the average regular workers. Women dominate jobs in hotels, restaurants, etc.
This wage gap has gradually narrowed. Gender inequalities in the Japanese professional world have significantly decreased for university graduates. Nowadays women have shown themselves capable and usually dominate more than 15% of high-ranking positions in companies. Japan's prime minister wants at least 30% of women to dominate these positions in every area possible.
Japan is the land of opportunities for anyone who wants and seeks. If even foreigners can secure significant positions in companies, women have shown their ability to excel and be well compensated.
De acordo com pesquisas, é comum as japonesas pedirem demissão por se sentirem desconfortáveis com seus salários, promoções e as raras funções de liderança que recebem.
Take the beam out of your eye Brazil!
Everyone should complain and fight for equal rights, the big problem is that many think this happens only in Japan. Some even attack Japan, saying it is a sexist and very unequal country. The big problem is that unfortunately Brazil is among the last places in the salary equality ranking, it has at least come in second to last. So before starting to use Japan as an example of a country with salary inequality, it's good to reassess our own country.
The salary difference between men and women in Brazil can reach up to 40,000 reais per year. To note that Japan is not so sexist, it has a portion of 22% female members in the government, while Brazil has only about 15%.
Despite Japanese women's salaries remaining lower than men's, their average is still 8,000 reais per month. Even though Japan's economy and cost of living are higher (not as much as one might think), the purchasing power of the Japanese is much greater.
The wage gap between men and women is a global problem, and unfortunately, research reveals that it is not expected to disappear for another 135 years. What do you think can be done regarding this issue?