Wage inequality of women in Japan

One of the complaints I often hear regarding Japan is the salary difference between women and men. While a man earns 1200 yen per hour, a woman in a similar job receives only 1,000 yen. This seems unfair, but to what extent is this wage inequality?

The salary difference between women tends to be large, and there is a huge range of factors responsible for this. While men can earn around 350,000 yen per month, there are women doing the same job who earn around 250,000 yen. The difference between the average salaries paid to men and women corresponds to 25.9% of the average salary of men.

Remembering and making it clear here: Do not generalize! 

Why do women earn less?

There are several factors that explain this distortion in Japan’s wage patterns. Let’s see a list below:

• The national and international trends that influence the diverse Japanese labor market have contributed to greater gender inequality;
• The working hours of women tend to be shorter;
• Women are often employed in lower-paying occupations;
• Employers believe that women should earn less because they should exert less effort than men;
• Loopholes in laws allow companies to pay women less than men for the same work;
• The wage gap is more evident in factories;
• A small hint of machismo still prevails;
• Many women end up leaving their careers due to family, which scares companies from investing too much in them;

There is still a philosophy that men should take on the role of head of the family and breadwinner, while for women, a part-time job is enough to supplement the income.

Women’s work in Japan

Women fill 63% of baito or part-time jobs in Japan. The consequence of this is that non-regular workers earn 38% less than the average regular workers. Women dominate jobs in hotels, restaurants, etc.

This wage difference has been gradually decreasing. Gender inequalities in the Japanese professional world have significantly decreased for university graduates. Nowadays, women have shown themselves capable and tend to hold more than 15% of high-level positions in companies. The Prime Minister of Japan wants at least 30% of women to hold these positions in all possible areas.

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.

According to research, it is common for Japanese women to resign due to feeling uncomfortable with their salaries, promotions, and the rare leadership roles they receive.

Take the beam out of your eye, Brazil!

Everyone should complain and fight for equal rights; the big problem is that many think this only happens in Japan. Some even attack Japan, saying it is a sexist and very unequal country. The big problem is that unfortunately, Brazil ranks among the last places in the salary equality ranking, at least it has been second to last. So before starting to use Japan as an example of a country with wage inequality, it is good to reevaluate our own country.

The wage 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% of female members in government, while Brazil has only about 15%.

Although the salaries of Japanese women remain lower than those of men, their average is still 8,000 reais per month. Even though the economy and cost of living in Japan are more expensive (not as much as one might think), the purchasing power of the Japanese is much greater.

The wage difference between men and women is a global problem, and unfortunately, research reveals that this will only disappear in 135 years. What do you think can be done regarding this issue?