Human Resource Management Keiichiro HAMAGUCHI

Chapter 3 Section 8 Male Workers and Female Workers

(1) Women in the Japanese Employment System Women were treated as non-regular, peripheral and ancillary workers in the traditional Japanese employment system. There were mandatory retirement for married women or earlier mandatory retirement age for women. But female workers have steadily increased.

(2) Prohibition of Wage Discrimination against Women Art.4 of LSL prohibits only wage discrimination “by reason of the worker being a woman.” But women had few comparable men because they were treated differently in status, in-house training, job content and length of service. Wage difference based on these discriminatory treatment were not regarded as prohibited wage discrimination.

(3) Case Law on Discriminatory Treatment other than Wages Discriminatory treatment was only redressed by individual court decisions. Mandatory retirement upon marriage (Simitomo Cement case) and mandatory retirement age at 30 for women (55 for men) (Nissan Motor case) was ruled as null and void. But discrimination against women in collective redundancy was ruled as legal.

(4) The Equal Employment Opportunity Law of 1985 and 1997 In order to ratify the UN Convention on elimination of discrimination against women, Japanese government enacted EEOL in 1985. The 1985 EEOL was only “endeavor obligation law” in main HRM areas such as recruitment, hiring, assignment and promotion. The 1997 EEOL prohibits all these discriminations.

(5) Dual Track Personnel System Companies abandoned blatant discrimination against women. They introduced “separate-track employment system” based on choice by workers. General track involves routine work and no obligation to comply with transfer orders. Career track involves discretionary work and obligation to company-wide transfers. Given the family responsibilities, women are forced to choose the general track.

(6) Sexual Harassment There is no provision prohibiting sexual harassment. Women workers had sued sexual harassment case from 1990s. 1997 EEOL introduced a provision requiring employers to pay attention this problem.

(7) Harmonization of Work and Family Life To guarantee a substantive choice in dual track system, institutional arrangement for harmonization of work and family life are indispensable. 1991 Child Care Leave Law provides both male and female workers with right to leave until one year birthday. But there are very few male workers who take the leave in practice.