Womenomics: Bridging Gender Disparity in Japan?

By Yashasvini Awasthy, Lady Shri Ram College for Women

Japan — with its developed industries and ambitious workforce — has proven itself to be one of the fastest growing and richest economies of the world. Today, it ranks 6th among 40 countries in the Asia–Pacific region. However, even this accomplished economy faces its own challenges.

In recent years the obstacle that the country has faced has been slow economic growth as a result of the depleting workforce. In simple terms — there aren’t enough workers in the economy, creating a trickle down effect of lower production and decreased contribution to Japan’s economy. The two biggest reasons backing this shortage are

i) The graying population and

ii) A low birth rate.

Life expectancy in Japan now stands at the age of 85. The demographic shift that this high life expectancy brings increases the burden of pensions on the country at the same time as the earning potential falls. The second factor — the low birth rate which falls at about 1.46 is significantly low compared to countries like the United States.

Which brings us to the crux of the matter — Womenomics. “Womenomics” is a policy that came about in the form of Japan’s response to this issue. First coined by Kathy Matsui, the Chief Japan Strategist for Goldman Sachs and later adopted by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a part of his “Abenomics”, a set of policies implemented to bring about the country’s economic growth. The policy aims at promoting the economic growth (and fertility rate) of the country by introducing a larger number of women into the workforce. The detailed goals of the policy include

• Increasing female labour participation.
• Boosting the percentage of women returning to work after their first child and expanding child care capacity
• Increasing female representation in leadership positions.
• Encouraging paternity leaves for fathers.

Largely, this policy has been effective with an increase in female labour participation (about 70.7% in 2019) and an increase in daycare support for mothers. Women have been awarded leadership positions across sectors and child care policies have greatly decreased the burden of child rearing for mothers.

So — it’s working right? Perhaps, perhaps not. The saying does go “easier said than done”.

While the female labour participation — and subsequently the economy — of Japan is growing, it is important to take a closer look at the scope of improvement that still exists.

A majority (about 44.2% in 2019) of the women in the country are employed in part-time jobs instead of regular jobs. Not only does this imply the usual lower salary (330 Yen lower than their male counterparts) and long hours but also a lack of benefits and the culling of any career prospects they may have. Furthermore, women are seen as the primary caregivers in their families according to the cultural and social norms and — despite the policy — are not provided enough relief from childbearing to dedicate the hours needed to advance in their careers at a secured rate. As a policy itself, Womenomics has seen a delay in its implementation of at least five years.

So yes, the policy can work as desired — given that it takes into account its scope of improvement. Setting numerical goals without addressing the root cause of low female labour participation can only take the country so far but with the right tools at its disposal, Womenomics can certainly help Japan’s economy thrive.

~About The Author~

Yashasvini is a a student of Economics and Statistics at LSR.

She greatly enjoys academic rigor (however much she may complain about it).

A cat enthusiast and an avid reader of fantasy and romance novels, she can happily spend her days sitting by the window on a rainy day with a book in hand.