Japan: Selected Issues
IMF Staff Country Reports, May 13, 2024
Source details
- Canonical URL
- Japan: Selected Issues
Other formats
Bibliographic details
- Published: May 13, 2024
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400276682.002
Summary
- This Selected Issues paper analyzes the main drivers of persistent gender gaps in leadership in Japan and identifies public policies that can play a role in closing these gaps.
- Despite its economic relevance, analysis on the drivers of women leaders and managers in Japan is limited; a few existing studies, such as Yamaguchi (2013), use firm level or survey-based data to identify key constraints to women’s career advancement.
- Women are underrepresented in policy-making positions.
- The availability of public childcare facilities has improved and is positively associated with the share of female managers.
- Increasing female labor force participation is not sufficient to ensure that women have good jobs and good careers; policy efforts need acceleration to foster advancement of women into managerial and leadership positions.
Key findings and analysis
- Limited empirical literature exists on determinants of female leadership in Japan; notable cited work includes Yamaguchi (2013).
- Public childcare availability correlates positively with the share of female managers.
- Structural factors in employment practices and policies impede women’s career progression despite higher labor force participation.
- Improving women’s access to managerial and leadership roles would contribute to higher productivity and wages and advance an equal society.
Policy recommendations
- Reform current employment practices and policies to improve the quality of jobs for women.
- Further progress on work-style reforms is essential, including:
- Encouraging the use of flexible working schedules.
- Expanding teleworking options.
Evidence and scope
- The paper emphasizes firm-level and survey-based analyses as primary evidence sources.
- The analysis spans considerations relevant to gender, gender inequality, income, income distribution, income inequality, labor market dualism, wage income, and women’s representation in policymaking.
International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept "Japan: Selected Issues", IMF Staff Country Reports 2024, 119 (2024), accessed 9/9/2026, https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400276682.002
Content in this bundle
- Japan: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 24/119; April 19, 2024