Female labor - Joseiroudou

Japanese: 女性労働 - じょせいろうどう

It usually refers to women's employed labor (wage labor), and is often used to distinguish it from domestic work and self-employed labor.

[Goga Kazumichi]

Women's Work in the Prewar Period

As the Industrial Revolution established large-scale mechanized industry and areas of unskilled labor that did not require much muscle strength expanded, women were drawn into factories along with younger workers to replace skilled male workers. In Japan, the Industrial Revolution was almost complete, centered on the cotton spinning sector, between the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. The majority of factory workers at the time were textile industry workers (64.4% in 1894, 64.7% in 1913), and many of them were women. Women accounted for more than 60% of all factory workers. The proportion of young women was particularly high, and many of them were the children of poor farmers struggling with high rents, and they were sent to work in factories on fixed-term contracts to reduce the number of mouths to feed and supplement their household income.

The working conditions of these female factory workers were harsh and without rights, as described in the book "The Sad History of Female Factory Workers" (published in 1925 by Hosoi Wakizo). Working hours were 13-14 hours, sometimes as long as 17-18 hours. To ensure continuous operation, late-night shifts and two-shift systems were common. Furthermore, wages were merely the standard for single-person workers to supplement the family income, and payment methods that involved rewards and punishments were used to motivate the female factory workers to work harder. Their basic rights as workers were not guaranteed, and they were forcibly tied up in dormitories, and those who tried to escape were subjected to brutal corporal punishment. The working conditions of these female factory workers are recorded in detail in "The Lower Class Society of Japan" (1899) by Yokoyama Gennosuke and "The Situation of Factory Workers" (1903), edited by the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.

Under these circumstances, the government enacted the Factory Act in 1911 (Meiji 44) and came into effect in 1916 (Taisho 5), but its contents were extremely inadequate compared to British Factory Acts (1844 Act, 1847 Act, etc.).Firstly, the applicable factories were limited to those with 15 or more employees, people under the age of 12 were prohibited from working, working hours for those under 15 and women were limited to 12 hours, and the ban on night work for these people was suspended for 15 years after the enactment of the act in the case of shift work, etc.

After World War I, in response to requests from the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the rise of the labor movement, the government revised the Factory Act in 1923 and put it into effect in July 1926. This expanded the scope of applicable factories to include those employing 10 or more workers, prohibited those under 14 from working, reduced working hours for women and those under 16 from 12 to 11 hours, and stipulated maternity leave for the first time. Furthermore, in 1929 (Showa 4), night work was prohibited for women and minors. In addition, the amendment to the Mine Labor Assistance Regulations (1928) prohibited women from working underground in principle. In this environment, women's fields of employment expanded from the traditional textile sector to commerce, finance, insurance, public affairs, and the service sector, and the term "working woman" was born. After the Manchurian Incident, the industrial structure was shifting to heavy and chemical industries in the process leading up to Japan's defeat in the Pacific War, and by 1933, the number of male factory workers exceeded the number of female workers.

[Goga Kazumichi]

Women in the Workforce Today

During the democratization process after the Second World War, the Labor Standards Act was enacted in 1947, and regulations for the protection of women, such as menstrual leave, prohibition of night work, restrictions on overtime and holiday work, and childcare time, were enhanced. Women's participation in the workforce and entry into the workplace progressed rapidly during the period of high economic growth, and the number of female workers, which was 5.31 million in 1955, doubled to 10.96 million in 1970, 15.48 million in 1985, 18.34 million in 1990 (Heisei 2), 21.4 million in 2000, and 23.12 million in 2008. The ratio of women to the total workforce has reached 41.8% (2008) (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications "Labor Force Survey"). Sectors where many female workers are employed are the service industry, manufacturing, and wholesale/retail industry, and in recent years, with the progress of the so-called "service economy," there has been a rapid increase in employment in the tertiary industry. In terms of occupational characteristics, the largest group was office workers (7.54 million people in 2008, same below), followed by production process/labor workers (4.38 million people) and professional/technical workers (4.07 million people).

[Goga Kazumichi]

Gender Role Division and Female Labor

The employment patterns of Japanese women have different characteristics from those of men. One of them is that the labor force participation rate (the percentage of the labor force (employed + unemployed)) peaks in the early 20s (75.1% in 1990, 70.1% in 2006, 69.5% in 2007), declines, hits bottom in the early 30s (51.7% in 1990, 62.8% in 2006, 64.0% in 2007), and then rises again to the late 40s (71.7% in 1990, 71.4% in 2006, 72.0% in 2007), forming an M-shaped curve. This is because a certain percentage of women leave the workforce for marriage, childbirth, and childcare, and then return to work as their children grow up. When re-entering the workforce, it is difficult to obtain full-time employment, so many women become part-timers. The percentage of women who do not stop working is increasing year by year, but the M-shaped curve is still prominent. Similar trends were once seen in other developed countries, but the M-shaped pattern has gradually disappeared as governments have implemented policies to eliminate gender role division in order to avoid concentrating the burden of housework, childcare, and elderly care on women.

The second characteristic of female labor is the type of employment. Compared to men, the proportion of part-time and casual workers among female workers is particularly high, with 40.3% of women working as opposed to 8.7% of men as of 2009. This is because companies are curbing or reducing the number of regular workers in order to cut costs, while actively utilizing non-regular employment of women. The background to this is also related to the gender division of labor roles. In Japan, the responsibility for housework, childcare, and elderly care is concentrated on women, and as a result, women themselves are often forced to avoid regular employment, where long working hours are the norm.

[Goga Kazumichi]

Working conditions

Japan has the largest wage gap between men and women among developed countries. According to the Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2008) by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the hourly wage (including bonuses) of male workers (all industries average) is 2,549 yen, while that of female workers (same industry average) is 1,685 yen, which is only 60% of that of men. There is also a large gender gap in the regular wages of standard workers with the same conditions such as age, educational background, and years of service. In the case of high school graduates, women in the 50-54 age group earn about 70% of the wages of men. The main reason for this disparity is the employment management of companies. Many women are placed in lower positions than men when it comes to promotions, and so their wages are also lower. There are very few women in positions of section manager or above in companies.

The ones who are actually pushing for the elimination of gender discrimination in wages and promotions are women working for trading companies, manufacturers, securities companies, etc., and since the 1990s they have been working on this movement, appealing to courts and international opinion (for example, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW). The basis for their efforts is the idea of "equal pay for work of equal value" (the principle that equal pay should be paid not only when the job is the same, but also when the jobs are different and the work is of equal value).

[Goga Kazumichi]

Enactment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by the United Nations in 1979, calls for the elimination of gender discrimination based on the division of labor roles in all areas, including employment and working conditions, and emphasizes the importance of maternity protection, calling for the adoption of such measures by the signatory countries. Japan ratified the Convention and was forced to develop domestic laws in line with its aims. The Equal Employment Opportunity Law (Law for Ensuring Equal Opportunities and Treatment for Men and Women in the Employment Field, and Promoting the Welfare of Female Workers, etc., enacted in April 1986) imposed an obligation on employers to make efforts to eliminate gender discrimination in recruitment, hiring, placement, and promotion, and also prohibited gender discrimination in education and training, welfare benefits, retirement age, resignation, and dismissal (although there were no penalties). However, in exchange for these measures, the protection regulations for women that had been stipulated in the Labor Standards Law were significantly relaxed, and restrictions on overtime, holiday work, and night work for women in professional and managerial positions were abolished.

Even after the Equal Employment Opportunity Law came into force, gender discrimination in employment management continued. For example, when hiring, companies divided employees into two categories: general employee course, which allowed promotion to managerial positions but involved transfers, and general employee course, which did not involve transfers but did not allow promotion, and exclusively hired women for the latter course (indirect discrimination).

The revised Equal Employment Opportunity Law, enacted in June 1997 (and came into force in April 1999), sought to promote gender equality by changing the previous obligation for employers to make an effort to eliminate discrimination in recruitment, hiring, placement and promotion to a prohibition provision, and by establishing new preventative measures against sexual harassment. However, in exchange for this, the Labor Standards Act's protective provisions for women, such as restrictions on overtime work, holiday work and late-night work, were completely abolished. If overtime work, holiday work and late-night work become commonplace, there is a risk of harming health, and in principle, they should be avoided as much as possible regardless of gender, but these measures were not taken, and the abolition of the protective provisions for women means that women can work in the same way as men. There is a conflict over this between those who believe that it will promote women's advancement into the workplace and those who believe that it will hinder them.

The revised law enacted in June 2006 (and came into force in April 2007) expanded protection against sexual harassment, which had previously been limited to women, to men as well, and imposed on employers a stronger "duty to take measures" than the previous "duty of consideration." The concept of indirect discrimination was also introduced, but the term "indirect discrimination" is not used, and the law is written in such a way that measures taken by employers are prohibited.

[Goga Kazumichi]

"Women's Work in Japan," by Shinozuka Eiko (1982, Toyo Keizai Shinposha)" ▽ "New Theory of Women's Work," edited by Takenaka Emiko (1991, Yuhikaku)" ▽ "Women and the Japanese Corporate Society," edited by the Institute for Basic Economic Science (1995, Aoki Shoten)" ▽ "Women's Challenge to Equality," by Miyaji Mitsuko (1996, Akashi Shoten)" ▽ "Women's Work: From the 20th Century to the 21st Century," edited by the Women's Labor Issues Study Group (2002, Aoki Shoten)" ▽ "Women's Work and Management," by Kimoto Kimiko (2003, Keiso Shobo)" ▽ "Women's Work around the World: Towards the Creation of a Gender-Balanced Society," edited by Shibayama Emiko, Fujii Harue, and Moriya Takashi (2005, Minerva Shobo)" ▽ "Sex-based Wage Discrimination in Japan: The Possibility of the Principle of Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value," by Mori Masumi (2005, Yuhikaku) ▽ "Analysis of Female Labor," various years' editions compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's Bureau of Employment Equality and Children and Families (21st Century Vocational Foundation)" ▽ "Women's White Paper," various years' editions compiled by the Japan Federation of Women's Organizations (Holp Publishing)" ▽ "The Sad History of Female Factory Workers," by Hosoi Wakizo (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "Japan's Lower Class Society," by Yokoyama Gennosuke (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "Female Labor and Corporate Society," by Kumazawa Makoto (Iwanami Shinsho)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

通常、女性の雇用労働（賃労働）をいい、家事労働や自営的労働と区別して用いられることが多い。

［伍賀一道］

戦前の女性労働

産業革命によって機械制大工業が確立し、筋力をあまり必要としない不熟練労働分野が拡大すると、男子熟練労働者にかわって女性が年少者とともに工場に引き入れられた。日本においては日清(にっしん)戦争から日露戦争にかけて綿紡績部門を中心に産業革命がほぼ完了した。当時の工場労働者の大部分は繊維産業労働者で（1894年64.4％、1913年64.7％）、その多くが女性であった。全工場労働者に占める女性の割合は60％を超えていた。とくに若年女子の比重が高く、その多くは高率小作料に苦しむ貧農の子女で、口減らしと家計補助を目的として年期契約で工場へ働きに出された。

　彼らの労働実態は、『女工哀史』（細井和喜蔵(わきぞう)の1925年刊の著書）とよばれたごとく、無権利で過酷であった。労働時間は13～14時間、長い場合は17～18時間に達した。工場では連続操業を図るため深夜業や二交替制が一般化していた。また賃金は家計補助的な単身者賃金の水準にすぎず、女工を労働強化に駆り立てるため賞罰的な賃金支払い方法が用いられた。労働者としての基本的権利は保障されず、寄宿舎に強制的に緊縛され、逃亡を企てた者には残忍な体罰が加えられた。これら女工の労働実態については、横山源之助(げんのすけ)著『日本之下層社会』（1899）、農商務省編『職工事情』（1903）などに詳しく記録されている。

　このような状況のもとで政府は1911年（明治44）に工場法を制定し、1916年（大正5）から施行したが、その内容はイギリスの工場法（1844年法、1847年法など）と比較し、きわめて不十分なものであった。まず適用対象工場は職工数15人以上の工場に限定、12歳未満の就労禁止、15歳未満および女性の就業時間を12時間以内に制限、彼らに対する深夜業禁止については、交替制などの場合は同法施行後15年間は猶予するというものであった。

　第一次世界大戦後、ILO（国際労働機関）からの要請と労働運動の高揚を背景に1923年に政府は工場法を改正し、1926年7月に施行した。これにより適用工場は職工10人以上を使用する工場に拡大し、14歳未満の就業禁止、16歳未満の者と女性の就業時間を12時間から11時間に短縮、産前産後の休暇を初めて規定した。さらに1929年（昭和4）に女性・年少者の深夜業禁止が実現した。また鉱山では鉱山労役扶助規則改正（1928）によって女性の坑内労働が原則的に禁止された。このようななかで女性の就労分野は、従来の繊維部門から商業・金融・保険・公務・サービス部門へと拡大し、職業婦人ということばが登場した。満州事変以降、太平洋戦争敗戦に至る過程で産業構造の重化学工業化が進み、1933年には工場労働者のなかで男子労働者数が女子労働者数を上回るようになった。

［伍賀一道］

今日の女性労働

第二次世界大戦後の民主化の過程で1947年に労働基準法が制定され、生理休暇、深夜労働の禁止、時間外・休日労働の制限、育児時間など女子保護規定が充実した。女性の労働者化、職場進出は高度成長過程で急速に進み、1955年当時531万人であった女性労働者は、1970年には1096万人へと倍増し、1985年には1548万人、1990年（平成2）1834万人、2000年2140万人、2008年2312万人にまで増加した。労働者全体に占める女性の比率は41.8％（2008）に達している（総務省「労働力調査」）。女性労働者が多く就労している部門はサービス業、製造業、卸売・小売業で、近年、いわゆる「サービス経済化」の進展とともに第三次産業への就労が急増している。また職種別特徴をみると、事務従事者（754万人、2008年、以下同じ）がもっとも多く、これに生産工程・労務作業者（438万人）、専門的・技術的職業従事者（407万人）が続いている。

［伍賀一道］

性別役割分業と女性労働

日本の女性の就労形態には男性とは異なる特徴がある。その一つは同一年齢人口のなかで労働力人口（就業者＋完全失業者）の占める割合（労働力率）が20代前半（1990年75.1％、2006年70.1％、2007年69.5％）をピークに低下し、30代前半期（1990年51.7％、2006年62.8％、2007年64.0％）に底を迎え、その後40代後半（1990年71.7％、2006年71.4％、2007年72.0％）まで再び上昇するM字型カーブを描いていることである。これは女性の一定部分が結婚や出産、育児のためにいったん仕事を離れた後、子供が成長するにつれふたたび仕事に復帰するためである。再就職の場合には正規雇用につくことは困難となるため多くの女性がパートタイマーとなる。仕事を中断しない女性の割合は年々増えつつあるが、依然としてM字型カーブは顕著である。かつてはほかの先進国でも同様の傾向がみられたが、各国政府が家事労働や育児、介護の負担の女性への集中を避けることを目ざして性別役割分業解消の政策を進めたため、M字型はしだいに解消されてきた。

　女性労働の第二の特徴は雇用形態にある。男性に比べ、女性労働者のなかでパート、アルバイトの占める比率はとくに高く、2009年時点で男8.7％に対し、女40.3％である。これは企業がコストの切り下げを目的に正規労働者を抑制または削減する一方、女性の非正規雇用を積極的に活用しているためである。その背景には性別役割分業も関係している。日本では女性に家事や育児、介護の責任が集中している結果、長時間労働が一般化している正規雇用を女性自ら避けざるをえない場合が多い。

［伍賀一道］

労働条件

男女間の賃金格差は先進国のなかで日本がもっとも大きい。厚生労働省「賃金構造基本統計調査」（2008）によれば男子労働者（全産業平均）の時間当り賃金（ボーナス分を含む）2549円に対し、女子労働者（同）の賃金は1685円で、男子の6割台にとどまっている。年齢・学歴・勤続年数などの条件を同一にした標準労働者の所定内賃金についても男女間格差は大きく、高卒の場合、50～54歳層で女性の賃金は男性のおよそ7割の水準である。こうした格差が生ずるおもな要因は企業の雇用管理にある。昇進・昇格の際に女性の多くは男性よりも低い地位に置かれるため賃金も低くなる。企業のなかで課長以上の役職者についている女性はきわめて少数である。

　賃金や昇格などの男女差別の解消を実質的に推進しているのは、商社、メーカー、証券会社などに勤務する女性たちで、1990年代から裁判や国際世論（たとえば国連女性差別撤廃委員会CEDAW）に訴えるなどの運動に取り組んでいる。その際の論拠とされているのが「同一価値労働同一賃金原則」（同一の職務の場合はもとより、職務が異なる場合でも等しい価値をもっている仕事に従事しているならば、同一賃金を支給すべきとする原則）という理念である。

［伍賀一道］

男女雇用機会均等法の成立

1979年に国連で採択された女性差別撤廃条約は、雇用や労働条件など、あらゆる分野における性別役割分業に基づく男女差別を撤廃するとともに、母性保護の重要性を強調し、こうした措置を条約締結国がとることを求めている。日本は同条約を批准し、その趣旨にそって国内法を整備する必要に迫られた。1985年（昭和60）5月に成立した男女雇用機会均等法（雇用の分野における男女の均等な機会及び待遇の確保等女子労働者の福祉の増進に関する法律。1986年4月施行）は、募集・採用や配置・昇進面での男女差別の排除について事業主に努力義務を課し、また教育訓練、福利厚生、定年・退職・解雇面での男女差別を禁止した（ただし、罰則規定はない）。しかし、こうした措置と引き換えに、従来、労働基準法で定められていた女子保護規定は大幅に緩和され、専門職や管理職の女性に対しては、時間外・休日労働、深夜業の制限は廃止された。

　男女雇用機会均等法の施行後も雇用管理面での男女差別は依然として残った。たとえば、採用にあたって企業は、管理職に昇進できるが転勤を伴う総合職コースと、転勤がないかわりに昇進もできない一般職コースに区分して、女性はもっぱら後者で採用するなどの例（間接差別）がみられた。

　1997年（平成9）6月に成立した改正男女雇用機会均等法（1999年4月施行）は、使用者に対して、募集・採用や配置・昇進の際の差別の排除を従来の努力義務から禁止規定に改めること、新たにセクシュアル・ハラスメントに対する防止措置を設けることなど、男女平等の促進を図ったが、それと引き換えに時間外・休日労働や深夜業の規制などの労働基準法の女子保護規定が全面的に撤廃された。時間外・休日労働や深夜業が日常化すると健康を害するおそれがあり、本来、男女を問わず可能な限り避けるべきであるが、こうした措置がとられず、女子保護規定を撤廃することで女性も男性と同様の働き方が可能となった。これをめぐって、女性の職場進出を促進すると考える見解と、逆に妨げることになるという見解とが対立している。

　2006年6月に成立した改正法（2007年4月施行）では、セクシュアル・ハラスメントに関して、それまで女性に限られていた保護対象が男性にまで拡大され、事業主には従来の「配慮義務」より強化された「措置義務」が課せられることになった。また、間接差別に関する概念が導入されたが、間接差別という用語が用いられているわけではなく、事業主の行う措置を禁止するという定め方をしている。

［伍賀一道］

『篠塚英子著『日本の女子労働』（1982・東洋経済新報社）』▽『竹中恵美子編『新・女子労働論』（1991・有斐閣）』▽『基礎経済科学研究所編『日本型企業社会と女性』（1995・青木書店）』▽『宮地光子著『平等への女たちの挑戦』（1996・明石書店）』▽『女性労働問題研究会編『女性労働　20世紀から21世紀へ』（2002・青木書店）』▽『木本喜美子著『女性労働とマネジメント』（2003・勁草書房）』▽『柴山恵美子・藤井治枝・守屋貴司編著『世界の女性労働――ジェンダー・バランス社会の創造へ』（2005・ミネルヴァ書房）』▽『森ます美著『日本の性差別賃金――同一価値労働同一賃金原則の可能性』（2005・有斐閣）』▽『厚生労働省雇用均等・児童家庭局編『女性労働の分析』各年版（21世紀職業財団）』▽『日本婦人団体連合会編『女性白書』各年版（ほるぷ出版）』▽『細井和喜蔵著『女工哀史』（岩波文庫）』▽『横山源之助著『日本の下層社会』（岩波文庫）』▽『熊沢誠著『女性労働と企業社会』（岩波新書）』