TOKYO, Jun 06 (News On Japan) – The gender pay gap in Japan shows no signs of closing, with women earning around 25% less than men. As the government tries to tackle the problem, some companies are working to improve the treatment of female employees.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced on Wednesday that the average salary for April this year is 296,884 yen per person, an increase of about 2% compared to the same month last year. However, real wages, which reflect price changes, fell for the 25th month in a row compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, the government’s project team released an interim report on the gender pay gap.
The report pointed out that Japanese women’s wages are 74.8% of men’s, a wider gap compared with major Western countries. It revealed significant differences in tenure and management positions between men and women, as well as unconscious biases that hinder women’s success.
Amid the need for action, on the evening of the 5th, ‘news zero’ interviewed a company that promotes women’s advancement.
Kaori Abe (37) works at family restaurant ‘Gusto’. She quit her job to give birth and started working part-time at Gusto after her parenting duties were relaxed. Her current position is…
‘I am now a full-time manager.’
The ‘Skylark Group’, which operates Gusto, has expanded the framework for hiring women as full-time employees who want to work full-time after childbirth and childcare.
Since 2022, they have also started hiring people in their 40s and 50s as full-time employees, many of whom were women whose parenting and household responsibilities were in order.
Kaori Abe (37) who works at ‘Gusto’: ‘(Full-time employment) is greatly appreciated. In the store where I became a manager, I want to respect the crew and create an environment where everyone, including women, can thrive.โ
The government’s project team emphasizes that it is important for companies to support work-life balance and improve the treatment of non-regular workers to close the gender pay gap.
Source: NEWS
