仕事の内的報酬のジェンダー差とその構造

日本の職場における考察

抄録

The gender gap in internal rewards in the Japanese workplace is the subject of this study. Besides monetary rewards, such as wages or fringe benefits, workers also receive rewards that affect motivation and satisfaction in the workplace. Based on previous research, this study calls these types of reward an ‘internal reward’. The aim of this study is to consider whether a gender gap in internal rewards exists in the Japanese workplace. The study examines the extent to which theory - human capital or social closure theory-explains the gap in internal rewards. social closure theory proposed by Tomaskovic-Devey has two processes: the status closure process and the status composition process. The first means that women are more excluded as the quality of a job increases; the second means that a job is devalued the more women occupy a job category. To answer the research question as to which processes are at work, I conducted surveys in two large Japanese firms: One firm (Hibari) is in the electrical machinery industry; the other (Sakura) is in the telecommunication industry. This study uses three variables to indicate internal rewards: task complexity, degree of autonomy, and supervisory responsibility. There are several findings. First, gender gaps in task complexity, degree of autonomy, and supervisory responsibility are found among Hibari production workers. The study finds gender gaps in task complexity and supervisory responsibility among Hibari non-production workers. In the case of Sakura workers, gender gaps in task complexity and supervisory responsibility are founde Second, gender gaps in task complexity and the degree of autonomy among Hibari production workers are mainly explained by the status closure process. The gender gap among Hibari non-production workers is mainly explained by human capital theory. The gender gap in degree of autonomy among Sakura workers is mainly explained by the status composition process. On the other hand,the gender gap in supervisory responsibility among Sakura workers may be explained by a process unspecified by social closure theory. The study finds that neither the human capital theory nor social closure theory adequately explains the gender gap in supervisory responsibility among Hibari production workers.