抄録
In the midst of globalization, a declining birthrate, and an aging population, it has long been recognized that Japan’s labor market needs to better utilize female workforce. Among developed countries, Japan lags in terms of utilizing its female workforce. Various interrelated factors—including the custom of lifetime employment, long working hours for full-time employees, lack of measures to support work–childcare balance, discrimination against female employees in the workplace, and a lack of job market awareness among working women—are responsible for this lag in female workforce participation. However, if female workforce participation can enhance corporate earnings and competitiveness (a growing need in the current economic environment), actively promoting the utilization of female workforce may help companies improve their performance.
