Abstract
The aim of this paper is to examine how the aspects of occupational practices derived from the gender-based division of labor affect people's opportunities for career advancement—such as departure from/continuity of full-time employment and access to a position of authority and control in the workplace. On the basis of occupational history data from the Social Stratification and Social Mobility Survey conducted in Japan in 2005 as well as information on the proportion of male and female workers in each detailed occupational category, we reveal gender disparities in their job histories, career attainment process, and job authority. Despite the significant increase in dual-earner households, gender remains an important constraint to women's employment continuity and attainment of workplace authority. The findings presented here suggest that highly educated women do not necessarily remain longer in the full-time labor force and that their spouse's job stability appears to increase the probability of departure from the labor force for married women. The analysis also reveals that women in both heavily female- and male-dominated occupations tend to have better access to workplace authority than women in other occupations. However, our findings suggest that women's own human capital, such as education and labor force experience have limited effects on the authority attainment process. Furthermore, birth cohort, which refer s to the entry cohort in the labor market, appears to be a determinant of promotional opportunities, and those who entered the labor market during the Heisei recession tend to have limited opportunities for promotions. The implications for policies promoting gender equality are discussed.
