Abstract
Recently the problem of enlarging the number of career women in responsible posts and promoting as regards to sex has been the main topic in this field. However, there are still many barriers lying ahead before this can be realized.
The authors analized disadvantages to women in job-obtaining and promotion as well as their attitudes in surmounting these disadvantages. The objects of this analysis were mainly women of socially high position engaged in special/administrative posts and whose responsibilities are the same as man who hold similar posts.
Disadvantages to women in employment opportunities were clearly seen in each stage of recruiting, application and employment, respectively. There were many indications that the degree of disadvantage was different according to the method in which they obtained jobs, their posts and marital status. In the posts which had close relevancy to women's role, disadvantage tended to be not so high. In many cases disadvantage in promotion resulted from a difference in working assignment due to gender. It was typically seen in the case of transefer to another post or whenever a shift of position occurred. One can't deny the influence of generally accepted idea in Japan which dislikes women being placed in charge of men. It should be apparent that the playing of sexes, especially the job-sharing concept between both sexes, had serious, influence on the above mentioned barriers.
As regards the attitudss of women in surmounting these barriers, the following two types were clearly seen.
1. Positive attitude to work hard and to demonstrate their abilities by comforming to the criterion of estimation by men.
2. Negative attitude to voluntarily let promotion or a chance of making good results go in order to remain in their present job. It is important to note that in these cases they carry heavy roles in their own household management.
The above analysis leads to the hypothesis on women's jobs in relation to women's role and also on women's job obtaining patterns and their career process in relation to their roles in household management.
It follows from the authors' analysis so far that the pattern is : in the early stage of women going out to get jobs they worked until marriage in the posts which have small relevancy to women's role have to cope with many difficult problems, especially when they have small children.
