Economic Gaps and Equity among Employees : Aiming at a Transformation from "Japan's 1960s System" to a New Social System

Abstract

"Japanese employment practices" and "male bread-winner families" were tightly bound together in 1960's Japan. This bind shall be called "Japan's 1960's System." This social system has been accepted and perpetuated since then. However, it has also been characterized by economic gaps across gender lines and between regular and non-regular employees, and it has resulted in discrimination against female and non-regular employees. Recently, the conditions for the existence of "Japan's 1960's System" have begun to disappear. But, the economic gaps and discrimination described above still exist. This has become a growing problem in Japanese society. I will argue that a return to the rigid "Japan's 1960's System" is not a valid solution to current social problems, but that an effort to establish a new social system built on job-based employment practices and diverse family structures would constitute a better solution. Furthermore, a fundamental part of this approach is the introduction of a job evaluation system based on the pay-equity principle. I will describe where research and development on pay equity have attained feasibility.