1 ファミリー・フレンドリー企業と育児支援政策(テーマ別分科会2=ファミリーフレンドリーな雇用管理,II テーマ別分科会=報告論文と座長報告)

抄録

In the process of creating a gender equal society in Japan, the western "family-friendly" concept has been introduced, and more Japanese companies are now trying such family-friendly programs. This is a step away from the conventional Japanese work environment and conditions; however, the question arises whether such a family-friendly concept is totally new and has never existed in Japan. This paper considers this question in the introductory section, describing the current definition of the "family-friendly" concept. Then, Section II speculates on the family-friendly concept with regard to the Japanese employment systems in the high economic growth period; it proposes the existence of a "Japanese-style family-friendly policy," which protected the entire household at a price: corporations demanded long working hours from male employees and either unpaid labor or peripheral work from women. Section III examines the family-friendly concept in the United States, where the continuous employment rate for women is higher than that of Japan. This section demonstrates the case studies of American companies Patagonia and Johnson & Johnson, which are known as family-friendly companies. Section IV discusses the current Japanese child care situation, exploring what corporate support programs could help to solve the existing problems of child care, and suggests certain family-friendly policies that Japan may take in the future. This is followed by the conclusion in Section V, which proposes a new type of western family-friendliness in Japanese society.