Paper short abstract:

The Abe Government has prioritized support for working women. However, the Government's policymaking contradictions mean that workers, predominantly women, in public service jobs such as care work and teaching will continue to face severely unequal employment practices.

Paper long abstract:

Japan has long been seen as a serious laggard in gender equal employment opportunity, largely because of the weakness of its unions and left-wing political parties. But with both economic growth and the birthrate low, the unflinchingly conservative Abe Shinzo Government is making women's workplace advancement a cornerstone of its ambitious economic agenda. Since 2013, the Government has launched a wide range of initiatives, including the Society in Which Women Can Shine, intended to advance the interests of working women. Equal pay for equal work, reduced work hours, and stronger support for childcare are cornerstones of the campaign.

However, the Abe Government's various policies will likely help primarily professional and white-collar women, while doing little for women in lower-status or public service jobs. This report argues that the government's neoliberal proclivities will inhibit it from undertaking the difficult reforms necessary to help women in many socially important but market-disadvantaged occupations. I focus on public service and public sector occupations such as care work, teaching, library work, and counseling (regarding concerns such as job-hunting and family problems). Such occupations are important to the formation of human capital, but they rarely pay professional or even living wages without strong government commitment. This situation is aggravated by the nation's policymaking imbalance. Despite the official commitment to gender equality, for example, childcare and public education have seen conditions deteriorate drastically since 2000, largely because of the increased use of non-regular workers. The nation's difficult fiscal condition (at all policymaking levels) makes it difficult to improve employment conditions for public employees, but the Abe Government has aggravated the problem by reducing corporate taxes.

I complement the explanation of the policymaking contradictions with short examination of the campaigns being waged for public sector non-regular workers. As specific cases will show, these campaigns have made only incremental progress because of discriminatory laws, an unfriendly legal system, and severe fiscal pressures.