Paper short abstract:

This paper aims at analysing whether the Abe government's push for the promotion of women has exerted any effects on corporate employment practice. It takes Japanese life insurance companies as a case, for the life insurance companies have been traditionally a major employer of women in Japan.

Paper long abstract:

The percentage of managerial positions held by women in Japan is 11 percent, placing Japan among the lowest group countries in the OECD. The Japanese government has announced a goal of increasing this percentage to 30 percent by 2020. To achieve this goal, the Act concerning Promotion of Women's Career Activities (PWCA) was enacted in 2015. The law requires businesses with over 300 employees to set public numerical targets for the employment of women and a percentage of women's promotion to managerial positions.

This paper aims at analysing whether the Abe government's push for the promotion of women has exerted any effects on corporate employment practice regarding women's employment and promotion. It takes Japanese life insurance companies as a test case, for the life insurance companies have been traditionally a major employer of women in Japan. Women comprise more than 90% of sales staff in life insurance industry and more than 50% of clerical staff. However the ratio of women's managerial position is very low (the lowest company is 3.8%, the highest is 29%) due to the gender based personnel management system. How do life insurance companies respond to the enactment of the PWCA by which all companies now must set numerical targets for the percentage of women's promotion to managerial positions?

This paper shows that companies attempt to meet the targets of women's promotion by creating new 'nominal' managerial positions rather than incorporating women into male career patterns. The implication of this kind of diversification of promotion patterns is not yet clear, but this paper points out that it might bring about a change in rigid gendered promotion and career patterns in Japanese companies as an unintended outcome.