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Japan Working Women
Japanese women are joining the labor force in
unprecedented
numbers. In 1987 there were 24.3 million working women (40
percent
of the labor force), and they accounted for 59 percent of
the
increase in employment from 1975 to 1987. The
participation rate
for women in the labor force (the ratio of those working
to all
women aged fifteen and older) rose from 45.7 percent in
1975 to
50.6 percent in 1991 and was expected to reach 50 percent
by 2000.
The growing participation of women reflected both
supply and
demand factors. Industries such as wholesaling, retailing,
banking,
and insurance have expanded, in large part because of the
effective
use of women as part-time employees
(see Age Structure
, ch. 2).
Data as of January 1994
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