{"id":44703,"date":"2024-05-07T05:16:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T05:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/07\/it-took-decades-but-japans-working-women-are-making-progress\/"},"modified":"2024-05-07T05:16:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T05:16:00","slug":"it-took-decades-but-japans-working-women-are-making-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/07\/it-took-decades-but-japans-working-women-are-making-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"It Took Decades, but Japan\u2019s Working Women Are Making Progress"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When the future empress of Japan entered the country\u2019s elite diplomatic corps in 1987, a year after a major equal employment law went into effect, she was one of only three female recruits. Known then as Masako Owada, she worked long hours and had a rising career<\/a> as a trade negotiator. But she lasted just under six years in the job, giving it up to marry Crown Prince \u2014 and now Emperor \u2014 Naruhito.<\/p>\n

Much has changed for Japan\u2019s Foreign Ministry \u2014 and, in some ways, for Japanese women more broadly \u2014 in the ensuing three decades.<\/p>\n

Since 2020, women have comprised nearly half of each entering class of diplomats, and many women continue their careers after they marry. These advances, in a country where women were predominantly hired only for clerical positions into the 1980s, show how the simple power of numbers can, however slowly, begin to remake workplace cultures and create a pipeline for leadership.<\/p>\n

For years, Japan has promoted women in the workplace<\/a> to aid its sputtering economy. Private-sector employers have taken some steps, like encouraging male employees to do more around the house, or setting limits on after-work outings that can complicate child care. But many women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n