Progress made in Japan on gender wage gap, but more must be done

Progress has been made on improving working conditions for women in Japan but more must be done, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary said on Wednesday, adding that social attitudes about gender equality were poor.
Japan ranked 116 out of 146 countries on gender parity in the World Economic Forum’s global report last year, and efforts to promote women in management and government have stalled. There are only two women cabinet ministers among the 20 members of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet.
Women often find it particularly difficult to balance work and household duties, still broadly seen as the woman’s responsibility, forcing many into unstable and lower-paying “temporary” contract work.