Along with the progress of social and industrial development of the country, women have become more active in every field of social activity. Especially the recovery and development of Japan's economy after World War II have led to a remarkable increase in

the number of women engaged in economic activities. Particularly since around 1955, as a result of changes in the industrial structure and in the course of a continuous outflow of agricultural workers into other industries, the number of women workers in nonagricultural industries has greatly increased, eventually accounting for a third of all workers in paid employment.

Along with the increase in the number of women workers and technological innovations, the popularization of higher education and other factors have led to an expansion of the scope of job opportunities for women. Also, in recent years the employment of middleaged and older women, especially housewives, has conspicuously increased, resulting in changes in the structure of the female labor force.

Although the employment of women has expanded in the course of high economic growth, women's employment is susceptible to influences of economic fluctuation. Consequently, there was a decline in the number of women in employment in 1974, when a minus economic growth rate was recorded for the first time since the war. Over the long term, however, the factors which have led to the expansion of women's employment may be defined as follows.

The major factors on the side of demand can be listed as: the increased need for labor caused by high economic growth; shortage of young labor supplied by new school graduates, which was caused by the higher educational attainment among boys and girls as well as the decline in the birth rate; and mechanization and automation of production as a result of technological innovations, which were accompanied by the expansion of employment opportunities in simple and unskilled labor

areas.

On the other hand, there were some factors as well on

the side of women themselves. Firstly, with the higher level of living standard, and especially in recent years because of high prices of commodities and anxiety for one's old age, need for additional income was keenly felt. Secondly, as a result of popularization of higher education, interest in social participation increased among women. In the third place, with fewer children in a family than before, the length of the childrearing

period was shortened for women. Another factor was the extension of leisure hours as a result of the spread of electrical tools and appliances which simplified household chores.

Employment Status of Women

Participation of Women in Economic Activities

As of 1974 the number of women in the labor force was 19,960,000, or 38 percent of the total labor force. The labor force participation rate of women (computed on the basis of the female population 15 years of age and over) was 47 percent. As for the marital status of women in the labor force, 63 percent were married, 26 percent were single, and the remaining 11 percent were widowed or divorced. The labor force participation rate was highest for single women (56 percent), followed by married women (46 percent) and widowed and divorced women (37 percent).

By age group, more than half (58 percent) of the women in the labor force were middle aged or older; that is, 35 years old or over. The comparatively low labor force participation rate for widows and divorcees may be attributable to the fact that many of them were in advanced ages.

Seven percent of women in the labor force were family heads, 52 percent were the wives of family heads, 31 percent were other family members, and 10 percent consisted of one-person households. The labor force participation rate was highest for female family heads (65 percent), followed by those who made up oneperson households (63 percent). The percentage was lower for wives of family heads as well as for other family members-44 and 43 percent, respectively.

By type of household, 17 percent of these women belonged to agricultural households (households with 10 ares 1 or more of cultivated land), 19 percent to nonagricultural households (households with no ares or less than 10 ares of cultivated land) headed by selfemployed persons, and 43 percent to households headed by workers in paid employment. Thus, the last category of households was the source of nearly half of the female labor force. The labor force participation rates of female members of different types of households were: 63 percent for one-person households, 59 percent for

1 The U.S. equivalent of 10 ares is 0.2470 acre.

agricultural households, 59 percent for nonagricultural households headed by self-employed persons, and 38 percent for households headed by wage earners. These figures indicate that the labor force participation of women was much higher for agricultural households. than for wage earners' households.

The number of women not in the labor force in 1974 was 22,760,000, of which 15,560,000 (68 percent) were homemakers; 3,350,000 (15 percent) were in school; and 3,850,000 (17 percent) were not working for other reasons. In contrast, the number of men not in the labor force was 7,230,000, of which 57 percent attended school; 1 percent were engaged in housework; and 42 percent were not working for other reasons.

Of the female labor force, 19,700,000 were employed, and 260,000 were unemployed. The unemployment rate (the proportion of the unemployed among the female labor force population) was 1.3 percent. The number of unemployed men was 460,000, and the unemployment rate was 1.4 percent, slightly over that of women. This somewhat smaller unemployment rate for women may be partly attributable to the fact that some women who were separated from employment had given up staying in the labor market as unemployed, and had shifted into the population not in the labor force.

32,320,000, the proportion of paid employees was even higher-75 percent; self-employed workers accounted for 20 percent; and family workers, only 4 percent.

On the other hand, the number of female employees decreased in three industrial groups-agriculture, forestry, and hunting; fishery and related industries; and mining.

Within manufacturing, during the decade 1960 to 1970, over 100-percent increases were recorded in the number of women workers in such branches of products as furniture and fitting, electrical machinery and appliances, transport machinery and appliances, precision machinery and appliances, metal products, general machinery, and weapons. During this period, female employment declined in the textile industry. In 1974 manufacturing industries had the largest number of employed women (3,900,000), followed by wholesale and retail (2,840,000) and service industries (2,990,000). More than 80 percent of women workers were concentrated in the above three groups of industries.

Changes in Women's Paid Employment by Industries

As stated above, the number of women workers in nonagricultural sectors has increased substantially.

conspicuous in wholesale and retail and in service industries. Though manufacturing industries have the

ment Status

Formerly most women workers were employed as family workers in agriculture. However, with high economic growth in the two decades following 1955, an increasing number of women have had access to paid employment in sectors other than agriculture. In 1974 the majority of the female work force was in nonagricultural industries.

Up to 1950 about 60 percent of women workers were engaged in agriculture. This proportion subsequently declined and in 1974, 83 percent of all women workers were in nonagricultural sectors. The percentage of men in nonagricultural work was even higher91 percent.

In 1950 the proportion of family workers in the total number of working women was 61 percent, while that of paid employees was 26 percent (accounting for 26 percent of all workers in paid employment). The number of women in paid employment subsequently rose steadily, reaching 11,710,000 in 1974, or 59 percent of all employed women (32 percent of all workers in paid employment). The proportion of family workers decreased to 25 percent, while that of self-employed women remained almost stationary at the level of 15 percent. Among all male workers, numbering

ment, the number of women workers has continuously declined in the textile industry, which formerly was the typical employment field for women. The number of women workers has steadily increased in heavy industries such as metal and machine manufacturing.

During the 10 years from 1960 to 1970 the absolute number of female workers most notably increased in wholesale and retail, manufacturing, and service industries. Increasing rates were highest in finance, insurance, and real estate, as well as in wholesale and retail. Of all workers in paid employment the propor. tion of women was largest in service industries, where nearly half (48 percent) were women, followed by finance and insurance (41 percent) and wholesale and retail (41 percent).

Changes in Women's Employment by
Occupations

In the 10-year period from 1960 to 1970, women's employment increased in all types of jobs except those related to farming, forestry and fishery, and mining and quarrying. The increase in absolute number was especially notable for clerical workers, operatives, laborers, and sales workers, while the rate of increase was largest for managerial workers, followed by clerical, sales, and professional and technical workers.

In the last-mentioned occupational group, the continuous expansion of which is due largely to the popularization of higher education among girls, traditional professions for women such as medical and health workers (about 500,000) and teachers (370,000) constitute an overwhelming majority. In recent years, though, employment has expanded in new occupations such as artists, designers, photographers, musicians, stage artists, professional sportsmen, and technicians.

The occupational distribution of women workers in 1974 shows clerical workers (3,710,000) as the largest group, followed by operatives and production process laborers (3,120,000), service workers (1,550,000), professional and technical workers (1,250,000), and sales workers (1,240,000). Women accounted for more than half (52 percent) of all workers in service occupations. They also held relatively large proportions of all clerical jobs (47 percent) and professional and technical occupations (44 percent). On the other hand, women in managerial jobs made up only 1.0 percent of all female employees, or 5.8 percent of all workers in this category, although the increase rate was as high as 50 percent in 1972 and 22 percent in 1973. In contrast, male workers in managerial jobs accounted for 7.3 percent of all men in paid employment.

Increasing Women's Employment in Men's Jobs in Manufacturing Industries

The mechanization and automation of production processes, enabled by technological developments, have been accompanied by a rapid increase in the number of operatives and unskilled laborers employed in manufacturing industries, and have gradually changed the characteristic aspects of these occupational fields. Traditionally the largest group of women workers were engaged in silk reeling and cotton spinning. This group, which accounted for 27 percent of all female employees in 1960, diminished to a minority of 15 percent in 1970. An increased number of women were engaged in electrical machinery assembling and repairing, metal processing, and general machinery assembling and repairing.

According to the results of a survey conducted by the Women's and Minors' Bureau in 1969, in 22 percent of all establishments in manufacturing industries steps were taken during the prior 3 years to place women in the posts formerly filled by men, and 18 percent of these establishments newly recruited women as production workers. The reason most often given by employers for the replacement of men by women was "certain alterations were made to some of men's jobs to make them suitable to women," followed by "mechanization has made the job suitable to women, "women were found capable to perform the job," and "because of shortage of male workers." "Women were found capable to perform the job" was often mentioned

in relation to professional and technical occupations, including programer; clerical jobs; and drafting and tracing. In the case of operatives and other production workers, major reasons were: "mechanization has made the job suitable to women," "because of the shortage of male workers," and "because wages are lower for women than for men."

Characteristics of the Female Labor Force in Recent Years

Increased Labor Force Participation of Older and Married Women in Paid Employment

Until recently the bulk of the female work force consisted of young unmarried women. However, in the process of the expansion of women's employment under the impact of the high growth rate of the economy, the percentage of young women in paid employment declined sharply. In 1955 young women under 30 years of age constituted 69 percent of the female labor force in paid employment. The increasing tendency among mature women to go to work has since changed the situation. In 1974 women 30 years old and over accounted for 56 percent of all female employees.

The proportion of married women workers has also increased drastically. In 1955, 65 percent of all female employees were single and 20 percent were married (husband present). By 1974 the proportion of all women workers who were single had dropped to 39 percent, while that of married women increased to 50 percent. With an additional 11 percent who were widowed or divorced, the percentage of ever-married women amounted to 60 percent.

Increasing Employment of Women With Higher Educational Background

With a rising tendency for girls to go on to higher grades of education, the percentage of those who have completed higher education has gradually increased among women workers. According to the Employment Status Survey (1974), 41 percent of women workers in paid employment had completed elementary education (that is, junior high school, or primary school under the old system); 45 percent had completed secondary education (senior high school, or middle school under the old system); 13 percent had completed higher education (junior college, vocational college, and university); and 0.9 percent were in school. In recent years the proportion of the elementary education group has declined and that of the secondary education group has remained almost stationary, while the higher education group has somewhat swelled in proportion from 10 percent in 1971 and 8 percent in 1968.

The survey also indicates that of all women 15 years old and over who had completed elementary education, 23 percent were in paid employment. The comparable