The Participation of Women in the Japanese Workforce Traditional Japanese Societal Norms Stress That Women

ed women to the private roles of mother and caretaker and excluded them from the public roles of serious entities in the workforce. Gradually, however, legal and political changes began to favor gender equality. The passage of the 1997 Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL) and international legal pressure resulting from Japan’s ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) paved the way for progressive legal changes. The success of female plaintiffs in a string of recent cases demonstrates a move toward gender equality in the workplace. Despite these legal changes, however, the realities of Japanese cultural and social norms have, as a practical matter, prevented greater progress. Although Japanese women have attained some legal equality in the workplace, further actualization of this goal will require both social and legal progress. Only when gender equality becomes a goal in the minds of employers as well as lawmakers will gender discrimination more swiftly meet its demise. Without a new perspective on old societal norms, the law, despite its frequent changes, will remain powerless against entrenched stereotypes.