var googletag = googletag || {}; The supply of well-educated, professional women surged in the 1990s and 2000s, having lagged badly in earlier decades. Short skirts (which are considered inappropriate) and high heels invite disrespect and condescension from male co-workers. The changes in the Japanese family have led to increasing demand for men to cross the boundaries of conventional gender roles by caring for elderly parents and spouses. Put more bluntly, women and girls — at least until very recently in some urban centers — have have been second-class citizens compared to men in the best case and actively oppressed in the worst case. In 2016, a law aimed at enhancing the role of women in the workplace was enacted. This has lead to "marriage squeeze": There aren't marriage-ready young women to go around, so there are increasing numbers of single young men. What is clear is that Japan’s economic, corporate, and political future is going to be a far more female one than at any previous time in its history. // ]]> googletag.pubads().setTargeting("URL", "Women-in-Japanese-business"); For more than a decade, investigators found, the school had systematically altered entrance-exam scores to restrict the number of female students and to award admission to less-qualified male applicants. But what has been difficult for women has been to maintain their place on the career ladder and, crucially, on the corporate team, while also bringing up children. Ask them here: Help your kids adapt abroad + Parent tips. } //