Ministry launches website on women hiring status

July 16 , 2016

Some 6,000 firms have registered on the labor ministry websiteSome 6,000 firms have registered on the labor ministry website

A law promoting the advancement of women at the workplace was enacted in August 2015. Following its passage, the Ministry of Labor, Health and Welfare launched a website in February 2016 that tracks the number of companies actively engaged in the hiring and promotion of women at their firms. As of July 15, 5,914 incorporated entities, including those with less than 300 employees, have registered on the website.

Komeito has been a longstanding advocate of women’s rights in a culture that has traditionally discriminated against women, serving as a principal agent in the passage of the 2015 law. In May 2014, women legislators of Komeito developed a comprehensive policy package on the issue and submitted it to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, laying the groundwork for the law and other initiatives on behalf of women in Japan.

The current law, which went into effect in April 2016, mandates that firms with more than 301 workers submit an action plan detailing their activities to hire more women and place them in management positions. It also calls for the disclosure of their workforce’s gender balance, rate of childcare leave taken by men and women and other relevant data files.

Under the law, companies are required to disclose more than one such data file and can choose which medium it will be disclosed. One such medium is a special labor ministry database, which is accessible to the public. The ministry believes the database will not only assist individuals seeking employment but also benefit firms to attract students and other jobseekers by demonstrating its progressive stand on women hiring and promotions.