Workplace that fosters women's advancement

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15H03360
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Public finance/Public economy
• Research Institution: National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
• Principal Investigator: Kurosawa Masako 政策研究大学院大学, 政策研究科, 教授 (40275813)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 武石 惠美子 法政大学, キャリアデザイン学部, 教授 (70361631) ; 大沢 真知子 日本女子大学, 人間社会学部, 教授 (90223792)
• Research Collaborator: NHO Hoinam
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: ワークライフバランス / 女性活躍 / 働き方改革

Outline of Final Research Achievements

On the basis of existing data, as well as the data gathered from a unique survey conducted by ourselves, we have investigated workplace practices that make family friendly policies and flexible work arrangement (FWA) effective in improving women’s advancement. The analyses indicate that making WLB promotion part of their business strategy and have them permeate among managers and employees, as well as reducing long working hours, and providing fair evaluation are found to make FWA work more effectively in raising worker motivation and sales, and to advance women employees. Also, managers who are viewed by employees, at the same time view themselves as supportive of employees’ career and WLB, and providing work appropriately and evaluate fairly increase motivation of both female and male employees, and also contribute to business. Such managers are still scarce but manager training could help overcome the gap.

Free Research Field

労働経済学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本的な雇用システムをそのままに両立支援を進めるだけでは、女性の活躍は進まないことが明らかにされてきた。しかし具体的にどう変革すべきかが明確ではない中、本研究は女性の活躍を阻む諸要因を多面的に吟味することを通して、企業がとるべき具体的な対応策をいくつか明らかにした点に貢献がある。とくに企業方針と管理職・従業員の認識、職場での上司の役割と従業員の認識とのギャップを埋めることや、WLB推進における直属上司の重要性を浮き彫りにし、そのためのマネジメント研修の有効性を明らかにした。