Lifetime disposable income for households with wives who continue working post-childbirth is ¥167 million higher than that for those who quit their jobs and remain unemployed, a Japanese government estimate showed Wednesday.
The estimate "reconfirmed the economic significance of women's active engagement in professional life," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a government meeting.
The government will promote reform in the workplace environment to achieve structural wage increases and further active roles for women, he said.
At the meeting, an interim report was disclosed on the causes of wage gaps between men and women and measures to address them.
The report said that behind the disparity is an unconscious bias not only among men but also among women themselves, such as that women should serve in noncareer positions or cannot fulfill particular duties.
It also cited as other reasons a difference of working years between men and women and the absence of female managers who serve as role models.
The government urged five industries, including finance and insurance, food manufacturing and retail, to draw up action plans for improvement by the end of this year. It also vowed to develop a national corporate database that lists women's average length of service in a ranking format.