Equal Work, Unequal Pay

While women in Japan enjoy reproductive freedoms and paid maternity/ child-rearing leave (1-2 years, depending on circumstances), they are not paid the same as men for the same work, in certain sectors. The photo of the front-page story in today's local paper shows the percentage of men's pay received by women.

In other words, in Niigata (highlighted), women in these sectors earn 77.1% of their male counterparts. The figures on the right show the average number of consecutive years women work less than men at the same job.