Joel Shelton

Female Labor in the Postwar Japanese Economy: a Geographic Perspective Joel Shelton

Female labor has played a major role in thepost-Second World War Japanese economy--an issue thathas not received academic attention relative to its importance. Moreover, studies that specifically address geographic aspects of the gender division of labor are largely absent for Japan, surprising in light of significant regional variations in women's employment experiences as revealed in NorthAmerican-based studies. The goal of this research isthus to investigate how the trajectory of social and economic changes in postwar Japan have impacted the form and extent of female labor force participation, with particular focus on how these changes have manifested themselves geographically. Findings are interpreted in the context of broad changes in the economy and existing literature on the Japanese female labor force. This analysis should be useful to those interested in women and work incross-national contexts.