Work & Life Review of Women Approaching Retirement

It has been 34 years since the Equal Employment Opportunity Act was enacted in 1986. The Dentsu Inc. Senior Project conducted the "Retirement-Age Women Survey" (*) to understand the attitudes toward retirement, lifestyles, and work perspectives in a society promoting women's advancement among these women who started their careers at an unprecedented stage.

According to the survey, the average age women begin consciously thinking about retirement is 50.7! Over three installments, we will introduce the profiles and real insights of women around retirement age, along with hints for future approaches.

How have "retirement-age women," now facing imminent retirement, navigated their careers? To better understand them, we examine their work and life histories alongside the social context.

"Post-retirement women" are trailblazing career women who have constantly drawn attention as women while forging their own paths.

They are pioneering figures among career women, including those covered by the first phase of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law. As seen in Figure 2 showing their life histories, they were born during Japan's high economic growth period. In their twenties, they experienced the boom in female university enrollment and the extravagant consumption of the bubble economy. They can be considered frontrunners among working women, running shoulder-to-shoulder with men in a male-dominated society.

Furthermore, as shown in Figures 3 and 4 below, societal changes, government support policies, and rising educational attainment rates have contributed to the growing number of women continuing to work after marriage and childbirth, as well as those pursuing career advancement.

Currently, the female labor force population in January 2020 stands at 29.7 million, accounting for 44.4% of Japan's total workforce. The proportion of working women continues to rise annually, reaching 53.3% of all women in 2019. Among those aged 50 to 54, the rate reaches 80%, and even among those aged 55 to 59, it is nearly 75%. The number of people balancing childcare and work is increasing, flattening the dip in the so-called M-shaped curve. Furthermore, the proportion of working middle-aged and older women has also been rising in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue.

 

【Progress in Legislation Regarding Women's Employment Environment】
●1986: "Equal Employment Opportunity Act" (Act on Securing Equal Opportunity and Treatment for Men and Women in the Field of Employment. Revised in 1997, 2006, and 2015)
●1994: "Angel Plan" (Basic policy direction for future childcare support measures)
●1999: "New Angel Plan" (Concrete Implementation Plan for Priority Measures to Address the Declining Birthrate)
●2005: "Next Generation Support Measures Promotion Act" (10-year time-limited legislation)
●2016: Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace (Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace)

The Real Lives of "Retirement-Age Women"

Now that we've seen the life histories and social backgrounds of "retired women," we turn our focus to their current work and lifestyle.

The current lifestyles of "retired women" include children who are mostly grown. 45% live with a spouse. About 30% live alone.
Family status breakdown: Married: 46.5%, Unmarried: 29.0%, Divorced: 22.5%, Widowed: 2.0%. Living alone: 31%, Living with spouse: 45%, Living with parents: 22%, Living with adult children: 19% (some overlap). Annual income is highest in the ¥2-4 million range, accounting for 42.5%.

The cumulative years of service for "retiring women" averages 28.4 years, with over three-quarters having careers of 30 years or more. About 30% have managerial experience.
The average cumulative years of service for "retiring women" is 28.4 years, with over three-quarters having worked for 30 years or more. Only 21.5% worked continuously for one company. Approximately half (48.5%) are currently at their third to fifth company, indicating that a work style involving multiple employers is the majority. Furthermore, 27.5% have held managerial positions.

The primary reason for leave or resignation among "retiring women" is "marriage," while for "pre-retiring women," it is "childbirth." Scores are also high for those who took leave or resigned due to career advancement or career change.
70% of "retirement-age women" had "experience with leave of absence or resignation," with "marriage" (28.5%) being the most common reason. Conversely, for "pre-retirement-age women," "childbirth/childcare" (29.0%) ranked highest, suggesting a shift in reasons from "marriage" to "childbirth/childcare." The score for those who took leave or left their jobs for "personal career advancement or career change" was also high at 30%, suggesting they viewed it as a positive opportunity.

Job Satisfaction Among Women at Retirement Age
 

How do "retirement-age women" evaluate their current workplace? We focus on their satisfaction levels and the reasons behind them.

51.5% responded that they are "satisfied" with their current workplace. On the other hand, "dissatisfied" was only 27.5%, suggesting that having a place and role where they can utilize their abilities, along with a well-balanced work style, contributes to their satisfaction.
Reasons for satisfaction include "having a place where I belong (a role to fulfill)" (52.4%) and "appropriate working hours and holidays" (51.4%). It was not salary, but rather a place and role where they could utilize their abilities, along with well-balanced working hours and holidays, that led to satisfaction among "retirement-age women" approaching retirement. Additionally, factors ensuring ease of work and continuity, such as work location, no transfers, work-life balance, and benefits, are also thought to contribute to satisfaction.

Dissatisfaction arises when the workplace fails to provide "high salary/good benefits," "positive workplace relationships," "appropriate evaluation of oneself," or "sense of fulfillment."
Regarding reasons for dissatisfaction, the top responses were: "Poor salary or benefits" (65.5%), "Poor workplace relationships" (54.5%), "Not receiving appropriate evaluation" (43.6%), and "Lack of fulfillment in daily work" (32.7%). Inadequate compensation relative to effort, unsatisfactory interpersonal relationships and self-evaluation, and a lack of fulfillment are fueling dissatisfaction among "retirement-age women" in the workplace.

It has become clear that workplace satisfaction among women nearing retirement age is deeply linked to how well they can work in an environment that fosters a sense of self-worth, is easy to work in, and allows them to maintain good relationships.

Attitudes of "retiring women" toward women's advancement in society

While supportive of women's advancement, few aspire to management roles.
Figure 7 shows that while 79.5% strongly support a society where women thrive, and 67.0% agree that more women should hold management positions, only 18.1% of those without management experience answered that they "want to become/wanted to become a manager (at the level of department head or above)."

For "retiring women," fair evaluation and opportunities to utilize their abilities lead to workplace satisfaction. While they support a society where women can thrive, there appears to be a slight psychological hurdle regarding taking on managerial roles and fulfilling those responsibilities themselves.

In this first installment, we've analyzed the work and life history of women approaching retirement, examining their current workplace satisfaction, influencing factors, and views on a society where women thrive. With the outline of these women now clearer, next time we'll delve into their true feelings and financial concerns.

[Survey Overview]
・Target Area: Nationwide
・Survey Method: Internet survey
・Subject Criteria and Sample Size:
A. Women in their 50s working as full-time employees at companies with mandatory retirement age: 400 respondents
※Pre-Retirement Women (Aged 50–54): 200 respondents
Retired women (55–59 years old): 200 respondents
B. Women aged 60–64 who worked as full-time employees at companies with mandatory retirement and experienced retirement: 200 respondents (*)
※Post-retirement women
"Still working after retirement" = Continuing work group 100ss
  "Not working after retirement" = Retired group 100ss
・Total sample size: 600ss
・Survey period: December 2019
・Research organization: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.