What Education Can Do to Uninstall Gender Bias

Today, addressing gender issues is demanded of every company, organization, and individual.

However, gender issues do not exist in isolation; they are intricately intertwined with diverse problems. Therefore, it is essential not only to focus on a single issue but also to understand the various related problems and consider how to achieve fundamental solutions.

By visualizing facts that have been overlooked and insights from women that are not often voiced aloud, and by gaining a bird's-eye view, we aim to create a foothold for society as a whole to move toward solutions.

Driven by this vision, Dentsu Inc. has created and freely released the "Gender Issues Chart." This chart categorizes issues affecting women into 12 themes, organizing 95 specific linked challenges and objective data into a single, easily overviewable layout.

This time, we examined the " Education " section of the chart and discussed gender issues in Japanese education with Ms. Natsuko Hagiwara, President of NWEC (National Women's Education Center of Japan), and Ms. Kyoko Sakurada. The interviewer was Yuki A. Kunitomi from Dentsu Inc. Diversity Lab.

[About NWEC]
NWEC is a national center promoting gender equality to build a society of shared participation. It collaborates with women's organizations and facilities both domestically and internationally. Based in spacious facilities in Saitama Prefecture, it conducts various programs and training while providing users with extensive research, studies, and information on gender equality.
▼https://www.nwec.jp/
 

Bias such as "Men should support their families" and "Women's work is only half as important" hinders improvements in childcare workers' treatment

Kunitomi: Let's start right away with the "Education" section of the Gender Issues Chart. The first issue is that "the gender ratio of childcare workers is skewed, with approximately 95% being women." Could you explain the background and impact of this gender imbalance among childcare workers?

Hagiwara: Originally, childcare workers were called "nursery maids" (ho-ba-san). Occupations dominated by women, such as childcare workers, nurses, caregivers, secretaries, housekeepers, and shop clerks, are referred to as "pink collar jobs." The term "pink collar job" originated in the 1970s in the United States, coined in contrast to men's "white collar" and "blue collar" jobs, to describe occupations and work predominantly performed by women.

The "nursery teacher" (hoho-san) qualification was established in 1948 and was exclusively for women. In 1977, men were permitted to become childcare workers, and the term "male nursery teacher" (hoho-san) also came into use. Subsequently, in 1999, the Child Welfare Act was revised, changing the title to the gender-neutral "childcare worker" (hoikushi), which later became a national qualification.

While the number of male childcare workers is increasing, currently 95% are women. The perception that childcare centers are female workplaces and childcare is women's work remains strong. Several reasons exist for the slow growth in male childcare workers, but the primary factor is said to be wages. Consequently, even if men become childcare workers, unfortunately, a phenomenon called " male retirement upon marriage " occurs.

While "marriage-related resignation" was originally a term applied to women, the deeply ingrained stereotype of men as the "breadwinner" means that when they marry, they often feel they cannot support a family on this salary and are forced to quit. Rather than "marriage-related resignation," "marriage-related job change" might be a more accurate term.

Kunitomi: This is the first time I've heard of "men leaving their jobs for marriage." Why are wages in pink-collar jobs so low to begin with?

Hagiwara: Occupations with a high proportion of women are often perceived negatively, leading to lower wages that are difficult to increase. In reality, workplaces with many women often have wages deliberately kept low from the start. I believe this stems from the prejudice that "women are only half as capable." Because of this bias that women are inferior to men, the prevailing wage level in female-dominated workplaces is seen as acceptable to be low.

Additionally, there's a history of wages being kept low because these jobs are seen as different from the work of men, the "breadwinners" of families. This stems from the structural problem that assumes women are dependent on men for support, so if the men's salaries are high enough, women can get by on less. As a policy to improve the long-standing issue of childcare workers' treatment, a monthly wage increase of 9,000 yen was implemented starting February 2022. However, considering how far below the average for all industries this remains, it is still far from sufficient.

Kunitomi: Childcare work demands patience, observation skills, qualifications, communication abilities—it requires every kind of skill...

Hagiwara: Exactly. It's a nationally certified profession requiring advanced expertise, yet there's an underlying bias that "anyone can do childcare." Compounding this is the deeply ingrained notion that childcare is a woman's role.

Kunitomi: So the reason male childcare workers aren't increasing is a compound effect of multiple biases: low wages, the bias that men "should support their families," the bias that women "should raise children" and that "women's work is only half as valuable," and the underlying bias that "childcare is a job anyone can do."

Hagiwara: This isn't limited to childcare workers. Even 37 years after the Equal Employment Opportunity Act was enacted, these biases persist because the value of such work isn't properly recognized. We need to build a culture that acknowledges the value of care work and its services, pays fair compensation, recognizes the importance of human infrastructure (the foundation supporting people's lives), and establishes systems, including budgets, to support it.

Some elementary school students even answer that there are more male principals because "boys are more important."

Hagiwara: Furthermore, from the perspective of gender education, it is crucial to address unconscious gender biases among childcare workers and kindergarten teachers involved in early childhood gender formation, not just within families. While "gender education from age zero" has been promoted for about 20 years, a tendency to heavily categorize play, colors, and toys by gender still persists in practice.

NWEC has not conducted surveys on gender formation in infancy and early childhood, but we have conducted surveys on gender bias in schools.

Sakurada: The Gender Issues Chart includes the item "Few women in positions such as vice-principal, assistant principal, vice-president, or associate vice-president." Regarding this aspect, NWEC conducted a questionnaire survey in 2018 targeting teachers at 3,000 elementary and junior high schools. It clarified the background behind the low proportion of women in management positions from perspectives such as teachers' attitudes toward management roles and the division of roles within family life and related perceptions. We have posted the results of related research studies on our website, so please take a look.

▼ "Survey on School Teachers' Careers and Lives"
https://www.nwec.jp/research/hqtuvq0000002ko2.html

▼ "Promoting the Appointment of Women to Management Positions in Schools II: Current Status, Challenges, and Hints for Initiatives to Promote Appointments"
https://www.nwec.jp/about/publish/n61ffl0000000p4w.html

▼ "Promoting the Appointment of Women to Management Positions in Schools: Why Are There So Few? Why Is Increasing Their Numbers Necessary? What Can Be Done to Promote Their Appointment?"
https://www.nwec.jp/about/publish/2019/ecdat600000078yg.html
 

Currently, the proportion of female principals is low. In elementary schools and special needs schools, while women make up about 60% of teachers, only around 20% of principals are women. In junior high and high schools, women account for over 40% and 30% of teachers, respectively, yet less than 10% of principals are women.

Kunitomi: Since the base number is 60% and women are the majority in the workplace, logically speaking, it shouldn't be strange for 60% of principals to be women...

Sakurada: Awareness of promoting gender equality isn't cultivated solely through subject instruction. In daily school life, teachers' words and actions can significantly influence children's attitudes, behaviors, and career development. Furthermore, teachers themselves become role models for children's work and lifestyle choices.

Particularly for girls, there's concern that ingrained stereotypes—such as the idea that women face significant childcare burdens after having children, forcing them to give up leadership roles or careers they desire—could negatively impact their future career development.

Hagiwara: During the Ministry of Education's "Children's Kasumigaseki Visit Day," where children experience workplaces during summer break, NWEC had a booth. We asked visiting children, "Why are most school principals men?" At that time, a first-grade student answered, " Because boys are more important." That a first grader answered this way suggests such conditioning may already be happening in daycare, kindergarten, school, or even at home.

Kunitomi: I was shocked. How can we undo this conditioning?

Hagiwara: Recognizing the current situation through research is crucial, and I believe "positive action" (measures providing special opportunities within certain limits) is also necessary in educational settings. You often hear about aiming for 30% female managers. Thirty is called the " critical number." The critical numberrefers to a "threshold number." The idea is that once you exceed 30%, the momentum carries you closer to 50%.

Therefore, affirmative action (positive measures to correct disparities) or quota systems (allocating a fixed percentage of women to executive or managerial positions) are needed to surpass 30%. Yet, isn't the current situation one where men automatically benefit from positive action? It's like hidden secret boots are already in place. To focus attention on this, the Gender Issues Chart should be promoting "equity. "

Kunitomi: I agree. Today we discussed gender in education, an area NWEC focuses on. Could you also share what companies, including Dentsu Inc., can do?

Hagiwara: One woman who attended an NWEC study session said, " If I had come to NWEC when I was in high school, I wouldn't have quit my job or given up on getting my PhD. " If people study gender issues from high school, they might realize these aren't problems individuals can solve alone, but structural ones, potentially changing their life choices. That's precisely why NWEC wants to provide open gender education.

Regarding companies, I sometimes wonder if the very term "women's advancement" might not be the most appropriate phrase. "Advancement" is a relative term, yet doesn't it sound like it implies that those who can't advance are somehow failing? That "advancement" likely refers to the "trapezoidal career path" more common among men.

Historically, women followed an "M-shaped" career path (*1), where many left work due to life events like marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth. In contrast, the trapezoidal path involves continuing to work without significant disruption from such events. I believe men should also be allowed to follow an M-shaped path going forward. Perhaps it's time we started questioning the values and standards that prioritize the trapezoidal path.

The Cabinet Office's "Basic Policy" also highlighted the keyword " We are no longer in the Showa era." If both men and women are to achieve economic independence, we must address each point discussed today one by one.

The question is whether we should continue pursuing the so-called Showa-era work style—one premised on being able to work 24/7, being healthy, and having no burden of housework, caregiving, or child-rearing. Times have changed dramatically. We need to end an era where people who can't conform to the Showa default are excluded.

Kunitomi: Focusing solely on education already reveals numerous problems. But we've come to understand they are actually interconnected. Moving forward, I want to continue confronting gender issues while uninstalling, one by one, the biases that have been installed and internalized over a long period of time.

※1＝It is said that the female labor force participation rate tends to follow a so-called "M-shaped curve," dipping during the marriage and childbearing years and rising again once childcare responsibilities ease. However, recent observations suggest the trough of the M-shape is becoming shallower. For details, refer to the Gender Equality Bureau website.
https://www.gender.go.jp/about_danjo/whitepaper/h25/zentai/html/honpen/b1_s00_02.html

Free Download of the Gender Issues Chart Here

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