About our NGO, WLW

WLW
(Work and Life for Women)

What we are about

We are a non-profit organization owned by women based in Japan.where women's participation in society is still behind compared to other countries. 

Therefore, we are working on the following things to create an environment where it is more comfortable for women to work.

Framework

We conduct survey in different firms to assess the opinions of female and male workers on working environment and work life balance

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We share information on how to utilize different working styles to fit women’s lifestyle, and the importance of increasing female workers by utilizing the quota system

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We protest for the importance of the quota system to have women’s voices reflect in the workplace 

How does the quota system affect work life balance?

Countries that have already implemented the quota system such as France and Norway have already tripled or quadrupled in the amount of female employment rate.

Studies show that there is a difference in how men and women feel about work-life balance.

By raising the female employment rate and putting more women in management positions there will be a better chance for women’s insight to affect the decision-making in working environment and style.

What we do

Improve the work-life balance

1. We conduct annual surveys in companies about how their employees feel about work life balance 
2. We hold online conferences on how women can utilize work from home/hybrid working style to maximize their work-life balance 
3. We provide support to companies that are working to improve work-life balance

Introduce the quota system

1. We organize seminars for companies that have not introduced a quota system
2. We promote the benefits of introducing a quota system
3. We support for companies that have introduced a quota system

Our goals

1. To increase women’s employment rate in Japan to 70% by 2030 
2. To  have the quota system implemented in 40% of mid to large-sized firms by 2030

Our motto

Empowering Women, Transforming Society: Creating a Balanced Future in Japan

We are currently seeking new members! Anyone who is interested in women's work-life-balance is welcome. Please feel free to leave a comment!

*For details, you can check it from here!

Answers for 30 questions pt.6

26. What are the benefits for a company to encourage work-life balance?

According to IRIS, there are benefits for both companies and employees.

Benefits for companies

1. Better staff retention
2. Increased productivity
3. Higher employee engagement
4. More profitability
5. Strong brand reputation & more applicants
6. Increased morale
7. Reduced absenteeism

Benefits for employees

1. Better time management
2. Personal growth
3. Better focus
4. Higher engagement
5. Personal health & wellbeing
6. Feel more valued
7. Reduced stress

Reference:

Fmp, I. (2021). 7 Business Benefits of a Good work Life Balance | IRIS FMP. IRIS FMP. https://fmpglobal.com/blog/business-benefits-good-work-life-balance/

*IRIS Global Workforce Management, a key component of the IRIS Software Group, leverages over four decades of payroll and HR management expertise to provide exemplary international payroll and HR outsourcing services.26.

27. Do you know of any companies that have initiatives to achieve work life balance?

Shiseido, one of the most famous Japanese cosmetic brands, is working constructively to support the balancing of work and family life in order to create a company where both men and women can develop their careers while raising children and caring for family members.

Due to the characteristics of Shiseido’s business, the company has a relatively large number of female employees and has always been supported women's career paths. However, at the same time, the company was facing a situation in which its few male employees were not making much progress in using the system and maintain their career.

To encourage male employees to take childcare leave, they introduced a paid childcare leave of up to two weeks and improved the system so that male employees can repeatedly take childcare leave. As a result, the number of male employees who took childcare leave increased to 18 in 2017, creating an environment in which male employees can feel free to participate in childcare.

Reference:

Shiseido Co., Ltd. (n.d.). 働きがいのある職場の実現 | 人財 | サステナビリティ | 資生堂 企業情報. https://corp.shiseido.com/jp/sustainability/labor/working.html#fig_wo01

*This blog is from Shiseido's official website

28. What approach to work life balance would you like to take?

For me, I would like to introduce a system that not just allows men to take more parental leave, but also allows grandparents to participate in parental care. For example, on July 1, 2024, a new system was introduced for parental leave in Sweden. According to Courrier Japon, in Sweden, parents with young children will be able to transfer part of their parental leave days to grandparents or other family members in the future. So I would like to follow this example and introduce a system  that allows grandparents to participate in childcare and reduce the burden of childcare.

I'm curious your opinions too, so please leave a comment freely:)

Reference:

クーリエ・ジャポン(2024, July 4). 「育休、譲ります」─スウェーデン、親の「育児休暇」が「譲渡」可能に. クーリエ・ジャポン. https://courrier.jp/news/archives/369275/#:~:text=2024%E5%B9%B47%E6%9C%881,%E8%A6%AA%E6%97%8F%E3%81%AA%E3%81%A9%E3%80%81%E8%A6%AA%E3%81%8C%E9%81%B8%E3%81%B9%E3%82%8B%E3%80%82

29. What does it mean for women to balance their life and work?

Image: https://www.ricoh.co.jp/magazines/workstyle/download/work-life-balance/

According to LifeHack, here are the points why Work-Life Balance is important for women.

1. Healthier Body and Mind: Achieving a balance between work and personal life is crucial for health. Poor work-life balance can lead to physical and mental health issues, such as stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression.
2. Increased Engagement: Balance helps maintain high levels of engagement both at work and in personal life.
3. A More Fulfilling Life: Fulfillment comes from effectively balancing work, family, and personal interests.

In the article that is targeting women, these things were mentioned, but I believe those are also important to men as well, when they think about work-life-balance.

Reference:

Chui, A. Y. (2023, September 11). Work Life balance for Women: What it means & How to find it. LifeHack. https://www.lifehack.org/949513/work-life-balance-for-women

*LifeHack is a website that was created in 2005 by an engineer and has been concentrating on posting blogs that are related work-life-balance. This website often features experts who has written books about work-life-balance.

30. What do you think is necessary to create a society where women can work comfortably?

According to Perkbox, here are some tips to create a platform for women to thrive in the workplace.

1. Importance of Gender Balance: Gender diversity enhances workplace performance. HR managers must equip women with the tools to succeed and foster a culture that supports diverse needs.
2. Diversity and Inclusion: HR managers need to address challenges faced by diverse groups, especially regarding gender diversity.
3. Addressing Historical Inequities: Despite progress, gender gaps persist. HR managers should continually refine policies to ensure women are treated equitably.
4. Role of Activists and Organizations: It is essential to promoting gender equality. 
5. Implementing Gender-Neutral Policies: Avoiding special treatment and focusing on clear, inclusive policies helps create a supportive environment.
6. Sharing Success Stories: Publicizing stories of employees benefiting from inclusive policies can inspire others and promote a culture of diversity and inclusion.
7. Monitoring Effectiveness: HR managers should compare their diversity policies with peers.
8. Setting Up D&I Policies: Effective Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) policies should be developed with input from targeted groups, be forward-thinking, and adaptable based on feedback.
9. Supporting Workforce Re-entry: making programs which help women to re-entering the workforce by building strong connections and support networks is needed.
10. Hiring Based on Merit: Focus on transferable skills rather than specific industry experience to overcome gender biases in hiring.
11. Holding Ourselves Accountable: Addressing gender discrimination requires effort from all levels.

As indicated from the statements, in order to create a society in which women can work comfortably, it is necessary to take steps to eliminate sex discrimination against women. To achieve that, I believe it is essential to introduce the quota system. This is because it will increase the number of women in management positions and, as a result, the environment will be a place where it is easier for women's opinions to be accepted.

Reference:

Perkbox. (2019, September 9). How to create a work environment for women to thrive. Perkbox. https://www.perkbox.com/au/resources/blog/creating-platform-for-women-thrive-workplace

*The blog is from Perkbox's official website. Perkbox is a HR company based in Australia.

Quiz result summary

 Thank you to everyone who has answered our survey on work and life for women.

We were able to gather answers from 17 participants. The demographic of our survey was 76.5% female and 23.5% male. 76.5% of the survey was answered by people between the ages of 19 and 25, since most of the participants were from our university class.

Some notable results we got were

For question No.1,  7/17 people incorrectly answered that it is true that male clerical workers are higher than female percentage. This could mean that even for younger generations, there is still an image of men being the bread winner.

For question No. 5,  7/17 people incorrectly answered that it is true that equal pay is not an issue women face in their workplace. Despite the constitution demanding everyone be treated equally, there are still factors of prejudice that effects lower wages for women compared to men in Japan.

男女間賃金格差の長期的な縮小傾向,寄与度は小さいこと. (n.d.). 厚生労働省. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/shingi/2002/11/s1129-3c.html#:~:text=%E5%B9%B4%E9%BD%A2%E3%81%8C%E9%AB%98%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%81%A8%E3%81%8D,%E5%A4%A7%E3%81%8D%E3%81%AA%E8%A6%81%E5%9B%A0%E3%81%A7%E3%81%82%E3%82%8B%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%80%82&text=%E7%94%B7%E5%A5%B3%E9%96%93%E8%B3%83%E9%87%91%E6%A0%BC%E5%B7%AE%E3%81%AE%E9%95%B7%E6%9C%9F%E7%9A%84%E3%81%AA%E7%B8%AE%E5%B0%8F%E5%82%BE%E5%90%91,%E5%AF%84%E4%B8%8E%E5%BA%A6%E3%81%AF%E5%B0%8F%E3%81%95%E3%81%84%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%80%82

For Question No. 9, 12/16 people answered incorrectly that it is true remote work promotes better work life balance for everyone regardless of circumstances. This might hint that many university students enjoyed doing online classes and has a positive view on remote work. The fact that most participants are young students with no children to care for may have affected this answer.

Here are the survey results.

Posted by Manu

Answers for 30 questions pt.4

10. Does the quota system give disadvantage to men?

The quota system is a beneficial way to improve women’s work-life balance, there might be some disadvantages towards men. Here are some examples that MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT mentioned.

1. "Reverse discrimination" makes things worse

The case of Ricci vs DeStefano in the USA has become famous in this respect. Firefighter Frank Ricci made a supreme effort to gain supervisory responsibility, and despite his language problems passed the aptitude test as one of the best. Yet he and 18 other firefighters were denied promotion. The reason given by the employer was that in the test, the people who were the ones who actually should have been favored by affirmative action measures failed – in this case, Americans of African extraction.

2. The privileged are given preference

Members of the preferred group who are already favoured anyway are also those who mostly benefit from a quota system. The American economist Thomas Sowell comes to this conclusion in his empirical investigation Affirmative Action Around the World.

3. Family people will not get a look in

The fact that people with a workload such as this have little time left for family life is obvious. In studies on gender-based quotas, women who master the admirable balancing act between family and a demanding job have particularly good managerial qualities such as a sense of responsibility, solution orientation, empathy and communication skills. However, it is more than debatable whether this particularly desirable target group in management positions would in fact benefit from a women's quota.

But learning from these experiences, we can take a measure to make the quota system a better one.

References:

The downsides of the quota system. (2011). Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. https://www.mpg.de/1197767/quota-system-downsides

*The Max Planck Society conducts basic research in the natural sciences, life sciences, and humanities that was founded in 1948.

11. Do Japanese people support the quota system?

"Opinion on whether quota systems for women should be implemented in Japan as of April 2023" which was conducted by STATISTA has a data that show how many Japanese people do support quota system. (The number of respondents were 3,000  and age group were 18-79 years old)

From this graph we can easily assume that most of Japanese have negative opinion towards the quota system and it leads to people disagreement.

Reference:

Statista. (2024, January 9). Attitude towards female quota systems in Japan 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1225710/japan-opinion-quota-systems/

*IDEA, the creator of the statistic is an intergovernmental organization.

12. Do you know any company that has introduces quota system?

Daito Kentaku (大東建託), one of the most famous construction companies in Japan started to introduce the quota system from 2016. In 2021, they post a news that they keep introducing quota system and try to hire more women in management position.

*the light orange line: ratio of women employees at Daito Kentaku

the gray line: average ratio of women employees in Japan

the orange line: ratio of women employees in management position at Daito Kentaku

Photo from https://www.kentaku.co.jp/corporate/pr/info/2021/joseiikusei_1214.html

But as you can see from the graph, they have a chance to improve the situation more since they have already introduced the quota system already unlike the other Japanese companies. I hope they will use enough benefits of the quota system and make more women in management position.

Reference:

建設業界初「クォータ制」を導入した女性育成プログラム始動. (2021, December 14). https://www.kentaku.co.jp/corporate/pr/info/2021/joseiikusei_1214.html

*This blog is from Daito Kentaku's official website

13. Is the quota system legalized in Japan? And what is the situation in other countries?

In Japan, the quota system is not legally enforced. Whereas in other countries, mostly in Europe, quota systems are more widely implemented and legally enforced. 

Among G7 countries, Japan and the United States are the only ones without introducing quota systems for elections. In contrast, countries like France and Norway have successfully implemented such systems, and significantly improving women's situations. For example, Norway mandates that a certain percentage of female executive officers be appointed in businesses, which has influenced companies’ practices.

References:

Special Series「Take a Careful Approach toward a Women’s Quota System」. (2014, December 26). https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/s15_0005.html10. Does the quota system give disadvantage to men?

*This is from the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) and is a policy think tank established in 2001. 

Miura, M., McElwain, K. M., & Kaneko, T. (2022). Explaining public support for gender quotas: sexism, representational quality, and state intervention in Japan. Politics & Gender, 19(3), 781–805. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1743923x22000617

*This is a journal article that was published in 2022

14. What qualities does the country must have in order for the quota system to work?

By giving examples, I think we can see how quota system will work smoothly.

• Norway: Norway’s successful implementation of gender quotas in corporate society highlights the importance of strong legal frameworks and society’s support for gender equality (RIETI).
• Mexico: Mexico's gender quota system for political candidates has been supported by strong legal frameworks, which leads to significantly increase in female representation in politics (World Population Review).

From these examples, we can say that strong legal framework is essential when introducing quota systems and the support from the society is also preferable.

References:

Special Series「Take a Careful Approach toward a Women’s Quota System」. (2014, December 26). https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/s15_0005.html10. Does the quota system give disadvantage to men?

*This is from the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) and is a policy think tank established in 2001. 

Gender Equality by Country 2024. (n.d.). https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gender-equality-by-country

* World Population Review is a free online database that provides up-to-date information and statistics about the world's population. This website uses graphs, charts, analyses, and visualizations to make the data more accessible.

15. How many countries in the OECD have not introduced the quota system yet?

For now, 17 out of 38 OECD countries have introduced some kinds of gender quota system. These quota systems are made to ensure a minimum level of female representation in political or corporate positions. The countries that have introduced gender quotas are the following countries.

Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

But Japan has not included to the list yet.

References:

Atlas of Electoral Gender quotas. (n.d.). https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/atlas-electoral-gender-quotas

*The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization that supports democracy worldwide. It has more than 10 offices in the world.

Gender Equality by Country 2024. (n.d.). https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gender-equality-by-country

* World Population Review is a free online database that provides up-to-date information and statistics about the world's population. This website uses graphs, charts, analyses, and visualizations to make the data more accessible.

Answers for 30 questions pt.5

 16. What do you think is needed to introduce the quota system in Japan?

A debate on why introducing legal quotas would not be unconstitutional and how much it could benefit Japanese society.

           Otake, T. (2023, March 8). Would gender quotas for lawmakers work in Japan? The Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/03/08/national/social-issues/gender-equality-politics-quotas/

17. What is work life balance?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary 

noun

the amount of time you spend doing your job compared with the amount of time you spend with your family and doing things you enjoy

            work-life balance. (2024). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ja/dictionary/english/work-life-balance

18. What are the advantages and disadvantages of work life balance?

Pros

May be able to increase employee engagement and performance.

Workers are able to care for their mental and physical health.

Letting workers have control over their time may reduce work related stress.

Workers will have more time for their personal interests and hobbies.

Cons

Employers find it difficult to maintain employee motivation without raising their salaries.

Workers may not be able to fulfill demands at work and in their personal life.

Failure to meet expectations for work and life balance can lead to stress.

Financial loss may be caused due to reluctance in getting promotions in fear of losing  freedom over their time outside of work.

Excel, Sherika, S. (2023, May 23). The cons of a Work-Life Balance. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cons-work-life-balance-sherrika-sanders-mba

           Work-Life Balance Is Important (With Benefits and Steps). (2023, September 1). Indeed. https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/why-work-life-balance-is-important

19. Which countries have the best work life balance?

According to the 2023 Global Life-Work Balance Index by HR-tech company Remote, New Zealand was on top of the list with 26 week maternity leave, high minimum wage, and 80% statutory sick pay.

           Ruggeri, A. (2024, March 7). Five countries with the best work-life balance. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240307-five-countries-with-the-best-work-life-balance

20.What qualities does the countries with good work life balance have?

The citizens priorities are their family, their health, recreation and travel.

The government is conscious about prolonged working hours and are making policies to avoid it.

Workers make clear boundaries between work and life.

            Ruggeri, A. (2024, March 7). Five countries with the best work-life balance. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240307-five-countries-with-the-best-work-life-balance

21. How did the idea of work life balance change over the years?

In 2007 when the first iPhone was released, it made all of the technology on computers necesary for work possible to be carried around at all times.

This, instead of creating more time for employees, led to them having to always be at work regardless of the time or locations.

Demand for workers and their hours working overtime increased throughout  2008/2009, and by 2012, the call for improvement in work life balance started to rise.

In 2018, 64% of employees wished to work remotely but with no option to do so until the Covid-19 pandemic.

Technology has helped many workers in both their life and work, not only applications such as Zoom for online meetings but tools such as Google Docs, spread sheets and digital calendars. 

Not only the flexiblity, but these online tools has made it easier for employees to communicate with their employers to adress their needs, creating a healthier working environment.

Though some things have improved, the fact that many people who still feels the need to "clock in" when they are not in their working hours due to being easily accessible by other employees is a remaining issue.

           Randstad & Randstad. (n.d.). Randstad. https://www.randstad.com/workforce-insights/future-of-work/evolution-work-life-balance/

           Morgan, K. (2023, February 28). A new way to navigate work and life. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230227-what-does-work-life-balance-mean-in-a-changed-work-world

Matsushita, M., Sato, M., & Usui, E. (n.d.). Work-Life Balance, Well-Being, and Productivity with Remote Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan. https://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/~usui/COVID_abstract.pdf

22. Did remote work contribute to better work life balance situations?

Only to a certain extent and for certain demographics. Most people who enjoyed an improved work life balance were single, childeless men. On the contrary, married men and women with children reported decrease in productivity and increase in household labor.

           Matsushita, M., Sato, M., & Usui, E. (n.d.). Work-Life Balance, Well-Being, and Productivity with Remote Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan. https://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/~usui/COVID_abstract.pdf

           Crosbie, T., & Moore, J. (2004). Work–life Balance and Working from Home. Social Policy and Society, 3(3), 223–233. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474746404001733

23. What are the advantages and disadvantages of remote work?

Advantages - work life balance may improve due to flexibility

Disadvantages - work life balance may worsen due to being accessible to work at home

Crosbie, T., & Moore, J. (2004). Work–life Balance and Working from Home. Social Policy and Society, 3(3), 223–233. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474746404001733

24. why do some women feel negatively about remote work?

Some women with children who prioritize household labor as much as their work may feel the pressure to balance work and life much more than when the two were fully separated.

Crosbie, T., & Moore, J. (2004). Work–life Balance and Working from Home. Social Policy and Society, 3(3), 223–233. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474746404001733

25. What is the global average overtime?

Japan - 10.4 hours per month

Canada - 1.4 hours per month

The U.S - 3.0 hours per week

残業はどれくらいしていますか? - 働く10,000人の就業・成長定点調査 - パーソル総合研究所. 働く10,000人の就業・成長定点調査 - パーソル総合研究所. https://rc.persol-group.co.jp/thinktank/spe/pgstop/pgs/reality01/

　　　Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2024, July 5). Employees working overtime (weekly) by industry, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410007501

　　　Table B-2. Average weekly hours and overtime of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted. (n.d.). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t18.htm

　　　　　

　　　　Posted by Manu

Remote work / Work life balance Word Clouds

posted by manu

This word cloud was created using an article written by the CEO of Walmart, Suresh Kumar. His overall view on remote work was positive and he mainly focused on praising his company's ability to adapt to a new technological way of working.

Some of the words you can see are "best", "greatest", "future", "virtually", "oppourtunity" and "technology".

As you can see the words being used in the article were noticeably positive.

Kumar, S. (2020, May 28). Reimagining our way of working, and the role of our workspace in technology. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reimagining-our-way-working-role-workspace-technology-suresh-kumar

      This word cloud shows words such as "2022" "expectations" "wellbeing" "burnouts" and "Slack".

Since this was created from a nagative stand point towards remote work, it can be observed that these words have nagative implications.

For example, "Slack" is the name of a messaging system used in offices that are criticized for keeping employees busy with having to reply to their colleagues even outside of work. 

And since the article was written in 2022, it can be assumed that the article was written in hindsight from people who experienced remote work during the pandemic.

 

 Tsipursky, G. (2022, November 2). Does remote work hurt wellbeing and Work-Life balance? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/glebtsipursky/2022/11/01/does-remote-work-hurt-wellbeing-and-work-life-balance/

Quiz on women's employment / work life balance

https://forms.gle/u3QFunbkpWyXcWTR8

We would love it if you could answer this :)