Problems and Prospects of Management Development of Female Employees in Japan Available to Purchase

In spite of the increasing number of female employees in Japan, the managerial training and opportunities they are offered is limited. Despite the Equal Opportunity Law of 1984 few real changes have taken place to improve the career prospects of women employees. The realities of the training available and the problems of the current system are discussed, as well as the attitudes of male and female employees. It is demonstrated that there is still discrimination against female employees that prevents them pursuing their careers. Management development programmes exist but are limited and many women are forced to train outside Japan, notably in the USA; women are still expected to leave employment upon marriage; and, in practice, jobs are still categorised as male and female types of employment with wages set accordingly. These problems need to be overcome if Japanese companies are to compete effectively with foreign‐based companies.