The Female-dominated Path and Attainment of Marital Status for Japanese Women

Mayumi Nakamura

Contemporary Japan, 2007, vol. 18, issue 1, 85-110

Abstract: Why do many Japanese women choose female-dominated occupations, even though it is generally believed that they lead to dead-end careers? In this article, I posit that under the conditions of existing discrimination by employers and structural barriers, many Japanese women are investing in this “feminine path” (non-career clerical or assistant roles in large companies) which endows women (or so they believe) with certain advantages in acquiring status through marriage (“attainment of marital status”). I call this “feminine capital”, and it is one reason why women choose these paths.1 I argue that these feminine paths can benefit them in attaining marital status more than gender-neutral occupations, especially when women are not capable of pursuing highly selective gender-neutral occupations.2 Feminine occupations are considered to have benefits when compared to gender-neutral occupations, mainly because they have advantages in cultural capital and social capital.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1080/09386491.2007.11826939

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