Presented By: Center for Japanese Studies
CJS Lecture Series | How Japan Got It Wrong: Government Policy, Gender, and the Birth Rate
Mary C. Brinton, Reischauer Institute Professor of Sociology; Director, Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University
Please note, all posted event times are in the U.S. Eastern Time Zone.
Over the past three decades, the Japanese government has enacted a series of measures to boost the country’s anemic birth rate. Nevertheless, the birth rate has hovered around 1.4 children per woman, far below what is required for the population to reproduce itself. Why haven’t the policies worked? I argue that policies that have focused on trying to make women’s work lives more like men’s have fundamentally missed the mark. Not only have such policies failed to raise the birth rate, they have also arguably exacerbated gender inequality. This paper suggests that future government and workplace policies move in a different direction.
Mary C. Brinton is the Reischauer Institute Professor of Sociology at Harvard University and the Director of the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies. Her research focuses on contemporary Japanese society and economy, labor markets, social demography, and gender inequality. She has published widely on gender inequality in Japan and in East Asia more broadly.
Zoom registration is required here: https://umich.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JsLH5WpASsyrQLLYRqMn9g
If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.
Over the past three decades, the Japanese government has enacted a series of measures to boost the country’s anemic birth rate. Nevertheless, the birth rate has hovered around 1.4 children per woman, far below what is required for the population to reproduce itself. Why haven’t the policies worked? I argue that policies that have focused on trying to make women’s work lives more like men’s have fundamentally missed the mark. Not only have such policies failed to raise the birth rate, they have also arguably exacerbated gender inequality. This paper suggests that future government and workplace policies move in a different direction.
Mary C. Brinton is the Reischauer Institute Professor of Sociology at Harvard University and the Director of the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies. Her research focuses on contemporary Japanese society and economy, labor markets, social demography, and gender inequality. She has published widely on gender inequality in Japan and in East Asia more broadly.
Zoom registration is required here: https://umich.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JsLH5WpASsyrQLLYRqMn9g
If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.
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