Japan Promises Equality, but Women Find Few Jobs Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants women like Tomo Tamai to go back to work. Tamai is eager to do so, nearly two years after her first child was born, but so far the 35-year-old former national government employee has only been able to find an internship. Abe, who took office a year ago, has made the advancement of women a pillar of his economic revival policies in the most aggressive and ambitious initiative to back the rise of Japanese women in years. Tamai's struggles show why doubts remain about whether it's enough to overcome entrenched discrimination in the workplace. "It is a bunch of flag-waving," said Tamai, who holds a doctorate in literature from Nihon University. I don't see how he has the vision to realize the goal of helping us, those people struggling to raise a child, working and doing housework. The government is beefing up child care. It is encouraging companies to grant three years of maternity leave, or flexible hours during that period. It is also asking publicly held companies to promote women to leadership positions so they hold 30 percent of such posts by 2020. Although women make up 40 percent of Japan's workers, they face discrimination in hiring, promotion and pay. On average, a Japanese woman makes 70 percent of a man's wage for equal work, according to government data. The government also says women held just 12 percent of private-sector managerial jobs in 2012 and fared even worse at higher levels, making up only 5 percent of section chiefs. Some critics and women workers say they tend to be confined to second-class status, not taken seriously for what is considered "a man's job." They are underrepresented in government as well, comprising 11 percent of the more powerful lower house of parliament, 18 percent of the upper house, and just 2.5 percent of managerial positions among public servants. Japan has a less fluid workforce than many Western countries, because employees tend to stay loyal to one company for life. That puts women at a disadvantage because they tend to take time off to have children and are then consigned to lower-rung jobs, analysts say. Sixty percent of working women quit after their first child is born. The Geneva-based World Economic Forum ranked Japan 105th in this year's Global Gender Gap Report, which measures economic equality and political participation. Iceland was No. 1, followed by the Scandinavian nations. Germany was 14th and the U.S. 23rd. Women make up 3.9 percent of board members of listed Japanese companies, versus 12 percent in the U.S. and 18 percent in France, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. "Most major companies are not serious about utilizing the talent of women," said Junko Fukasawa, a senior managing director at Tokyo job-referral company Pasona Group, which is unusual in having three women on its 11-member board. They are very male-dominated. When Fukasawa meets people from other companies, they often turn first to her male underlings to exchange business cards, and are surprised to learn later that she is the boss. People on the phone have demanded to speak with a man, and she has had to tell them she is in charge, she said.