Gender Pay Gap Narrows to Record Low

TOKYO, Mar 18 (News On Japan) - The gender pay gap in Japan has reached its smallest level on record, as the average monthly salary for full-time workers posted its highest growth in 33 years, according to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The survey, conducted last year, found that the average monthly salary for full-time employees rose 3.8% from the previous year to 330,400 yen, marking the fastest increase in over three decades.

Meanwhile, women's wages, when indexed to men's wages at 100, rose by 1.0 percentage point from the previous year to 75.8. Although a gap between male and female wages remains, the difference has now narrowed to its smallest level since comparable data became available in 1976.

The ministry attributed the improvement to an increase in the proportion of women in managerial positions compared to the previous year.

Source: TBS

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