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2026 April 22 - 28 TOP3 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

JCP proposes effective law to eradicate workplace gender discrimination and harassment

Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko at a press conference in the Diet building on April 23 published a JCP proposal calling for the enactment of an effective law to eliminate gender discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

Even 40 years after the Equal Employment Opportunity Act came into effect in April 1986, gender-based discrimination and discrepancies in wages still exist.

The proposal aims to achieve not only “equality of opportunity” but also “equality of outcome” with the ultimate goal of realizing “full equality between men and women” as mandated by the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

The JCP EC chair pointed out that Japan’s gender pay gap is twice the OECD average, and that the proportion of women in managerial positions remains in the single digits, indicating that Japan lags far behind the other advanced capitalist nations.

Tamura also stated that the male-female wage discrepancies and discrimination based on employment status create various hardships for women, including having to face poverty in old age. She emphasized that “gender equality cannot be achieved without equality in employment.”

The proposal’s key points are as follows:

The gender equality in employment act shall:

- include the realization of “equality of outcome” as its principle and objective;

- expand the existing system of disclosing gender wage gaps, and require companies to formulate and publish action plans to address them;

- prohibit indirect discrimination;

- clearly stipulate the principle of “equal pay for equal work” for all workers, including non-regular workers;

- set a target of 50:50 gender parity, and promote the appointment of women to executive and managerial positions;

- clearly stipulate a comprehensive prohibition on harassment, and ratify the ILO Convention 190 at an early date; and

- establish penalties for non-compliance, and strengthen the redress system.