Society Older single women stuck in low-paying jobs

[thomas]

This is quite sad to read—Asahi Shinbun on the situation of often highly-qualified, experienced single women stuck in low-paid, non-regular jobs:

Many older single women in Japan are stuck in low-paid, non-regular jobs and are trapped in casual employment due to the persistently wide gender gap in the country. These women are one of the most neglected demographic groups in the nation's social security system, designed to serve the best traditional families where the husband works full time, and the wife stays at home and cares for the children. As a result, many of these women are forced to live with their parents to make ends meet, and there are few policies designed to support middle-aged and elderly single women.

• According to government data, there are 14.32 million women in non-regular employment, more than double their 6.69 million male counterparts as of 2022.
• The largest age group of women in non-regular employment is 45 to 54, with 3.73 million women.
• The share of adult women who have never married has risen sharply since the turn of the century, reaching a high of 17.8 per cent in 2020.
• A 2022 survey of 2,345 single women aged 40 or older found that 84.6 per cent held a job, but less than half of them, or 44.8 per cent, were regularly employed.
• Non-regular workers comprised 38.7 per cent, while 14.1 per cent were self-employed or freelance workers, according to the surveyor Wakuwaku Senior Singles.
• Of all respondents, 33.3 per cent earned less than 2 million yen a year, with the figure jumping to 52.7 per cent among non-regular workers and 48.6 per cent among freelancers.
• Although many had low incomes, 86.1 per cent were the primary or sole breadwinners.
• Asked about their financial situation, 68.9 per cent said it was rather or challenging.

Many older women in Japan stuck in low-paying jobs | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis