Workplace Environment and Female Employment: An empirical analysis using firm panel data

This paper examines the kind of company which utilizes female employees using panel data of Japanese companies. It is shown that companies with shorter work hours for typical regular employees, higher turnover rates, less steep wage curves and larger wage dispersion, and better work-life balance practices tend to have a higher female proportion among regular employees and managers. These findings imply that the longer work hours, a longer duration of the employment period, larger fixed costs of employment, and a less flexible workplace environment could serve as obstacles in utilizing female employees. Since it is confirmed that a higher female employee proportion could increase a company's profit, it should be beneficial for companies to remove such obstacles and utilize female employees as regular workers and managers under the improved workplace environment.