Work-life Conflicts of Native and Immigrant Women in Japan

This study aims to examine work-life conflicts among married native and immigrant women in Japan. In an increasingly multicultural society like Japan, understanding the labor force participation and familial roles of different demographic groups, especially married women, could provide significant social and economic implications. Using a Bivariate probit model, the study simultaneously estimates the determinants of employment status and having children. The 2010 individual data from the Population Census, provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, serve as the basis for analysis. The findings reveal a negative correlation between labor force participation and having young children for both native and immigrant women. Among employed women, native mothers of young children tend to hold regular, high-skilled positions, while immigrant mothers are more likely to engage in non-regular, low-skilled jobs. It is indicated that both native and immigrant women in Japan may struggle to balance labor force participation and child-rearing responsibilities. Notably, the choice of job type and childcare balance appears to vary between these two demographic groups, with immigrant women potentially facing greater challenges in maintaining quality employment alongside childcare. These findings suggest the necessity for targeted policy and practice interventions, which could enhance workforce integration and family support for immigrant women in Japan, thereby addressing the demographic's unique work-life balance issues.