Japan is pushing measures to close the gender gap in the nation 's workforce . Prime Minister Shinzo Abe : `` Women are Japan 's most underutilized resource '' Japanese women face strong cultural pressure to leave the workforce after having a child . The government has been trying to change this by offering incentives for companies that hire more female employees, and also providing training programs so they can better integrate them into their work force. Even though Shiseido is an example of corporate best practice in Japan , Ohtsuki admits there is still some way to go along the road towards true daibashitii , the Japanese word for diversity . Workforce parity `` could lift the asset level of Japanese GDP by as much as 14 % ''
Japan is pushing measures to close the gender gap in the nation 's workforce . Prime Minister Shinzo Abe : `` Women are Japan 's most underutilized resource '' Japanese women face strong cultural pressure to leave the workforce after having a child . The government has been trying to change this by offering incentives for companies that hire more female employees, and also providing training programs so they can better integrate them into their work force. Workforce parity `` could lift the asset level of Japanese GDP by as much as 14 % ''