Act on the Promotion of Women's Active Engagement in Professional Life

The purpose of this Act is to swiftly and thoroughly encourage women who choose to or intend to work, to fully demonstrate their qualities and capabilities and engage in professional life actively (hereinafter referred to as "women's active engagement in professional life"), leading to a vibrant and dynamic society in which the rights of both men and women are respected, and which can respond to changes in various social and economic conditions including the rapid progression of the declining birthrate and aging population, and the diversification of the demands of the Japanese public in consideration of the increasing importance in recent years of women's active engagement in professional life, pursuant to the basic principles of the Basic Act for Gender-Equal Society (Act No. 78 of 1999), by establishing fundamental principles for the promotion of women's active engagement in professional life, in addition to clarifying the responsibilities of the national government and local governments and employers, formulating a basic policy and employer action plan, and stipulating support measures for the promotion of women's active engagement in professional life.

①The promotion of women's active engagement in professional life must be conducted for the purpose of enabling women to fully demonstrate their qualities and capabilities, taking into account the state of gender disparities regarding active engagement in professional life, through the active provision of employment opportunities, education and training, workplace promotion, different types of occupation, changes in employment, and other opportunities related to professional life; and the use of those opportunities for women who choose to or intend to work, and in consideration of the effects of workplace practices reflecting a stereotyped division of roles based on gender, etc. on women's active engagement in professional life, and also with attention to the health characteristics of women.

②In light of how the professional lives of many women are negatively affected through having to leave work due to marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, nursing care, and other reasons related to personal life, the promotion of women's active engagement in professional life must be conducted for the purpose of enabling a smooth and continuous balance between professional and personal life of men and women, by establishing a supportive environment for men and women with families, regardless of their gender, to allow them to carry out their household responsibilities such as childcare or nursing care for other family members, through mutual cooperation and with social support.

③When promoting women's active engagement in professional life, special attention must be paid to the importance of respecting the wishes of women concerning the balance between professional and personal life.

The national and local governments must formulate and implement necessary measures for the promotion of women's active engagement in professional life, in accordance with the fundamental principles of the promotion of women's active engagement in professional life (referred to as the "fundamental principles" in the following Article and Article 5, paragraph (1)) prescribed in the preceding Article.

In accordance with the fundamental principles, employers must endeavor to play an integral role in the active provision of opportunities of professional lives for women workers whom they employ or intend to employ, endeavor to establish a work environment that contributes positively to balancing professional and personal life of the workers they employ, and endeavor to undertake other initiatives for the promotion of women's active engagement in professional life, and to cooperate with measures for the promotion of women's active engagement in professional life implemented by the national or local governments.