Organizational Informatization and Promoting the Active Participation of Women in the Workplace (Japanese)

There still has not been sufficient promotion of the active participation of women in the workplace in Japan. The main factors behind this situation are a uniform view of women and the failure to adopt a stance of inclusion. Accordingly, there is a need to establish the following systems and culture in order to promote the active participation of women in the workplace: (1) Recognize that "women" are composed of a diverse range of different individuals; and (2) Accept the diversity of women, or, in other words, adopt a stance of inclusion. The next required point is effective measures. The promotion of active participation by women only functions when both systems/cultures and measures are in place. Policies include those related to continuous employment and the application of abilities. However, these two policy goals do not exist in isolation. Meaningful progress is achieved only when both exist in tandem. Information Technology (IT) is a powerful tool for supporting the systems/cultures and measures described above. More effective use of IT facilitates the handling of the circumstances of each and every individual in ways that better match his or her individual needs. In this paper, interview surveys were carried out at companies that effectively utilize organizational informatization in promoting the active participation of women. This paper uses these interviews as the basis for considering the relationship between continuous employment and the application of abilities.