Gender and salary: A study of accountants in Japan

Abstract

Increasing globalization exerts pressures on countries toward social and cultural convergence. Such homogenizing forces are particularly visible at the macro and policy levels. In response to such pressures, Japan introduced an ambitious ‘Plan for Gender Equality’ in 1996. Significant differences in culture, however, between Japan and the western countries that it trades with may make gender equality more difficult to achieve. A recent report ranking Japan 32nd in terms of the GEM, an international measure of gender equality, reveals the problems Japan has encountered in attempting to achieve gender equality. The accounting profession in Japan is a relatively new profession that women have successfully entered in large numbers in recent years. As a new profession, it thus may be freer of entrenched cultural constraints enabling gender-equality efforts to have greater impact. Using data obtained from 235 professional accountants in Japan, we investigated the existence of a pay differential between male and female accountants, and the relationships between human capital factors, gender, and accountants' salary. We also explored the existence of gender-based differences in pay satisfaction.