In the 2012 Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum, Japan ranked near the bottom — 102 out of 135 countries — on an index measuring gender parity in economic participation and opportunity. Japan has consistently had the worst ranking of any developed economy on this index since it was introduced in 2006.Japan also has the largest gender pay gap of any country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, with the exception of South Korea. On average, Japanese women earn about 72 percent of the compensation of men for equivalent jobs. The gender pay gap rises during childbearing and child-rearing years indicating a “motherhood pay penalty”.” This penalty is larger in Japan than in any other O.E.C.D. country, including Korea.
