Changes in labor force supply and the gender division of labor: A Report from the Textile Industry

Abstract

An elucidation of the labor market's structure has been one issue under debate in textile industry studies in economic geography in Japan. Many reports explain socio-economic attributes including sex, age and pay from detailed investigation, and define the labor force in the labor market. It goes without saying that the textile industry is typically labor-oriented, in that it employs a younger female labor force which is placed at the bottom of the pay scale. And textile studies have pointed out the structure of the labor market, paying attention to this younger female labor force, however, but have not yet examined the discussion that labor quality, which is related to gender difference, is an important factor that places female labor force in such a position within the labor market. Moreover, there is a growing need for consideration of labor quality in the context of a new production system, that is ‘flexible production’, therefore it is thought that in the complicated and multiplied labor structure today, an examination from the standpoint of gender is important. This article attempts to examine the male and female labor force in the textile industry placed in the labor market, focusing on their labor quality. Currently, technological innovation and restructuring are also under way in the textile industry in Japan. There have, however, been few detailed reports of the topic of gender difference in the labor market, that is to say, about how these factors affect the supply structure of male and female workers in the labor market and the gender division of labor. The subject hitherto has received but scant attention even in foreign countries irrespective of differences in industrial sector. Worthy of note in our country is that since the 1980's, sociologists and economists have been engaged in exploring macro aspects such as nationwide trends of division of labor by sex. Nonetheless, they have neither dealt with the spatial dimensions of the trends nor have they made an exhaustive study of a particular industry or region. Thus it cannot be denied that their studies are far from satisfactory especially at meso or micro levels. Needless to say, these problems must be solved through geographical investigations. © 1994, The Human Geographical Society of Japan. All rights reserved.