Using data from the China General Social Survey and Japan General Social Survey, this paper examines: (1) what are the differences in gender inequality in labor participation and earnings in China and Japan? (2) Do family status such as marriage and presence of preschool children and children under 18 years old have a more significant negative effect on women’s employment and earnings in Japan than in China? (3) If there are differences, what are the factors that account for the differences? The results indicate while marital status and spouse’s education and earnings have significant effects on women’s labor force participation in Japan, these factors have smaller effects on women’s labor force participation in China. Motherhood earnings penalty is only significant in non-publ...[ Read more ]

Using data from the China General Social Survey and Japan General Social Survey, this paper examines: (1) what are the differences in gender inequality in labor participation and earnings in China and Japan? (2) Do family status such as marriage and presence of preschool children and children under 18 years old have a more significant negative effect on women’s employment and earnings in Japan than in China? (3) If there are differences, what are the factors that account for the differences? The results indicate while marital status and spouse’s education and earnings have significant effects on women’s labor force participation in Japan, these factors have smaller effects on women’s labor force participation in China. Motherhood earnings penalty is only significant in non-public sector in Japan; it is not significant in public sector in Japan and not significant in both public and non-public sectors in China. While married men earn significantly more than single men in Japan and marital status has no significant effect on men’s earnings in China, there is a marriage earnings penalty for women in both countries. I discuss the effects of state policies, labor market structures, family system, and individual characteristics on men and women’s labor participation and earnings from a comparative gender stratification perspective. I also discuss the implications of these results for gender stratification theory and research on welfare regime and the transformation of post-socialist societies, as well as on women’s labor market status.