(Office for the Promotion of Gender Equality, Kyushu University, Japan)

Abstract: Based on a survey conducted on Japanese pharmaceutical companies, this paper analyzes the processes and the influence of work-life balance policies on the promotion of women employees and corporate performances as a result of women’s activities. Structural equation modeling is used to clarify complex causality between the promotion of women employees and personnel policies. The results of our analysis indicate that even if the complex relations between the variables are considered, productive improvements from work-life balance policies are not observed. Although work-life balance policies do not have a direct effect on the promotion or wages of women, they have an indirect effect on women’s promotion and wage increases over the length of their tenure. 

Key words: structural equation modeling; work-life balance policy; career advancement of women; corporate performance