What is behind dramatic increase in paternity leave at regional bank in Japan?

NIIGATA — The rate of male employees taking child care leave at a bank here jumped from 11% in 2020 to 106% in 2022. The Mainichi Shimbun explored what efforts were behind this rapid increase.

A representative from the human resources department at Daishi Hokuetsu Bank Ltd. said, “With female employees accounting for more than half of our workforce, at 55%, the promotion of the active engagement of women is an important element of the company’s operational and business strategy.”

By encouraging men to take paternity leave, the bank aims to create an environment in which women can work longer and to correct the uneven distribution of child care and household chores between men and women.

To increase the rate, the company has been encouraging soon-to-be fathers to take paternity leave by informing them of the system and holding related seminars for managers since 2021. Consequently, the take-up rate of paternity leave increased in a short period of time: from 11% in 2020, to 48% in 2021 and 106% in 2022. The rate exceeded 100% in 2022 because some delayed taking leave until the fiscal year following the child’s birth.

An official from the human resources department said, “The take-up rate has improved since we stepped up our efforts.” The move is also said to have had the effect of improving employees’ motivation to work and boosting productivity.

The bank’s focus on encouraging women to work actively also has external objectives. Diversity management, including female advancement and paternity leave, will “enhance the company’s image with business partners, shareholders and investors,” said the department’s official. It will also appeal to students and their guardians as a good place to work, which will help the company to recruit young, talented people.

On the other hand, the bank is in the process of working to improve the ratio of women in management positions and the wage gap between men and women.

According to the bank’s annual securities report for fiscal 2022, when men’s wages are set at 100%, women’s average wages stand at 45.8% for all workers, 61.2% for regular employees and 66.5% for nonregular workers. The bank explains that the background is “largely due to the fact that women account for 83.4% of fixed-term employees, whose wages are relatively low.”

Gender disproportion in management positions is also a factor. In management positions with comparatively high salaries, 74.2% are male. On the other hand, more than 80% of those who use the “limited work location system,” which prevents transfers that require moving, are women. If they choose this system, their annual salary will be reduced by 10% to 15%. The company analyzes that these are the reasons for the gap.

While the bank sees the wage disparity as resulting from its efforts to support a variety of work styles that suit the lifestyles of individual employees, it plans to promote the shift to full-time work when employees are somewhat free from child care or nursing care, and to encourage the switch of fixed-term employees to regular positions.

The bank said, “Since there is also growing social demand, we will work on effective measures to promote the active engagement of women more than ever before.”

(Japanese original by Mayuka Ikeda, Niigata Bureau)