Beyond Backlash: How Gender Quotas Empower Women and Shape Workplace Attitudes in Japanese Hiring

This study examines the impact of gender quotas on individual job application decisions and occupational choices in Japan and how these effects vary across individual characteristics. A choice-based conjoint experiment involving 1,167 participants examined job preferences across positions with and without gender quotas and across different job types. The findings indicate that gender quotas significantly increased women’s likelihood of applying, with the strongest effects observed among high-performing employed women, while not discouraging applications from comparably qualified men. Quotas support women in making occupational choices that better reflect their preferences and, are, in turn, associated with higher expected productivity and well-being. Supplementary exploratory analyses indicated that support for gender quotas varies systematically with individual personality traits, gender role beliefs, and prior experiences. Importantly, resistance to quotas among men in Japan was limited, especially among those who recognized past gender advantages. Our findings provide practical insights for understanding inclusive recruitment and diversity policy in non-Western contexts such as Japan.

本研究探讨了日本的性别配额（gender quotas）对个体求职决策与职业选择的影响，以及这些影响如何随个体特征的不同而产生差异。本研究采用包含1167名参与者的基于选择的联合实验（choice-based conjoint experiment），考察了个体在设有与未设性别配额的岗位间，以及不同岗位类型中的工作偏好。研究结果表明，性别配额显著提升了女性的求职意愿，其中在职高绩效女性群体的求职意愿提升幅度最为显著；同时，该政策并未削弱资质相当的男性的求职意向。性别配额能够帮助女性做出更贴合自身偏好的职业选择，进而与更高的预期生产率及幸福感呈正相关。补充探索性分析显示，个体对性别配额的支持度会随其人格特质、性别角色信念及既往经历呈现系统性差异。值得注意的是，日本男性群体对配额的抵触情绪较为有限，尤其是那些意识到过往性别优势的男性。本研究结果为理解日本等非西方语境下的包容性招聘与多元化政策提供了切实可行的实践启示与理论参考。