일본의 고용관행과 젠더 : 결혼퇴직을 중심으로

Abstract

이 글는 일본 노사관계와 젠더와의 관계를 고찰하기 위한 시도로서 결혼퇴직제도의 전개에 주목했다. 일본의 경우, 전전부터 여성의 노동력화가 진전함으로써 고용의 장에서 결혼퇴직제가 실시되었던 것은 아니었다. 여성이 주부로서 가사노동을 담당한다는 근대적 라이프스타일이 정착하는 과정에서, 여성의 고용을 청년기·미혼 시로 한정하는 관행이 형성되어 전후로 이어졌던 것이다. 결혼퇴직의 제도화는 고도성장기에 노동력 부족이 심각해지는 가운데 실시되었다. 그것은 정규 종업원을 대상으로 고용의 보장을 전제로 하는 장기고용시스템이 형성되어 가는 과정에서 생긴 것이며, 내부 노동시장을 발달시키고 있던 기업은 결혼을 이유로 조기퇴직의 우려가 있는 여성을 미리 배제할 필요가 있었다. 그 때문에 이 제도는 경제합리성을 가지며, 법적인 근거를 잃은 후에도 직장의 불문율로서 잔존했다. 역사적으로 보자면 기업은 일관하여 가정책임을 지지 않고 생산노동에 전념할 수 있는 노동자를 지속적으로 찾아왔다. 일본의 고용관행에 의해 규정된 젠더규범은 강고하게 계속 작용할 것이다.

This paper examines the relationship between Japanese labor-management relationships and gender by tracking the origin of the system for retirement after marriage. In Japan, the female workforce appeared before World War II, and has been advancing since. Thus, no system had ever imposed coercive retirement on married women. It was only when the modern lifestyle that politically sets up married women, or wives, as the primary worker within the household, that the common practice of limiting female employment to young and unmarried women became established. This practice, which continued to be in effect during the post-war times, persists in practice even today. The institutionalization of post-marriage retirement was implemented also because the labor market worsened in terms of job opportunity during Japans rapid economic growth period. The institutionalized practice can be seen as a result of the circumstances of the post-WWII times that sought the formation of a long-term employment system, in order to secure work for full-time. For companies that were equipped with a developing internal labor market, it was necessary to exclude in advance those women who were deemed likely to retire early upon marriage. Accordingly, this system maintained its economic logic and persisted as an unwritten code in the workplace, notwithstanding the disappearance of its legal support. Considering historical records, Japanese companies have consistently sought workers who could devote themselves exclusively to the production labor, without any consideration given to their familial responsibilities. It can be said that ideas of gender distinctions inherent in Japans employment practices continue to persist in effect today in ways unseen.