Young Middle-Class Japanese Women Working in Foreign Financial Affiliates in Japan : An Equal Career Track

Abstract: This is a study of a category of young middle-class Japanese women who work for foreign financial affiliates in Japan. These women are equipped with a high educational background, languages skills, and who are fond of the international atmosphere. In other words, they have the cultural capital and social capital which link them to the international realm. The aim of this study was to examine this group of women and their careers in foreign financial affiliates in Japan, how they differ from other female groups and what is the relationship between them and the local context. This study shows that although the middle-class women have obtained a more gender equal working environment but they are still in Japan and therefore bound to the Japanese gender division. This study applied Internationalism by Karen Kelsky and Capital Theory by Pierre Bourdieu to analyze the career and identity of these middle-class young women and also their relations with international as well as local Japanese context. This study was based on interviews which were conducted in Tokyo, Japan in 2007 and also secondary materials.