The social services sector takes a lion's share with 441,000 jobs that would fall into the so-called 'Helping Hand' category, including child care, baby sitting, attending to the sick, and helping senior citizens.
The government aims at raising the economic participation rate of women from50.1% now to 55% by 2010, focusing on reemployment of women whose employment had to be suspended due to childbirth and child care.
With the nation's fertility rate hitting a low in the world at 1.08, 'Family-friendly Management,' as a solution to the issue, has become a new focus of concern.
'The Declaration of Family-Friendly Management' sponsored by the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family (MOGEF) on July 11, 2006, was attended by more than 100 large and small companies of the nation. On the heels of the declaration, ministries introduced bills supportive of measures for family-friendly corporations.
'Family-Friendly Management' is designed to relieve parents of worries about their kids by installing day-care facilities at their work places, introducing paternity leave so that both parents may be equally able to take care of their kids, and adopting a flexible working hour system, or flexitime, for the employees to be faithful both at work and at home.
