Being doubly disadvantaged or escaping gender discrimination?: female self-employment in Japan and their responses to the COVID-19 crisis

ABSTRACT This study focuses on female self-employed workers in Japan, evaluating their position in the labour market and access to social protection. It also investigates the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and their responses to it. We find that female self-employed workers are in a better position than female employees working on non-standard contracts, with less gender disparity. However, they lack social protection against sudden income loss, which caused them more serious damage during the COVID-19 crisis. Although the segment is relatively free from gender discrimination, it cannot escape the gender biases embedded in the social security system.