If the (female labor force participation rate) / (male labor force participation rate) is a good indicator of whether a country is well placed in terms of gender equality, I have a a proposal for how Japan can make rapid progress in this area. The government should encourage men to stay home, drink beer, and watch sports on TV while their wives go out and work. As the male labor force participation rate declines, the female / male ratio will improve and Japan will move forward in terms of "gender equality."

In teaching sociological methods, I have warned students about using ratios where the one of the variables, typically the divisor, can move for reasons unrelated to what you are trying to measure or which is open to manipulation. This ratio strikes me as a classic example of such an indicator. Another that I have seen is (death by suicide) / ( death by traffic accidents). The ratio can be made to look better (driven lower) by cutting back on enforcing traffic law enforcement or by encouraging people to use private automobiles rather than public transportation such that traffic accident deaths increase. Kill more people in other ways and suicide declines in importance as a cause of death. Progress is made.

While I support gender equality, I find much of the writing on the subject sophomoric.

EHK