The Social-Institutional Bases of Gender Stratification: Japan as an Illustrative Case

Gender stratification theory can be informed by a cross-cultural perspective and greater attention to the embeddedness of stratification processes within the social context. This article focuses on how the development and evaluation of human capital varies across cultural settings and on the implications this has for the degree of gender stratification in the economy. An argument is made for the theoretical utility of the concept of a human capital development system, constituded by the way social institutions-and social actors in those institutions-share the responsibilities of human capital development across the individual's life cycle. Japan is seen as having a system of human capital development that encourages the maintenance of greater gender stratification than the American system.