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The Equal Employment and Opportunity Act, which modified the Labor Standards Act, was a major step forward for women employed in Japan and the first Act to prohibit employers from discriminating against women in terms of mandatory retirement age, dismissal and access to benefits. However, the Labor Standards Act continued to be modified even after the Equal Employment and Opportunity Act, and later acts added protection for men (who were not originally protected from discrimination under the Labor Standards Act or Equal Employment Act) and banning discrimination in recruitment, assignment and promotion as well as any form of indirect discrimination.

Unfortunately, it is often the case that women and men are expected to perform different roles in the workplace in Japan. Therefore, men and women are usually assigned different tasks at work. The Act on Securing Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment seeks to remedy this discriminatory behavior.