抄録

　人的資本論によると，大学卒等の高い学歴を持つ人は，市場関連資本が高くなるため就業している確率が高くなると予想される．しかし，日本では四大卒以上の学歴を持つ女性の就業率は，四大卒未満の学歴を持つ女性の就業率とほとんど変わらない．本稿では，日本では女性にとって魅力ある職場整備が進んでいないことが，高学歴女性の就業が進まない背景にあると考え，分析を行う．具体的には都道府県レベルの就業環境の男女格差(女性管理職率，女性専門・技術職率，男女賃金比率)に着目して，このような地域差が女性の学歴と就業との関係に媒介するか検討する．結果によると，女性管理職率と女性専門技術職率の高い県では，女性の個人・世帯属性の影響を考慮した上でも，高学歴女性の就業している確率が高いことが明らかになった．高学歴女性の就業の促進のために，女性のとってやりがいがあり，昇進等の機会が均等に与えられる就業環境の整備が望まれる．

abstract

The human capital theory suggests that highly educated person has more labor market related capital, thus s/he is more likely to participate in the labor market. However, in Japan, the employment rate for university educated women is similar to that of women with lower educational attainments. This research analyzes the association between women’s educational attainment and their labor force participation, by focusing on the mediating impact of prefecture-level differences in gender inequality. The paper argues that in regions where gender inequality in the local labor market is low, highly educated women are more likely to be employed. The analysis indicates that in prefectures which have a higher percentage of female managers and lower gender wage gap, highly educated women are more likely to be employed even after the effects of individual and household level factors are controlled. These findings suggest that creating more gender equal labor market conditions is a key factor in facilitating highly educated women’s labor force participation.