Subsequent growth in the economy, especially in the service sector gave women increasing opportunities to work. In the mean-time a growing number of young women went onto colleges and universities to receive more education and became better qualified. Such women were in great demand while the service economy sector grew rapidly until the late 1980s. An increasing number of well educated women found career positions in the 1970s and 1980s. However, many other women were given positions in which their main role was to assist men and women in career track positions.
Women can now take new career paths and find extended employment in many fields.
The average number of years women worked continuously in 1960 was 4 years while men worked for 8 years. The average number of years women worked expanded to over 6 years in 1980, and in 1996, 8.2 years. The average number of years women worked was almost 8 years. The number of years women work has increased continuously, and the number of women who work longer years has increased constantly. Still, the difference between men and women is much greater in Japan than in France, the United States, Germany or United Kingdom.