Tokyo Times

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Japanese women: different generations, different directions?

In the field of technological innovation or adaptation, Japan is often leading the pack, yet in regards gender equality, the country is still very much a luddite. The life expectancy of Japanese women, of course, is second to none, but when it comes to any kind of economic or political parity, they are very much at the wrong end of the scale. In fact, after reaching the dizzy height of 94th in the world according to The Global Gender Gap Report in 2010, Japan has now slipped back to 98th, just about forcing Kenya and Belize to the outer extremities of the top 100.

And yet despite Japan’s woefully low position, it’s clear that things have changed — just very slowly that’s all. A shift that means those young women who came of age this year will enter a world different from the one their mothers and grandmothers ventured into. A world not exactly poles part, but one that does at least offer the option of independence, along with the possibility of heading in a very different direction.

Japanese women

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  6. “And yet despite Japan’s woefully low position, it’s clear that things have changed — just very slowly that’s all. A shift that means those young women who came of age this year will enter a world different from the one their mothers and grandmothers ventured into. ”

    I sure hope so Lee as I’ve been watching, traveling to and living off and on in Japan for more than 30 years now and I haven’t seen anything suggesting that there will be any significant changes in the position of women in Japan next year or in the next ten years. Yes, the world of a 20-something Japanese woman is vastly different than what it was for the lives of their early Showa-era grandmothers. But I’m not sure that being able to buy Gucci bags and take trips to Hawaii while still living at home is really all their is.

    Until Japanese women comprise 25% or more of middle management in Japan, I can’t see as if they’ve made much progress. And, again, I see nothing to indicate a trend in this direction.

    Reply

    • Very good points Jeffrey. Issues Japan’s pitiful ranking amply proves.

      With an increasing number of women in the workforce, hopefully those much needed changes will begin to happen, although as many of those positions are part-time, it’s probably not going to happen soon. There has been a start, but like you say, a lot more needs to happen for those changes to be classed as truly meaningful.

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  7. Though from another perspective, one could say that Japanese women enjoy a better quality of life than their male counterparts if they marry well. They have financial security, can focus on their kids, and socialize with friends — while their husbands are spending most of their lives being salaryman slaves. The only downside is they are effectively single parents – but given the choice I’d personally rather spend my life focused on family/friends than the corporate rat race.

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    • Yes, the life of the overworked salary man really isn’t an enviable one. Not by any stretch of the imagination. With the disintegration of the job for life system and continued economic security, those days of the working man, housewife and 2 kids are on the whole probably gone. What the lomg-term impact of that will be though remains to be seen.

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  10. One of the things that I find amazing is that the Japanese women don’t really do or say anything about it. It’s not necessarily that they’re happy, but they just don’t do anything about it.

    It’s like the Allegory of the cave… one does not know what freedom is unless one has experienced freedom.

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