Gender equality

In Japan, some people still believe that husbands should work outside while wives do housework at home. However, as we know, this stereotype of family is now changing. Particularly, young generation seems to have a different idea about gender roles. I would therefore describe the details about gender equality in Japan and look at the present situation as follows.

According to the survey by the Cabinet Office, the percentage of women in leadership position is still low and does not meet a target of 30% in each industry (*Refer to the following graph). In addition, Gender Empowerment Measurement (GEM), which indicates the rate of women's participation in Economy or Politics, is ranked 57th in 109 countries.

                                       http://www.gender.go.jp/whitepaper/h22/gaiyou/html/honpen/b1_s00.html

Baseed on these results, what should we do in order to promote this situation?
First of all, we have to build a supportive society that women can work after childbirth. In fact, about 60 percent of working mothers quit their jobs before and after childbirth.

Moreover, the working environment of women should be further improved, even though Basic Law for a Gender-equal Society has been implemented. For instance, trainings for employee, salary or promotion must be equal to men.

Lastly, women themselves need to change their way of thinking about working. Women have to believe their abilities and try to become more active outside the home.

To sum up, despite the fact that the number of working women are increasing, it seems that gender equality hasn’t yet become reality. Therefore, not only government but also ourselves try to rethink the current situation and act for further improvement.