In Japan, the number of working women is increasing. Yet, it
is difficult for women employees to keep their work because of
pregnancy, having babies and caring for children. In addition,
mothers who would like to work again after raising children tend
to work part-time because of few opportunities to get good
full-time jobs worker. In this essay I will explain that there
are only two choices for Japanese women to work; one is having a
career, the other is having children and getting a part-time job.
I also tell how to solve this situation.
According to the Japanese government's "Labor White Paper
(roudou hakusyo) 1998", 10,6 million women worked in 1970,
but in 1997, the number of working women increased to 27.6
million. This paper also says that the number of women employees
aged twenty to twenty-four is the largest. Yet, the number of
women employees between the ages of twenty-five to thirty-four,
which may the time of marriage, childbirth, and childcare,
decreases dramatically. Its number increases again from
thirty-five to forty-four, but most of them work as part-timers.
These statistics suggest that it is difficult for Japanese women
to continue working full-time because of having
children.
One of the reasons why working is difficult for women who have
children is decrease of income during childbirth. However, this
is true that there is a new law called "maternity leave (ikuji
kyuugyou hou) ", which allows employees not to work for a
year when they have children, and employees to take wage up to
20% of the last month from the government. Yet, it has no
decision for employers to pay salary to their employees while
they take a maternity leave. It means that mothers cannot have
enough money to raise children because it costs a lot to do that.
Then, it is difficult for mothers to work.
Second reason for difficulty to work is hardness of women
reinstatement. Their bosses (most of them are men) say that
mother go back to home early to do housework, making dinner for
example, and they will take maternity leave again when they have
second child. They think that it has no good effect on companies
to employ women, and they would like to employ people who can
make an immediate contribution to the company and work for a long
time. For this reason, a lot of women are forced to work as
part-timers, but pay and benefits are poor. There is little
opportunity to be promoted to the full-time positions. It burdens
them psychologically, confines their willingness to work, then
mothers fell it is difficult to work.
Thirdly, women, especially those who have young children work
part-time or full-time, they have to leave their children in
nursery schools while they work. However, there are not enough
nursery schools, therefore it is difficult for Japanese women to
work even if part-time, not to the mention full-time. It is one
of big reason that women think working in a company is difficult.
In short, there are only two choices: to have a career and give
up caring children, or to have children and give up a career as a
full-time worker.
Now, it is necessary to improve circumstance of women's job
gain and caring children. Yet, what they need is not giving up
marriage or having children but the system that they can work
easier. For that purpose, the support of companies and government
is essential. Companies should make a system in which women can
easily obtain a maternity leave to care for their children, and
also return to their former positions. It is important to add a
new law that guarantees a salary when they take a leave. It is
necessary to enforce it strictly. The government must also
increase the number of nursery schools. Moreover, if there are
nursery schools or rooms in companies, mothers can take care of
their children in emergency.
Caring for children is the largest obstacle for women to work
in Japanese society, and they have to choose one way of living,
to have a career or to have children. It is important to improve
labor environment and system for women to lead both lives,
working life and home life. Help of companies and government is
important to achieve that, and it will be more comfortable for
women to work.
by Misako Kira
References
Okuyama, A. (1992). Ikuji kyuugyou hou. [Maternity
leave]. Tokyo: Keiei Gakuin.
Hayashi, H. (1992). Ikuji kyuugyou hou no subete.
[About maternity leave]. Tokyo: Keiei Gitsumu Shuppann. Tokyo:
Yuuhinkan.
Ikezawa, A. (1991). Otoko to onnna no shin jidai. [A
new era for men and women]. Tokyo: Keiei Gitsumu Shuppann.
Ministry of Labor. (1998). Roudou hakusyo. [Labor white
paper]. Tokyo: Nihon Roudou Kenkyuu Kikou [Labor search
organization in Japan].
