Gender roles in Japan ask the person to uphold loyalty, courage, and pride. Males are expected to be loyal to their workplaces, courage to fight for their country, and pride in improving their country to the world. Females are expected to be loyal to the family, courage in life happening, and pride in enabling their men the ability to do their job. These expectation form the basis of Japanese culture, however, status can blur the lines allowing woman a more liberal role in their society. Japan is a patriarchal society that contradicts itself by providing females an excellent education; subsidize daycare centers, and contraception but does not let a woman use them effectively to promote their country.
Education is highly valued in the country for both genders. Female are educated to the same extent as males for the career field. However, the stigma is that women will get married and leave their jobs once they are married. According to Beauchamp, “Working Japanese mothers get very little support from the state, and bosses consider marriage a death knell for a woman’s career” resulting in woman continuing in fulfilling assistive role in the workplace to their male counterparts. As a highly educated culture barriers set in place, need to accommodate the working Japanese mother.
One way the country is trying to address the issue of equal gender roles is providing subsidize daycare centers in recent years. The centers do not affectively help because of not enough spaces according to Time magazine “Some government officials have begun to label the shortage of day care spots a crisis that threatens to undermine attempts to re-energize Japan’s listless economy by keeping its large pool of young, highly educated women from paychecks that could help increase domestic spending.” Male and female are put in a place whether to decide to have child or forgo them for careers. Male are seen as the breadwinners and might not want to be burden with the responsibility. On the other hand, women are scared to have children for the simple fact of knowing the will have to leave the workplace to raise their children.
Contraception is one way both male and females can avoid raising a family. Gender roles are well determined in what needs to happen once a person has a child and prevention alleviates the standard role. Younger generation is able to choose to take more time in their personal interest by limiting how many children they have. This is resulting in a birthrate crisis for the country that aging population outnumbers its youth.
Slower change is occurring in the country to adjust to the gender roles and providing enough assistance in changing the workplace, which allows women to have both a family and career. Salary woman in Japan needs the government to allow her a dual role, which I believe will allow both genders a balanced home and work places. It is one thing to provide equality measures, however, without them being beneficial for all they lose their purpose.
Beauchamp, Z. (2013, October 21). Are Traditional Gender Roles Destroying Japan? Retrieved November 5, 2014.
Hewlett, S. (2013, September 27). What’s Holding Japanese Women Back | TIME.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
Education is highly valued in the country for both genders. Female are educated to the same extent as males for the career field. However, the stigma is that women will get married and leave their jobs once they are married. According to Beauchamp, “Working Japanese mothers get very little support from the state, and bosses consider marriage a death knell for a woman’s career” resulting in woman continuing in fulfilling assistive role in the workplace to their male counterparts. As a highly educated culture barriers set in place, need to accommodate the working Japanese mother.
One way the country is trying to address the issue of equal gender roles is providing subsidize daycare centers in recent years. The centers do not affectively help because of not enough spaces according to Time magazine “Some government officials have begun to label the shortage of day care spots a crisis that threatens to undermine attempts to re-energize Japan’s listless economy by keeping its large pool of young, highly educated women from paychecks that could help increase domestic spending.” Male and female are put in a place whether to decide to have child or forgo them for careers. Male are seen as the breadwinners and might not want to be burden with the responsibility. On the other hand, women are scared to have children for the simple fact of knowing the will have to leave the workplace to raise their children.
Contraception is one way both male and females can avoid raising a family. Gender roles are well determined in what needs to happen once a person has a child and prevention alleviates the standard role. Younger generation is able to choose to take more time in their personal interest by limiting how many children they have. This is resulting in a birthrate crisis for the country that aging population outnumbers its youth.
Slower change is occurring in the country to adjust to the gender roles and providing enough assistance in changing the workplace, which allows women to have both a family and career. Salary woman in Japan needs the government to allow her a dual role, which I believe will allow both genders a balanced home and work places. It is one thing to provide equality measures, however, without them being beneficial for all they lose their purpose.
Beauchamp, Z. (2013, October 21). Are Traditional Gender Roles Destroying Japan? Retrieved November 5, 2014.
Hewlett, S. (2013, September 27). What’s Holding Japanese Women Back | TIME.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.