Asia Times: Still a long way from gender equality


	June 6, 2000	atimes.com

Japan

Still a long way from gender equality
By Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO - Japan may keep on making breakthroughs in the technological world, but when it comes to equality between the sexes, this East Asian country remains a laggard.

Indeed, a year after the passage of the landmark Basic Law for Gender Equality, Japanese women are still being seen as belonging more to the home than anywhere else, says a new government report released last month.

Admits Tame Onishi, head of the Office of Gender Equality at the Prime Minister's Office: ''Despite some important new legislation, there is still a fixed perception of women as being more responsible for the family than men, (and this) continues to undermine efforts to foster a society that sees men and women as equal individuals.''

The situation could pose some problems in the future, the official hints. ''Japan in the 21st century cannot progress without men and women respecting each other's human rights and share their happiness and responsibilities,'' says Onishi. She also points out that as Japan's society ages - about 17 percent of Japan's 126 million people are over 65 right now - there are more women outliving men. At the very least, says Onishi, women must be able to enjoy having longer lives.

But the report, which the gender law says should be made annually, indicates that women are still being kept from achieving their full potential. More than 21 percent of the male respondents between the ages of 18 to 24, for example, agreed with the statement that ''men should go out and work and women should take care of the home.'' About 15 percent of the female respondents in the same age bracket also agreed with the statement. But more telling was the fact that 41.3 percent of fathers said yes to the same statement, compared to the 24.3 percent of mothers.

And in the section that sought to determine who was taking care of the elderly, 99.7 percent of the caregivers turned out to be women - yet another indication of the persistence of traditional roles.

Mizuho Matsuda of the Asian Women's Fund says that ''there is no doubt that traditional concepts are deep-rooted in society and forcing women to take the backseat'' in many sectors, earn high pay and become leaders in business and politics.

At the same time, Yoshiko Suzuki of the Japan Women's Network says that another big problem confronting women in this country is a corporate system that expects female employees to work long hours just like the men while still being responsible for caring for the family. More often than not, the harassed female worker chooses to just quit her job and devoted her full time to the family.

Comments Kazue Suzuki, who has decided not to have children in order to pursue a career: ''The bottom line is that unless women can hold jobs like men, they lack the confidence to be treated equally to men.''

Onishi, though, says that the government has made some moves in response to growing calls for better conditions for working women. One of these steps is the setting up of a ''more effective'' daycare system that ''caters to women's needs''. While day care centers in cities are well-managed, mothers complain that there is usually a long waiting list to get into any of them. The mothers say the centrers also close too early. The government has now promised to remedy these grievances.

Matsuda, for her part, wants to see new laws that will increase women's participation in parliament, the corporate management system and in other strategic areas. This way, she argues, women's voices can be heard at the highest levels.

Meanwhile, women activists are finding some comfort that at least the new government report includes women's issues that used to be ignored - domestic violence, stalking and sexual harassment.

But the findings themselves only show how much more needs to be done regarding women's concerns. Incidents of sexual abuse against women between 13 to 19 years old, for example, have risen, according to the report. In 1998, there were 1,549 cases recorded, double the figure in 1978.

The report, however, also observes that the high number of inquiries (more than 7,000) from female workers seeking advice about sexual harassment in 1998 reflects increased awareness among women about their rights.

(Inter Press Service)

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