Experiences with gender inequality- asking women🙏

10 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **Experiences with gender inequality- asking women🙏**

   Hello~ I am considering applying to teach in Japan for 2025 and, as a person that over thinks everything, im trying to gauge what life in Japan would look like for me realistically and if it could be a place I would want to live long term.

   I have seen many people discuss the cons of living in Japan and a reoccurring issue I hear about is the inequality and mistreatment of women.

   The posts and videos I see make it seem really extreme but there is usually a lack of examples or it’s a guy talking about it.

   I don’t deny that this is probably a real issue but I would really love to hear the stories of women who live in Japan or who have previously lived there. Or maybe if u have a wife or sister and have heard their experiences directly from them.

   Like I said, ppl make it sound like it’s so bad that, as a women, I would hate it there (which I can’t deny if it’s true or not) and it worries me a little.
   I just wanted to know how real the issue is and how much it would impact my day to day life or even long-term life there.

   Thank you!

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2. I feel like this really depends on your workplace and personal situation. I work in a fairly international workplace and have never felt any personal discrimination or mistreatment. I would say that there is systemic discrimination that’s affected me (for example, opportunities that are difficult to take advantage of if you are a working parent without a stay-at-home partner), but those issues exist in my home country too.

   Office practices like “tea squad” ladies are being phased out (the practice of having female employees responsible for office domestic duties), though may still exist in some companies. I feel like the larger issues are the cultural expectations around motherhood (and the inevitability of it). A had a friend constantly passed over for promotion in a Japanese company because her boss was convinced she was going to get married and leave the company as soon as she got pregnant. Even though she was very insistent that she wasn’t! She eventually moved to a more international company and is still working there happily (as a single woman in her 40s) today!

   As to daily life I feel no discrimination or mistreatment and feel safer than in my home country of the US. Especially when traveling alone as a woman.

3. What ***specific*** questions do you have about life here as a woman?

   You wrote a lot but didn’t actually give any vital info like *where* in Japan you’d be, what kind of situations you’re worried about, what personality you have, etc.

   I’m late 20s female teaching at an international school here and have had no issues.

4. There will be cons to any country you decide to live in. There have been many pros and many cons for me living in Japan. Also I think the situation is going to be different for every person. I think you just need to stop overthinking and just do what you think you would enjoy. If you really want to move to Japan, then do it and give it a try. You won’t know until you just give it a shot. I live in a town of under 8k people in a rural prefecture and I have had no issues.

5. I’m a married woman with kids & work full time here in Japan, and my husband is focusing more on the kids and home. The only issue I’ve run into is that school related things (for kids) are still very much set up on the expectation that there is a stay-at-home-mom who’s able to do XYZ things or come to the school or do PTA volunteering… but as a foreigner, I don’t have typical expectations on me so it’s easier to get around it all and NOT have to do those things 😆 In my experience it’s been a mild annoyance dealing with these expectations that feel a bit outdated, but nothing earth shattering.

6. Honestly: Japan is not treating women equal. We’re stuck in the past here when it comes to many things (equal pay, how housework and care work is distributed). Women are expected to be pretty and thin and not too aggressive.

   However: You are a foreigner. No one expects you to be the same as Japanese women (unless you are Asian, in which case things may be different). You get to bypass most of the bullshit.

   You instead get to only experience the good sides of life as a woman here: There is basically no cat calling. I have never changed the side of the street because I saw a group of young men together. Sexual assault exists and is a problem, but I’ve never felt as safe in Berlin, Germany when growing up as I did in Tokyo. I’ve been out drinking late and went home on my own, without ever really worrying about my safety. Day to day I really prefer living here as a woman.

   (Just for background info: I’m in my 30s, married, have a son, work for a foreign company)

7. What are you looking for in your life? Your experience depends on your life goals. Also, do you speak Japanese? You may find socializing difficult without language ability. As for the culture, Japan is still pretty traditional. If you are from a Western country, it feels more like the 1970’s in terms of gender dynamics.

8. > I have seen many people discuss the cons of living in Japan and a reoccurring issue I hear about is the inequality and mistreatment of women.

   specifically?

9. Society here is still very patriarchal — but unless you’re working in a traditional Japanese company, you won’t experience a lot of the issues Japanese women do face in the workplace. If you plan on marrying a Japanese man, just make sure you’re on the same page RE: what you will do if you have kids, thoughts on cheating, etc.

   Also, since you’re not a citizen, the lack of women politicians isn’t something you can really fix.

10. >I am considering applying to teach in Japan for 2025

    Do you have experience, licenses and published papers?