CONTEMPORARY JAPAN: EDUCATION & WORK Women at Work |
| Much attention has been given to the rigor of the Japanese education system and workplace, both of which have certainly contributed to the country’s economic and technological growth. Japanese are expected from a young age to work hard and succeed in a highly competitive environment. In this video series, Harvard University professors Theodore Bestor and Helen Hardacre explain the educational system and path to postgraduate employment in Japan. |
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Theodore Bestor :: The expectations on women’s roles in contemporary urban life really mean that most women can’t work outside the home. They’re responsible for the education of their children; they’re responsible for managing the household. They may in some cases have responsibilities for aging parents. And so culturally, as well as just in terms of the allocation of time, a woman is expected upon marriage to essentially give up her career and devote herself full-time over the next 15 or 20 years to raising children and all of the other household responsibilities that appear, so that occasionally you find women who do attempt to have a career outside the home, but it’s very difficult, and certainly much less common than it is in the United States. |
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