Japanese Workplace Harassment Against Women and the Subsequent Rise of Activist Movements: Combatting Four Forms of Hara to Create a More Gender Equal Workplace
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Date
2016-06
Authors
Grant, Rachel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
The Japanese workplace has traditionally been shaped by a large divide between
the gender roles of women and men. This encompasses areas such as occupational
expectations, job duties, work hours, work pay, work status, and years of work. Part of
this struggle stems from the pressure exerted by different sides of society, pushing
women to fulfill the motherly home-life role, the dedicated career woman role, or a
merge of the two. Along with these demands lie other stressors in the workplace, such
as harassment Power harassment, age discrimination, sexual harassment, and maternity
harassment, cause strain and anxiety to many Japanese businesswomen. There have
been governmental refonns put in place, such as proposals made by the Prime Minister
of Japan, in an attempt to combat this behavior. More recently, there have been various
activist grassroots groups that have emerged to try to tackle the issues surrounding
harassment against women.
In this thesis, I make the argument that these groups are an essential component
in the changing Japanese workplace, where women are gaining a more equal balance to
men. This is done by spreading awareness of the four major forms of harassment that target women to the forefront of societal attention, assisting individuals who have been
wronged due to harassment, and working alongside the government to create new
initiatives that combat the roots of harassment. In order to do this, I give background
information into the traditional expectations of women and men in the workplace in
Japan, describe the various forms of governmental legislation that has been created in
response to harassment, explain in detail the four different forms of harassment in Japan
that are targeting women, and discuss the influence that the Japanese activist
movements have had in resisting these forms of harassment.
Description
88 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of Japanese and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Arts, Spring 2016.
Keywords
Japanese Women, Equality, Japan, Harassment, Workplace, Activist, Gender, Equality