The Working Women in My Family History

The women’s working situation and environment have changed from generation to generation. People’s thoughts and common sense have also changed. How are they different? The women in my family are my grandmother, my mother, and myself. I think that looking at my family’s case of working women and the case of my generation is very interesting.
My grandmother used to work at Yonezawa Fabric Company. At that time, it was common for women to quit their jobs when they got married in Japan. So, my grandmother also quit her job after she and my grandfather got married. In traditional Japanese society, a woman had to live with her husband’s family after she was married. Women stayed in their houses, brought up their children, did housework everyday, and so on. My grandmother has always been at home. She raised two children and did housework. My grandfather didn’t help her with the housework. There was a large amount of discrimination between men and women at that time.
My mother works as an elementary school teacher. She has insisted that women and men should be treated fairly in the workplace. She hates the idea that women are inferior to men. She always says her opinion very clearly and sometimes has arguments with male teachers. She gave birth three times and she was able to have a break each time. It is said that women teachers shouldn’t teach Physical Education classes, but from about 6 or 7 years ago, my mother has been teaching Physical Education classes. In addition, my mother has to do housework but my father helps her and they share the housework.
A friend of mine, who already has a job, says that she doesn’t want to get married and have children. She knows that there are some laws to protect women’s right in society now. For example, a law rules that not only women but also men can take a break to raise their children. However, there are no penalties if a company doesn’t use this system. My friend is afraid to lose her career. More and more women have jobs and don’t want to get married in my generation. It connects to a lot of contemporary social issues, such as decreasing child population or some insurance difficulties. Thus, I believe we should consider our problems more seriously. I think women’s working environment and views about women’s work vary from generation to generation