Emancipate women

Here's an interesting Yomiuri poll on emancipation. Unfortunately, they do not disclose any details about the respondents!

Seventy-three percent of people oppose the conventional Japanese idea that men should work outside the home and women should do the housework, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey on gender issues released Wednesday.

The figure was 13 percentage points higher than that recorded in a similar poll taken in July 1998.

In the survey, conducted on Jan. 25 and 26 through face-to-face interviews, 71 percent of respondents said they thought men are treated more favorably in society (including those who said men are treated somewhat better), dwarfing the number of those who answered women are treated better (20 percent).

To realize gender equality, 39 percent said changes in ideas and customs regarding gender roles were most needed, while 38 percent of the respondents said women should gain special knowledge or skills and try to earn higher salaries.

Asked which gender they would prefer to be if they were born again, 55 percent of the respondents said they would like to be a man and 38 percent said they would like to be a woman.

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=> http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20030220wo33.htm

Hmm... yes, a shame that more details could not be disclosed as it would be interesting to see what the gender and age breakdown of the respondents actually is (assuming that demographic was recorded). I find it hard to believe that twenty percent polled responded they felt that women were treated better than men in general. Because this data was gathered via person-to-person interviews, it would be interesting indeed to hear their rationalization for that assumption. In my opinion, Japanese women clearly do not have the equity they deserve, but hopefully things will continue to change for the better (albeit slowly).