Question 1

I think plenty of women in Japan adhere to the traditional role of being the stay-at-home parent. Being a stay-at-home parent or housewife is a very demanding job and should be considered a profession even if they don't earn a salary. Their daily tasks and the work they put day in and day out into taking care of their families is just as demanding, maybe even more, than an office job. I currently am not yet thinking of having children, but I would be alright with being a housewife. However, I much prefer earning money since I like spending it.

Question 2

I think there are too many companies with men as the CEO or are C-level employees (CFO, CCO, COO, etc.), and this is baffling to me since in the Philippines, I think around 25% of CEOs are women. I think a woman can do the job just as well as a man. I have worked with different big companies in the Philippines and have worked with these female CEOs and C-level employees closely, and all of them are outstanding women. They are extremely organized, resourceful, decisive but also sensitive to their employees needs.

Question 3

Fe del Mundo was the first woman admitted into the Harvard School of Medicine, and she was from the Philippines. She was a pioneer in inventing a treatment for children with Jaundice. She passed away at the age of 99 on 2011.

Question 4

In the Philippines, I used to get more compliments about my looks rather than how well I presented our sales pitch, project plans or whatever other highly complex work. It was like my appearance was more important than my performance.

Question 5

My husband and I share doing the chores at home. He does the dishes and vacuuming while I do the laundry and cooking. He's not very good yet with vacuuming but I'm helping him be more attentive to really cleaning our surfaces. I think the gender inequality in Japan is getting better because the younger generation are becoming more aware of sharing roles in the household, especially because of how difficult the economy is right now and both need to have full-time jobs.

Question 6

I'm not glad I was born as a women. I honestly think I would have been better suited to be a man, my personality is very strong and aggressiveindependent which right now society still thinks is aggressive and inappropriate behavior for ladies. That being said, I wouldn't change it because I think being a woman has helped me become who I am today.

Tough Vocabulary

Question 1

My wife is a nurse and there are so many female nurses and so few male nurses in Japan. I think I have met only one male nurse in 8 years of living in Japan. Would I like to do that job? No way, it is too difficult for me.

Question 2

I do not know if this is factually true or not, but I feel that there are far more CEOs, directors, and owners of companies who are male. I think women can be just as effective as men in the business world and I imagine their performance would be the same.

Question 3

In New Zealand Kate Sheppard is extremely important as she was the driving force in gaining New Zealand women the right to vote in parliamentary elections, which happened in 1893. She is on the New Zealand ten dollar note.

Question 4

I love stand up comedy, and sometimes there are some chauvinistic jokes.

Question 5

I can cook and one of my household jobs is to clean the toilet. I do not know if Japanese husbands help or not, but they do not have a good reputation for helping their wife.

Question 6

I love being a man, it is much simpler than being a women.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
factually	事実
vote	投票
driving force	推進
reputation	評判

Question 1

I have never seen a male flight attendant on any Japanese airlines. On many American and European flights I have seen male flight attendants. I would not like that job. I would be nervous to take so many flights every week. The risk of crashing, or experiencing a hijacking. Scary.

Question 2

CEO or corporate bosses. You rarely to never see woman at the top of the corporate ladder. It seems dominated by men. I think a woman could do it better than a man. I think they are more rational, and fair.

Question 3

Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and political activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved people, family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.

Question 4

I remember when I was a bartender. There are many heavy things to lift behind the bar. i.e. cases of wine, large buckets of ice, kegs of beer. I noticed that men were hired more than woman for this reason. To lift heavy things, but I have also worked with excellent female bartenders who could bartend and lift heavy things.

Question 5

My mother and father were a very 1950's type couple. My dad worked three jobs and was never home. My mother was always home, and did ALL of the household chores. I don't mind changing diapers. I really enjoy cooking as a hobby. I also don't mind cleaning the dishes after dinner. I suppose I wouldn't want to care for my elders or iron. I think that gender inequality in Japan is getting a little better, but very slowly. When my wife has guests come over our house, they are always so shocked that I cooked a delicious meal.

Question 6

Yes. I don't think that I could birth a child. Too painful!

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
hijacking	ハイジャック
abolitionist	廃止主義者