The Global Gender Gap Report 2008

According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2008, Norway has ranked Nr.1 in gender equality. It is widely accepted in Europe that Scandinavian countries are way ahead in gender equality than any other countries in the world. It’s not that women are bossing around men, but they just share life in equal manner. My Norwegian friend works in a hospital and supports her family while her husband mostly takes care of their son. After the birth of her first son, she had a year of paid maternity leave, which is unheard of in any other countries. When we traveled to Sweden (Nr.3), we also felt the gender equality, especially when we saw men pushing strollers or picking up children after school.

Of all the countries I’ve lived, Germany comes in 11th place, following Switzerland 14th, United States 27th, Thailand 52nd, and oh my god, Japan is ranked 98th!! No wonder, because Japan is a country that never grows out of its traditions. Only a few years back, Japan used to rank much higher, but perhaps with the fall of economy, people stated curling back into its traditional roots, protective and ignorant.

That makes me wonder how much my girlfriends in Japan are earning and the differences in salary by gender. I heard and read often that women are getting paid less in Germany and Switzerland. However, if Japan is ranked 98th, then the difference in salary must be even greater. I can understand why many Japanese women seek to study and work abroad, so that they can demonstrate their true abilities away from the male dominated society.