Una mujer con un dilema

Hoy en el periódico Japan Today (edición inglesa en Internet) han publicado la noticia titulada "Helping women get back into the workplace". Parece ser que las empresas están por fin decidiéndose a contratar mujeres para puestos relevantes y ellas se están animando a volver al trabajo después de haber sido madres. Parece ser que la Japan Women's University ha creado un programa de cursillos de inglés, informática, etc. para que las mujeres completen su nivel de educación y puedan entrar de forma competente en el mundo laboral dominado por el hombre.

Hombre, ya era hora, esto está pasando en Europa desde hace décadas... en fin, más vale tarde que nunca.

Pues una mujer japonesa ha escrito pidiendo consejo porque es profesora de instituto pero se siente ante el dilema de volver al trabajo tras una baja actual (¿por depresión?) o dedicarse en persona al cuidado de su hijo (se está encargando su suegra de él).

Yo le he respondido con este post.


Dear XXX, I guess you are in a crucial moment of your life and feel insecure about what decission to make.

Please don't feel bad for not taking care of your child personally. I was myself raised at home by a hired person because my mother was a chemistry teacher at a high school. We are 4 sisters and none of us ever felt bad or complained to our mother about this. Just the opposite: we are very proud that our mother was a career women until she retired and never gave up her job despite the difficulties until we grew up.

By doing this, my mother had herself some role in society to be proud of (educating teenagers, such an important thing!). Moreover, she got her own money, she had her independence economically and thus more freedom to spend as she liked. Now she is retired and loves travelling around with all the money she got these years :)

Having both parents a job, we 4 sisters were able to be paid for our university studies and moreover we had second houses on the beach and so on. My mother contributed to that with 50% of her effort and money and I am sure she felt happy about it.

I can only thank my mother for all her effort on contributing to the welfare of the family. She sometimes meets old students on the street who thank her and show their appreciation for her well-doing. That makes her profoundly satisfied.

And I have only very little memories about the hired persons who took care of me, as I was so little. My memories with my mother are much stronger because she is the person I really loved, other people taking care of me were just "passing by".

If my western point of view has any value to you, please think that in Europe this is the general procedure as there are kindergartens everywhere for that purpose. No one I ever knew complained about his/her mother working at his/her childhood. It is only fair to let mothers have a career as well.

I encourage you strongly to fill up your life having such an important career as a high school teacher and at the same time spending very lovely time at home with your kids in the evenings and do something outside at the weekends (what about visiting the sections for kids of the science museums?)

Good luck and all the best wishes for you.

Me gustaría saber la opinión más gente sobre este tema. ¿Alguien puede aportar su punto de vista?