A Japanese survey shows parents have different hopes for their children’s future career path depending on their gender.
The survey was conducted in August by Benesse Corporation, a major education services provider, and a Tokyo-based non-profit organization which support female students seeking higher education.
More than 1,800 parents of children attending middle and high schools across Japan responded.
Asked whether they want their children to stay in their hometown to attend college, 49 percent of parents of first-born female students said “yes” compared with 39 percent of those of first-born male students.
When asked how much money they want their children to earn, 80 percent of parents of first-born male students said more than 6 million yen, or about 40,000 dollars, a year. The figure was 52 percent for parents of first-born female students.
The survey is believed to reflect gender-oriented notions that parents have toward their children.
Miyazaki Municipal University Associate Professor Teramachi Shinya is an expert on gender issues in the education sector.
He said that high school students may suffer from a sense of stagnation in a society that forces a stereotyped future path for males and females, for example, that boys should attend a better college.
Teramachi said that female students are forced to also consider marriage and childbearing when planning for college, and that they are more likely to face the issue of division of labor according to gender.
He added that it is important to build a society in which both genders are free to learn and make their own choices.