Since arriving in Japan aged 23, Rachel Ferguson has been a teacher, singer, narrator, TV weathercaster, grad student, writer and now a business owner and mother. She designs and develop community spaces and just opened an English preschool at one of her share offices.
What do you think Japanese companies and/or government needs to do to help women in Japan?
Plug the female brain drain with training and promotion opportunities; add a minimum quota for female lawmakers and mandatory paternity leave; encourage parents to use flexitime allowances; implement office curfews; move from gerontocracy to meritocracy.
What advice do you have for the next generation of women in Japan?
As the government looks to women to assist the economy in the face of the dual crises of low fertility rate and labour deficit, you have unprecedented leverage: find female role models, voice complaints, make demands, aim for managerial positions. Expect much of yourself!
23歳で来日して以来、レイチェルは教師、歌手、国際放送での気象予報士、大学院生、作家として活動。現在は経営者であり、母親でもあります。彼女は働く家族を応援する為、夫と共にコミュニティスペースとしてシェアオフィスを作り、そこに英語託児付きのプリスクールを開設しました。