Sayaka Osakabe

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Sayaka Osakabe (2015)

Sayaka Osakabe ( Japanese 小 酒 部 さ や か ; born May 29, 1978 ) is a Japanese suffragette . With her organization Matahara Net , she helps women who are discriminated against by employers. A woman supported by this organization sued the Supreme Court of Japan in 2014 , which ruled in a landmark judgment that discrimination against (expectant) mothers in the work environment (Matahara or マ タ ハ ラ, from maternal harassment) is illegal. In 2015 she received the International Women of Courage Award , which is presented by the US State Department, for her support for affected women .

Live and act

Sayaka Osakabe was born in Japan in 1978. She worked as an editor for a magazine until her second pregnancy. After the first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, she asked the employer to reduce her working hours. Her employer asked her to postpone her second pregnancy two to three years and concentrate on her work. While she was in bed rest during the pregnancy, she was visited by her supervisor. He encouraged her to quit, as her absence "caused problems".

She returned to work, but subsequently suffered another miscarriage. After her recovery time, her supervisor asked whether she was menstruating again and whether she had started "fathering children" again with her husband. She resigned and went to the labor court.

In 2014 she won this lawsuit and founded the nonprofit organization Matahara Net, which fights against the widespread discrimination against working (expectant) mothers. With Matahara Net, among other things, she has collected 7,000 signatures to change the Japanese maternity protection law.

Osakabe continues to work with Matahara Net to achieve equality for women. Its aim is to change legislation and public perception so that all women, rather than just a privileged elite, achieve equal working conditions.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Ayai Tomisawa: Women fight maternity harassment in the shadow of 'Abenomics' . In: The Japan Times Online . September 25, 2014, ISSN  0447-5763 ( japantimes.co.jp [accessed April 20, 2020]).
  2. ↑ Group: Maternity harassment remains rampant at companies ： The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved April 20, 2020 (English).
  3. ↑ a b Devin Stewart: Abenomics Meets Womenomics . January 30, 2015, ISSN  0015-7120 ( foreignaffairs.com [accessed April 20, 2020]).
  4. ↑ Biographies of 2015 Award Winners. Retrieved April 20, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Michael Hoffman: Growing up to the idea of ​​fighting back . In: The Japan Times Online . July 25, 2015, ISSN  0447-5763 ( japantimes.co.jp [accessed April 20, 2020]).
  6. ↑ WHAT IS “MATAHARA” - マ タ ハ ラ Net. Retrieved April 20, 2020 (Japanese).
  7. ↑ Expectant mothers are still harassed in Japanese companies. In: Sumikai. December 9, 2019, accessed April 20, 2020 (German).
  8. ↑ Japanese women suffer widespread 'maternity harassment' at work. November 18, 2015, accessed April 20, 2020 .
  9. ^ Study Assesses "Maternity Harassment" in Japanese Workplaces. February 13, 2020, accessed April 20, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Tomoko Otake: Group petitions for revisions to labor laws to help keep new mothers in work . In: The Japan Times Online . October 15, 2015, ISSN  0447-5763 ( japantimes.co.jp [accessed April 20, 2020]).
  11. ↑ US 'matahara' activist calls US award 'encouragement' to working women, says more must be done . In: The Japan Times Online . March 7, 2015, ISSN  0447-5763 ( japantimes.co.jp [accessed April 20, 2020]).
personal data
SURNAME Osakabe, Sayaka
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese suffragette
DATE OF BIRTH May 29, 1978