Choices in the Lives of Women Who Have Preschool-age Children:

A Case Study in Kure

Abstract

　A range of social investigations was carried out in Kure City, which is a regional hub and an industrial center, by a group of Kure community researchers of Hiroshima University. The investigations revealed the presence of two distinct parts in the lives of women during the period of child-raising.

　Women in the first part of the course of their lives have the choice of either resigning the job or continuing with it at the opportunity of marriage and/or at child birth. After that, women in the second part of their lives‘ have the option of resuming employment or to continue as housewives during child raising (not after child raising). The percentage of women engaged as housewives was the maximum at 59.3%, when their last child is preschool-age. However, groups of newly re-employed women began to appear at the entrance of the last child to nursery school or infant school.

　Mothers have many difficulties such as the elimination in various fields due to the problems of all their activities related with children. In addition, groups of mothers who develop their activities positively and widely, using many support systems of child raising, began to appear. Many of these mothers have hopes of reemployment in part time jobs. However, it is expected that the established good relations with support systems can not continue as before. Once they start re-employment, effective support systems of child raising for housewives can not be received any more.

　More than 70% of the mothers who have preschool-age children have jobs. Majority of them (40.2%) have part time jobs. Three categories of mothers, mothers with full time jobs, part time jobs and mothers engaged as housewives have different types of lives and consciousness, especially in dealing with the difficulties of life. In the domain of part time jobs, many mothers have financial difficulties. Many mothers who resigned their jobs after marriage and/or at child birth, however, seek re-employment due to financial problems. In addition, they can not receive support from the government and their employers and face difficulties in securing long term employment and jobs that are compatible with child raising. In the early stage of entering of the last child to nursery or infant school, differences become obvious.

　It is evident that both continuation with job and engagement as housewife are difficult for women during the period of child raising, and they have to select a pattern of “retirement and re-employment" after having children during the course of their lives. The establishment of new support systems to focus on helping women to make better choices during the course of their lives is necessary, and this recommendation is based on the facts that many women seek employment and have to be gainfully employed.