{"id":1893,"date":"2019-07-01T17:58:37","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T17:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blankaonline.com\/\/impact\/interviewing-the-mother-academics\/"},"modified":"2019-12-13T04:43:58","modified_gmt":"2019-12-13T04:43:58","slug":"interviewing-the-mother-academics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blankaonline.com\/en\/diversity\/interviewing-the-mother-academics\/","title":{"rendered":"Interviewing the Academics Who Are Mothers \u2013 Trends in and Measures for Solo Parenting"},"content":{"rendered":"

We had the opportunity to attend one of the community lunch meetings, during which we interviewed six of the community members.<\/p>\n

The women spoke openly about their experiences as solo parents, their activities in the community, their private and professional lives, and their careers as women academics. We were certain that the initiatives of the women academics at Nagoya University will help invigorate Japanese academia.<\/p>\n

\n

All Those with Influenza Type A, Gather Together!<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2014 How do members support one another?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Narie]<\/span> Someone sends an email saying, \u201cWhat should I do about this problem?\u201d and the other members reply. Each member will share their experience and off er advice, saying, \u201cThis is how we dealt with it in my case.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Miho]<\/span> And then, we sometimes contact each other to arrange pickups for the children. Azusa, Noriko, and I have Grade 1 elementary school children, so we help out each other in the pick-ups and share our experience to a great extent.<\/span><\/p>\n

[Noriko]<\/span> Yes, it is important to keep in touch about each other\u2019s children\u2019s school situation.<\/p>\n

[Azusa]\u00a0<\/span> An elementary school\u2019s PTA is a minefield of tacit rules. This is my first child, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect at the school. Noriko is more experienced in this regard, so I seek her advice on various matters.<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s important to remember that we are not just a group of working mothers; we are university teachers as well. What makes our community such a great source of comfort is that when you have to work late because of a meeting or say other circumstances specific to the academic profession, you can be assured that the other members will understand your situation without you having to explain the details. If we were from different professions, we wouldn\u2019t see eye to eye, and others could say, \u201cWell, it\u2019s different where I work.\u201d You would just end up feeling exasperated.<\/p>\n

[Azusa]<\/span> Exactly. You can\u2019t excuse yourself from your allocated lectures, and while there are some meetings you can avoid, there are others that you absolutely cannot. You see, this job has some unique features! (laughter)<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> I\u2019ll give another example, and this is interesting because it\u2019s so typical of an academic. When there was an influenza outbreak, Miho sent a message saying, \u201cMy kid\u2019s got a type A fl u virus. Do anyone else\u2019s kids have type A fl u? Let\u2019s take care of all those with type A flu together!\u201d (laughter)Two people with the same type of influenza aren\u2019t going to infect each other, right? So she said, \u201cAll those with type A gather together! All those with type B gather together!\u201d<\/p>\n

[Miho]\u00a0<\/span> Yes, I remember that. A small child gets sick so oft en. You get desperate because caring for a sick child prevents you from working. A male colleague, who doesn\u2019t know a thing about parenting, one said,\u201cYour child\u2019s sick again? She seems to be sick all the time. Is everything okay?\u201d(laughter)<\/p>\n

[Noriko]<\/span> I\u2019ve received comments like that too! (laughter)<\/p>\n

[Miho]<\/span> I want to tell them that it is perfectly normal for children of that age to get sick frequently! (laughter) People with no experience of parenting don\u2019t understand this.<\/p>\n

\u2015How did you fi nd out about the community?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Ayae]\u00a0<\/span> When I accepted the job at Nagoya University, my eldest boy was two and the younger boy was nine months old. I had to live separately from my husband, and I was unsure whether it would be feasible to take such young children with me. But I then began to receive many emails from women academics in the same situation. They advised me on day-today matters and on where I should live. A professor contacted the Center for Gender Equality for me, and from there, I got in touch with the community. I was, therefore, able to take up my post with complete ease. And another thing\u2014I now live in the same apartment house as Narie. It\u2019s great to know that I\u2019ve got someone close by to rely on.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2015That must be reassuring.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Ayae]\u00a0<\/span> I was also able to start my lab\/office smoothly. If you want to advance to the next rung of the academic career ladder, you have to look for suitable posts all over the country. If you let an opportunity pass, it will be years before another comes along. However, what made me decide to accept a job at Nagoya University was the university\u2019s excellent research environment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ayae Narutaki\u3000<\/strong><\/fieldset>\n
Associate professor, Materials Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University<\/fieldset>\n
After working at Tokyo University\u2019s Faculty of Engineering, Ayae Narutaki took up her post at Nagoya University and moved to Nagoya, bringing along her two-year-old and nine-month-old boys. Even when she lived with her husband, a company employee, Ayae found it tough to cope with her academic work while caring for an infant. She got in touch with the community before arriving at Nagoya and gathered a lot of useful information from academics who were solo parents, which helped her prepare for her new life. Ayae has achieved a stable livelihood. However, she feels that her current challenge is figuring out how to free up more time to do more work.<\/fieldset>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Importance of Family Support<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015<\/strong>How did your respective husbands react?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Ayae]\u00a0<\/span> My husband didn\u2019t seem surprised or shocked. He asked me to be honest about what I wanted, and said that he would respect and support my choices. So I talked through my decision to take the job in Nagoya University. He works for a firm in Tokyo and he visits me in Nagoya on the weekends.<\/p>\n

[Miho]<\/span>\u00a0 My husband was supportive too. He told me that he would take care of the children if I wanted. I thought that it wouldn\u2019t be feasible as my youngest was still breastfeeding. So I said that I would take the children. But his supportive attitude was a major factor in me deciding to take up the post.<\/p>\n

\u2015Do you know anyone who was unable to take an excellent job opportunity due to family commitments?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Azusa]<\/span>\u00a0 I know of quite a few women who limit their job search to Tokyo and its peripheries because their husbands insist that they live together. Granted, it might be nice for a family to live together under the same roof.<\/p>\n

[Miho]<\/span>\u00a0 When couples in academia stay together, the wife usually sacrifices a permanent position. Or she gets a non-academic job.<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> Our members generally have very supportive husbands.<\/p>\n

[Miho]\u00a0<\/span> My husband is an academic as well, but when he is home on the weekends, he takes charge of preparing meals, shopping, and looking after the children. Support from your husband and your parents\/in-laws is essential to make solo parenting work. Living separately from your husband will only work out if everyone in the family is prepared to lend a hand in parenting.<\/p>\n

[Azusa]<\/span>\u00a0 My husband and Miho\u2019s husband are friends. They get in touch on the weekends and take the kids out to play. Miho\u2019s mother and mine became friends too recently. When the older generation becomes friends, it makes things even easier.<\/p>\n

\u2015So your parenting benefits from interfamily connections at three generational layers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Narie Sasaki
\n<\/strong>Associate professor, Division of Biological Science,Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University
\nAfter working at Ochanomizu University, Narie Sasaki was provided a special appointment at Nagoya University at the same time that her husband took up a post there. Subsequently, she started working at the university\u2019s Center for Gender Equality. She has devoted herself to supporting women academics and established Japan\u2019s first on-campus nursery. Having returned to academic work, she now works as an associate professor at her husband\u2019s lab\/office. Alongside her duties, she advises women who are about to take an academic post at Nagoya University, and she acts as an intermediary for the community.<\/fieldset>\n

 <\/p>\n

Subconscious Gender Bias<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015Do you know of any male academics in your situation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> It is extremely rare for a man to take the children and raise them as a solo parent. By the way, didn\u2019t you leave your children with your husband, Keiko?<\/p>\n

[Keiko]\u00a0 <\/span>Yes. Since I moved out to take up my post, all the family members have helped one another. This has proved to be a growth opportunity for everyone concerned. That said, the burden on the family was greater than I expected, so our child came back to stay with me a couple of years later. At the time, my daughter was in the upper grade of elementary school. She told me that she didn\u2019t want her friends knowing that I don\u2019t live at the family home due to my work. She didn\u2019t want her friends to think ill of the family. This hurt me deeply. Children have their own ideas and feelings, and it appeared that my daughter had internalized social norms about the family. This is one
\nof the issues we need to address if women\u2019s social positions are to improve.<\/p>\n

[Miho]\u00a0<\/span> I agree. Children suffer when they absorb social biases and begin to believe that their family is abnormal because the mother lives elsewhere. I had a similar experience when I didn\u2019t participate in the nursery\u2019s jumble sale. My daughter said to me, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you come? Everyone else\u2019s mom came.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Azusa]<\/span>\u00a0 I had this experience when I didn\u2019t attend the school\u2019s open day. My daughter asked me why I didn\u2019t attend. I told her that I had my own classes to attend to. She then asked, \u201cHow come you attend someone else\u2019s class but not mine?\u201d (laughter)<\/p>\n

[Miho]\u00a0<\/span> Me too. My daughter cried because I didn\u2019t attend. But if Japan had more two-parent working households, then our children wouldn\u2019t feel so marginalized; they would see that several other mothers don\u2019t turn up to these events due to their work commitments.<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> My daughter once told me that she envies children whose mothers stay at home. I said to her, \u201cYes, but just imagine what it would be like if I was at home all the ti me. Aft er you return home from school, I would constantly badger you about doing your homework. Would you like that?\u201d My daughter said, \u201cNo way! It\u2019s better that you keep working!\u201d (laughter)<\/p>\n

[Azusa]\u00a0<\/span> When children ask you about something they are curious about, the way you reply is all-important!<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> I want children to think that working mothers are cool. Conversely, they should also think it odd if only the mother attends the PTA or only the mother packs their lunch; they should be thinking, \u201cThat kid\u2019s got a weird family\u2014the father never does these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Keiko Miyake
\n<\/strong>After working as an overseas academic, Keiko Miyake became a specially appointed professor at the gender equality offices of three universities. In this capacity, she has helped develop university support systems, drawing on her experience of working as an academic while raising a child. At one point during this period, her husband lived separately for his work and she lived with her child. At another point, she herself lived separately, leaving her husband and her child to live together. Keiko\u2019s husband is also an academic. Along with pursuing her research in plants, Keiko examines ways to increase the effectiveness of university support. She focuses on catering more closely to the needs on the ground and balancing the perspectives of the support teams with those of the recipients.<\/fieldset>\n

 <\/p>\n

Misconceived \u201cCareer Support\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[Noriko]\u00a0<\/span> The existing system of career support for mothers seems outdated to address the real needs of present-day mothers. I gave birth and began childrearing when I was moving from one post to another as a post-doctorate researcher and corporate researcher. I was asked to leave my job because of my pregnancy. On the other hand, when I was raising my child, I was excused from certain duties at work and reallocated to an easier position, all in the name of employee welfare. I was unhappy about this. I wanted to pursue research and take on challenging work despite bringing up my child. I felt that working was futile if it brought me no job satisfaction.<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> They transfer you to a position that\u2019s cushy but dissatisfying. As well-meaning as this measure may be, it misses the mark for women who are devoted to their research and want to advance their careers.<\/p>\n

[Noriko]\u00a0<\/span> Exactly. It offers no real benefit to those who need career support. In the name of career development, they promote you to a higher positi on and raise your salary, but all of this is meaningless if the work itself isn\u2019t interesting. Dissatisfied with my job, I resolved to take a job at Nagoya University and to live separately from my husband with the kids.<\/p>\n

\u2015Did anyone in your family oppose your decision?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Noriko]\u00a0<\/span> Actually, the offer from Nagoya University was the second offer I received where I had to decide if I wanted to take my kids and live separately from my husband. When the first offer came, my mother-in-law voiced opposition, so I gave up on the idea. But then I felt that I just couldn\u2019t abandon the plan. I felt that I wouldn\u2019t get another opportunity like this [referring to the second offer], so I tried to persuade her of the idea. My husband had earlier lived separately from the family home for his work, and I thought that it was strange that I alone should encounter opposition for doing the same thing. Living separately proved beneficial to the family too. Previously, my husband hardly ever left the house during the weekends. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that he has now started taking the kids swimming or to the park, and even started cooking meals.<\/p>\n

[Narie]<\/span>\u00a0 I guess that when you can\u2019t see each other all the ti me, it makes you appreciate your family all the more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Noriko Tanaka
\n<\/strong>Associate professor, Research Center of Health,Physical Fitness and Sports Division of the Science of Physical Fitness and Sports, NagoyaUniversity
\nAfter leaving a fixed-term academic post due to her pregnancy, Noriko Tanaka was offered a Restart Postdoc Fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, aft er which she worked at several corporate research institutes. She then accepted a job at Nagoya University, perceiving this as her last opportunity to build a career. After moving to Nagoya with her two children, she was pleasantly surprised to find that her husband was supporting her with parenting and domestic chores. Noriko wants Japan to have better systems for supporting women who are determined not to abandon their academic careers. When she was selected for the 2016 Editage Grant by Cactus Communications, she introduced the Researchers\u2019 Community for Child Care Support at Nagoya University in her interview.<\/fieldset>\n

 <\/p>\n

Still a Surplus of Talented Women<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015My company now has an 80% female workforce. It seems that women are more motivated than men and prioritize job satisfaction over pay.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Azusa]\u00a0<\/span> In other words, there is a surplus of talented women. Of course, there are plenty of talented men as well, but there are even more talented women who are not used to their full potential. The organizations who can attract this talent will have a competitive advantage in the future.<\/p>\n

[Narie]<\/span>\u00a0 Men do not have the option to not work, so workplaces consist of both competent men and those who are not so competent. I say that the highly motivated women should be allowed to work to their full potential and that the unmotivated men should stay at home! (laughter)<\/p>\n

[Miho]\u00a0<\/span> Several talented women spend all their ti me at home caring for their children. But it would benefit the children if these women leave their homes and use their talent<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> When I returned to work two months after giving birth and sending my child to nursery, one of my students showed me his dissertation. It was a study in which mother mice were separated from their litters. The results indicated that a certain period of separation each day had a beneficial effect: the mother mice developed a closer relationship with their litters compared to other mother mice who had not been separated. So the student told me not to worry about living apart from my child because, after all, biological evidence proved its benefits. Sure enough, when I picked up my child from nursery, I found that she was even dearer to me compared to when I had dropped her off! (laughter)<\/p>\n

[Miho]\u00a0<\/span> When you spend time apart from your child, it makes you value the time that you spend together all the more.<\/p>\n

[Azusa]\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s right. There are all sorts of benefits.<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> In the past, I was so overworked that I doubted whether I could really have a child. My supervisor patted me on the back, saying, \u201cWhat are you saying? Of course, you can have a child! Children don\u2019t belong to you; they belong to society. It\u2019s wrong to think that you can bring up a child on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Azusa]\u00a0<\/span> I know what you mean. I understood that parenting is something you do with the support of various people.<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> True. The idea that you merely create a copy of yourself is disturbing to me. It is much better to think that many people help the child grow. At home, someone from the elderly employment center does all my housework and looks aft er my daughter when she returns home. You can solve parenting issues by creating a family for the child in the community.<\/p>\n

[Miho]\u00a0<\/span> Children grow up on their own, don\u2019t they? Leave them to it, and they will go further ahead.<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> When I left my daughter to her own devices, she made marshmallows with her friend, and they sold them in the street. She was delighted when they sold marshmallows for 1 yen! (laughter)<\/p>\n

[Azusa]\u00a0<\/span> 1 yen? That\u2019s far too cheap! I wonder if the people who bought them felt awkward about eating them! (laughter)<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> As parents, we would have surely put a stop to it if we were there, but they were so happy to have sold their marshmallow (laughter). You really have no idea what children are going to do next.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Money Matters: A Surprisingly Tough Problem<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015Do you face any concerns that are particular specific to solo-parenting academics who are solo parents?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> One such problem is not having too much money to spare. Despite having a double income, we have to maintain two homes, and the transport costs for visiting each other are not small. Unlike companies, universities do not provide any allowance because they consider separate living arrangements as a matter of personal choice and convenience.<\/p>\n

[Azusa]\u00a0<\/span> I figured out that I spent over a million yen on shinkansen trips in one year!<\/p>\n

[Miho]\u00a0<\/span> I spent over two million yen! I have to arrange travel for two people: my mother, who comes to help me out, and my husband.<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> When the child takes ill, I have to hire a babysitter or arrange for one of my parents to come over, which means shelling out some 10,000 yen in one day. This is why we are thinking about home-sharing options for academics in our situation.<\/p>\n

\u2015Home-sharing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> All the women academics who are solo parents can rent an apartment in the same house. I feel we should all pitch in to rent an apartment that we can use as a shared space. We can then hire people from the nearby elderly employment center to look after the children and cook them meals. We can take turns to drop off and collect the children. After school, the children can come to the shared space and play and eat under the supervision of the people from the elderly employment center. Don\u2019t you think that\u2019s a great idea?<\/p>\n

[Ayae]\u00a0<\/span> That would be wonderful!<\/p>\n

[Miho]\u00a0<\/span> We can\u2019t wait for the university to organize this; we have to do it ourselves.<\/p>\n

[Narie]<\/span>\u00a0 Exactly. My dream is for us to occupy one apartment aft er another until we have monopolized the entire building or our members! (laughter)<\/p>\n

[Keiko]\u00a0<\/span> That\u2019s a great idea! When your kids get older, you can then hand over the apartment to new mothers who are academics.<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> That would be great! Even if you have only one child, you still have to spend energy and money for things like hiring a babysitter, picking up and dropping off the child, cleaning, cooking, and everything else. But if everyone lives in the same place, you can help each other out. I would like such a system.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No Limit to Bringing Your Child to Work!<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2015How oft en can you bring your child\u00a0 to your workplace?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Miho]\u00a0<\/span> After I gave birth to my second daughter, I started guiding one of my graduate students in writing a dissertation. I gave verbal instructions while holding my newborn in my arms! (laughter) You can\u2019t wait until the baby has grown up to resume your academic work. You have to constantly watch over and guide the student.<\/p>\n

[Azusa]\u00a0<\/span> My husband and I bring our child to meetings of academic societies. We sit the child down on one of the seats in the lecture venue, and they listen to the lecture. Because the child watched me or my husband practicing the lecture at home, they interject at ti mes during the lecture, saying, \u201cWait, that\u2019s different from what you said at home!\u201d This causes some giggling in the audience. (laughter)<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> You can usually bring a child to seminars too. I once worked at Ochanomizu Women\u2019s University, and that was even more amazing; I could bring my child to student presentations and thesis screening sessions and question the students while breastfeeding! (laughter)<\/p>\n

\u2015You\u2019d question the students while breastfeeding? How cool. Brave Ochanomizu University.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Miho]\u00a0<\/span> I sometimes bring my older daughter to university meetings. Of course, there is also work that you can\u2019t do with a child present: work requiring a lot of focus, writing papers, writing grant applications, and so on. So I try to finish all these in one batch when I leave
\nthe children with my husband, and I prioritize my work. I then efficiently schedule all the tasks to fit in the ti me available for me.<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> Anyway, the point is that you can bring your child to work ! (laughter) When you start doing so, you\u2019ll be surprised at what you can accomplish. Also, when you see someone else bringing their child to work, it gives you confidence to do the same.<\/p>\n

\u2015So the more you take the plunge and bring your child to work, the more it helps others feel comfortable about doing the same?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Azusa]\u00a0<\/span> We need to gradually change people\u2019s perceptions. Even on my days off, I often bring my child to my lab\/office. It benefits both of us; my child plays with my students and it gives me a chance to get some work done. Most of all though, I want my students\u2014both men and women\u2014to see me bring the child to work, and to think about its significance. If I can make some kind of impression, then it will help change things for the better.<\/p>\n

[Keiko]\u00a0<\/span> Given that childbirth and parenting occupy so much of our time, we take longer to build a track record compared to our male counterparts. But I think we can catch up with and overtake men.<\/p>\n

[Azusa]\u00a0<\/span> After all, we live longer than men.<\/p>\n

[Narie]\u00a0<\/span> So you see, the most important thing is not to abandon your career. It\u2019s fine to be a low-fl yer for a while, but you should never abandon it. I want more female and male students to see how we strive to keep up with our jobs and to make sure we don\u2019t quit while taking care of our children. Many women worry about whether they can balance their academic work with their family lives. To these women, I want to say: No problem. Look at me\u2014even I am doing it! (laughter)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We had an opportunity to attend one of the community lunch meetings, during which we interviewed six of the community members.
\nThe women spoke frankly about their experiences as solo parents, their activities in the community, their private and professional lives, and their careers as women academics.We were left with no doubt that the initiatives of the women academics at Nagoya University offer suggestions for invigorating Japanese academia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,81,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-diversity","category-management","organization-nagoya-universty","feature-volume3"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInterviewing the Academics Who Are Mothers \u2013 Trends in and Measures for Solo Parenting - Blank:a<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blankaonline.com\/en\/diversity\/interviewing-the-mother-academics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Interviewing the Academics Who Are Mothers \u2013 Trends in and Measures for Solo Parenting - Blank:a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We had an opportunity to attend one of the community lunch meetings, during which we interviewed six of the community members. 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