レアジョブ： Women in High Positions, More Likely to Suffer Depression

今日で52回目の受講となりました。

ほぼ毎日受けていますが、
毎回違う記事を読むと、ボキャブラリーが豊富になる気がしますし、
色んな事に関心が向くようになります。

なかなかいいです、レアジョブ。

今日のお題：Women in High Positions, More Likely to Suffer Depression

関連記事

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30127275

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?section=todaysfeatures&xfile=/data/todaysfeatures/2014/November/todaysfeatures_November26.xml

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/entertainment/20-Nov-2014/job-authority-spells-depression-for-women-study


使えそうな表現

*masculine behavior 男っぽいふるまいをする
ex) Women in authority position need to adopt masculine behavior.

* feminine characteristics 女性らしい特徴
ex)Colleagues would not believe the women were good leaders if they saw only their feminine characteristics.


Summary of the article

According to a recent study, the risk of falling into depression is higher for women in executive positions compared with men.

The female corporate leaders have an authority like hiring and firing employees and deciding the salaries of their workforce. It seems that such authority makes them feel stress in the workplace. 


Aside from the stress of authoritative power, the study said that stereotypes and prejudice were still common in the workplace. So, unlike men, women in authoritative positions constantly face high expectations because of their gender. 

Q Do you think that stereotypes and prejudice in the workplace is an issue in your country?

Yes. Stereotypes and prejudice against working women are still common in Japan. 
Some companies tends to think that women easily quit jobs after getting married or pregnant.
Therefore, they don't have company policies to improve the working environment for women.
There are some companies which have no policies of maternity leave. 
Because of these unpleasant working condition, the number of working women  is decreasing.
However, a lot of women keep motivation to work even after they get married or pregnant and recognize the necessity to balance between their work and life. 

When it comes to women in executive positions, some of men think that women are not good leaders because women lack the assertiveness or confidence of strong leaders. 
But when women display such characteristic, they are judged negatively for being unfeminine. 
It could be a stress for women. 

Q What other forms of stress do bosses usually have to deal with?

This article is mainly talking about the depression by mental stress. 
However, there is a chance that women in an authority position suffer from insomnia and mood swings. 

Q What do you think would be a good way to deal with stress in the workplace?

First of all, I think companies need to establish company policies to protect working women to some extent as long as they suffer from negative stereotypes and prejudice in the workplace. 

Secondly, as another idea, to give them a chance to talk with a staff counselor. 
It might be not usual to provide the opportunity to talk with a counselor in Japan and  I don't know how effective it is. However, leaders tend to be isolated, so talking with someone might be a big help for them.