男女共同参画 「３０％目標」へ環境の整備を

>避難所では女性のプライバシーが確保されていないことが問題となった。
女性のプライバシーって何だ？
トイレか？
（スラチャイ）

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jun. 27, 2011)
More effort must be made for gender-equal society
男女共同参画　「３０％目標」へ環境の整備を（6月26日付・読売社説）

Utilizing women's abilities is key to boosting the vigor of Japanese society, one of the reasons why encouraging efforts toward gender equality is extremely important.
　女性の能力を活用していくことが、より一層の活力をこれからの日本社会にもたらすだろう。男女共同参画の一つの意義もそこにある。

The government established a target in 2003 of raising the proportion of women in leadership positions in key sectors of society to at least about 30 percent by 2020.
　政府は、社会のあらゆる分野で指導的地位に女性が占める割合を、２０２０年までに少なくとも３０％程度にすることを、０３年から目標に掲げている。

The current rate, however, stands at just 10 percent. The 2011 government white paper on gender equality, approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, says women's participation in many fields is still insufficient, and calls for redoubled efforts to promote gender equality in all parts of society.
　しかし、現在の達成率は１０％に過ぎない。今年の男女共同参画白書は、多くの分野で女性の参画がまだまだ不十分だとして、取り組みの強化を求めている。

The percentage of women occupying leadership positions has already reached 42 percent in the United States and 37 percent in Germany, meaning Japan has been lagging far behind the United States and European countries in terms of gender equality.
　既に米国では４２％、ドイツは３７％に達しており、欧米諸国との差は際だっている。

Twenty-five years have passed since the Equal Employment Opportunity Law came into effect, and women of what was called the "equal opportunity generation" have played active roles as corporate executives and in other managerial positions.
　男女雇用機会均等法の施行から２５年が過ぎ、“均等法世代”と呼ばれた女性たちの一部は、管理職や役員として活躍している。

However, the proportion of women working as section chiefs or higher in companies with at least 100 staff has remained extremely low at 6 percent.
だが、従業員１００人以上の企業の課長級以上に占める女性の割合は、６％に過ぎない。

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Promote work-life balance

The low percentage of women in managerial posts is due primarily to the fact that many women stop working when they have their first child. There is an urgent need to increase the number of child care facilities and expand systems for child care leave.
　女性管理職が少ないのは、第１子出産を機に退職する女性が多いためだ。保育施設や育児休業制度を拡充していく必要がある。

It is encouraging that in recent years some companies have set such goals as increasing the proportion of women hired for the career track to at least 30 percent of employees fresh from college, and placing high priority on fostering female executives.
　近年は、総合職新卒採用の女性比率を３０％以上とすることを目標に掲げたり、女性幹部育成に力を入れたりする企業もある。

It is also important to promote the principle of work-life balance to make it possible for women to make work compatible with child rearing. No time should be wasted to provide a pleasant working environment for women.
　仕事と育児の両立ができるよう「仕事と生活の調和」（ワーク・ライフ・バランス）を図っていくことも肝要だ。女性が働きやすい職場環境の整備は急務である。

With the continued low birthrate and graying of the population, concern is growing over a decline in the working population. Currently, the number of people of working age--15 to 64--per older person stands at 2.7. Known as the old-age support ratio, this figure is predicted to drop to 1.8 in 2030.
　少子高齢化が進む中で、労働力人口の減少が懸念されている。現在は、６５歳以上の高齢者１人当たりに対し、２・７人の現役世代が支えている。３０年には、これを１・８人で支えなければならないとする試算もある。

The future of Japan's society can never be bright without effective use of women's working power.
　女性の労働力を抜きにして今後の日本社会は成り立たない。

To create a more comfortable and enriched living environment, it is imperative to value women's point of view more highly in all spheres of life.
　生活環境をより豊かなものにしていく上でも、女性の視点を取り入れていくことが求められる。

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Respect for women's roles

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Cabinet Office has prodded local municipalities in disaster-struck regions to set up consultation services for women, but municipalities have tended to be slow in doing so. Problems have occurred at many evacuation centers because of a failure to secure privacy for women.
　東日本大震災では、内閣府は被災地の自治体に対し女性相談窓口の設置などを働きかけたが、対応は後手に回りがちだ。避難所では女性のプライバシーが確保されていないことが問題となった。

In Tome, Miyagi Prefecture, a group of people, including female members of the city's drafting committee for a gender equality ordinance, created a support team for female victims of the disaster.
　宮城県登米(とめ)市では、男女共同参画条例策定委員の女性らが支援グループを組織した。

Based on requests from women at evacuation centers, team members have engaged in such activities as providing women's underwear and cosmetics in collaboration with companies that offered their support.
避難所の女性たちの要望を聞き取って、企業と連携しながら、下着や化粧品の配給に動いた。

Women also play an important role in providing mental care for disaster victims and improving the environment for child rearing. In the future projects for reconstruction from the March 11 disaster, women should be encouraged to give full play to their sensitive, considerate way of doing things.
　被災者の心のケアや、子育て環境の改善などにも、女性の果たす役割は大きい。今後の震災復興にも、きめ細かな女性の目を積極的に生かしていくべきだろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 26, 2011)
（2011年6月26日01時32分 読売新聞）