Rika Kayama (Mainichi)

       I had an opportunity to talk to a doctor in her 30s. She works hard in a difficult job as a surgeon while raising two children. The head of her department is also a woman, but apparently she has no kids. "She's a considerate person who supports subordinates raising children, and always says, 'Take a break on weekends,'" the doctor told me with a smile as she described how she balances work with childrearing.

       I didn't ask her how old her superior is, but based on the position she's perhaps in her 50s. A surgeon of that age was likely made to think by her superiors when she was young that "private life comes second," and she may have stayed for days on end working at the hospital. My classmates who went on to roles including as surgeons would often sigh and say during their training that "it isn't the kind of atmosphere where you can talk about marriage and births."

       Now, those people have become the hospital directors and professors that teach young people, but many women doctors devote efforts to creating places of employment that are easy to work in. Among the people I know, there's no one who says something like, "I worked hard putting my job first, so today's young people should do that, too." In reverse, they arrange the hospitals' systems now to ensure that employees don't get overworked and that they can balance having children and other responsibilities, with the feeling, "My time was constantly tiring. But I don't want young people today to have to experience the same thing."

       I truly admire the women who in their youth were devoted to their work and now give their efforts to supporting the generation after them. Because of them, I'm always telling myself that I need to put myself in the shoes of my subordinates and the students I teach at university. There are times when I've thought there are students at universities who can't write their theses, and I've found myself suddenly offering honest criticism, like, "In my day as a student we read many more books. Why don't you go to the library to look through some?" But a number of today's students have a number of circumstances, including needing to make money at part-time jobs to pay for lesson fees, and it's a mistake to say things like, "You should devote yourself to your studies the way I did."

       Society's circumstances change with the times, and the way young people live changes, too. "I struggled, so you too should sacrifice yourself," is not a view that older generations should be forcing onto people. I, too, want to be the kind of veteran doctor who is unsparing in the cooperation they give, and who thinks, "It was rough for me. But I want young people to work with more ease, and to be able to balance childrearing and other parts of their private lives with work." But with that said, I can't hold back when it comes to supervising students' theses, so I also think I shall be thorough in doing so.

       (Japanese original by Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)

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