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Last week four ladies from ISAK took part in the Women in Japan Conference 2016, where Ms. Akie Abe, Japan’s First Lady also attended as a panel (photo), and learned about the issues facing women. Grade 11 student, Angie, shared her thoughts with us about the conference:
What were your impressions of the speakers at the conference?
The speakers were amazing and shared varying opinions on gender inequality. The diverse panel of guest speakers (male CEO of MetLife, freelance artist, freelance actor, and a professor) really opened my eyes and allowed me to compare and contrast the different ways gender inequality affects different people.
What did you learn from the conference?
I learned that the main reason why gender inequality persists in the world, no matter how much one tries to prevent it, is unconscious bias. Unknowingly, we condone it in our everyday acts and the grave reality of the situation is that combating gender inequality will require a lot of time and effort.
What would you want to share with the ISAK community?
I would like to share with the ISAK community that gender inequality is a real issue and even if ISAK is a safe environment in which it may not seem to occur, it does. So, we must do everything in our power to change that in the world around us.
After returning from the conference, Angie and the other participants decided to work on gender inequality by first taking an action in their own community. They gave a presentation to ISAK students and faculty about what they learned at the conference and then provided an opportunity for discussion in an effort to raise awareness of the pervasiveness of gender inequality and unconscious bias.
[ 性差別について考える]
先週、ISAKの生徒ら4名が、女性が直面する問題について考える国際会議「ウーマン・イン・ジャパン 2016」に出席しました。安倍昭恵首相夫人もパネルとして登壇されたこの会議に参加したISAK生徒の一人、アンジーは、次のように感想を述べています。
「私はこの会議に出席して、性差別がなくならない主な理由は、 皆が無意識に持っている偏見だと学びました。この問題は、それぞれ異なる文化やコンテクストの上に成り立つ私たちの社会に深く根ざしています。それでもなお、私たちは無意識に性差別の存在を許しています。この状況を変えるには、多くの時間と努力が必要だと感じます。」
この会議から帰った生徒たちは、まず自分たちのコミュニティで最初のアクションを起こすことを考え、性差別と無意識の偏見に対する問題意識を高めてもらうことを目指して、ISAKの生徒と教員たちにこの会議で学んだことを発表し、議論の場を設けました。
