The Okinawa General Bureau announced the results of a survey of women in their 20’s to 40’s living in Okinawa.

According to the survey, 75.5% of the women had left or changed the company they initially went to work for. One-third said the reason was “because of a childbirth,” and another fourth cited “because of marriage” as the reason for leaving.

Officials at the Bureau pointed out, “It seems that the employment situation for women has improved, however there are many medium and small-size enterprises in Okinawa, and many of them have a need to develop and improve their employment practices.”

The objective of the survey was to understand the ideal workplace and family environment for women, and it was conducted for the first time. The survey was conducted among women in the prefecture who have registered with the research agency. It was held from Nov. 16 to 21, 2016, via a website. 428 women, 86 in their 20’s, 164 in their 30’s, and 178 in their 40’s, answered the survey.

Out of women who had given birth, 51.1% did not take a maternity leave. However, about 67.7% of regular employees took the leave, while 63.2% of contract employees and 68.5% of temporary employees did not take it.

As for reasons for not taking the maternity leave, 36.1% said, “It did not meet the work contract,” and 26.4% stated, “There was no atmosphere to take it in the office.”

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