Teaching is one of the most popular occupations among Japanese women. The number of female teachers is particularly high in preschool education, with over 90% of kindergarten teachers being female. The higher the level of schooling, the smaller the number of females among teachers. While over 60% of grade school teachers are females, the proportion of female faculty members at colleges and universities is only 20%. This includes many women who teach at women’s colleges and junior colleges. Women are active in occupations related to social welfare. They look after children at nursery schools. They are also caregivers and home helpers who work with the handicapped and the elderly. Women also play important roles in the medical arena. While they constitute only 10-20% of doctors and technicians, nurses, including public health nurses, are overwhelmingly women. Furthermore, over 60% of pharmacists are females. Many women also work in service industries. Being a flight attendant is one of the star occupations for young Japanese females. Click CHARTS to see the top five occupations that Japanese children chose as “what I want to be in the future.” Click PICTURES to see the photo of a nurses’ strike in the 1960s.