Ambassador's wife to speak up for working moms

Susan Roos says that during her husband John's posting as U.S. ambassador here she wants to make it her mission to help improve the way Japanese women balance their careers while raising a family.

"I want to speak about the work-life balancing issues" to Japanese women, and possibly to politicians and policymakers, Roos said in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun.

Roos, 53, is a lawyer based in San Francisco who has handled cases stemming from wrongful dismissal to sexual harassment and work-related discrimination, among other problems. At the same time, she has raised a daughter, Lauren, now 22, and a son, David, 17, who is being educated in Tokyo.

Her husband is the first U.S. envoy in about 60 years to take up the post with a child in tow.

The couple's daughter joined them when her husband took up his appointment in August and later returned to California to pursue a career as a nurse.

Roos said that having Tokyo as a base had kept her even busier as she has to shuttle back and forth to the United States because of her law practice.

She said she tries to "maintain family life" when she is able, adding that "we try to have dinners together as much as we can."

For Roos, who firmly believes there is "no reason why you can't have both (children and careers)," the situation facing Japanese women is a cause for concern because the "expectation is that once you have a baby, you stay at home and leave your job."

Roos pointed out that the situation in the United States is quite different. She said there are various programs, such as work-share arrangements, family medical leave and parent bonding leave to ensure that working parents can balance their jobs and their family life.

She said she hoped to speak about how the United States approaches the issue of balancing careers and family life and to share her own experience with the Japanese people.

On the issue of greater participation among women in politics, Roos touched upon the outcome of the Aug. 30 Lower House election in which a large number of women won seats.

"I think that's promising, but I know they still have a long way to go as do we in the United States," Roos said.

Meanwhile, Roos said that her husband, their son, and her husband's parents were "deeply moved by the experience" of visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in October.

While Roos said she was unable to join that visit due to business commitments, she expressed her hope that "during my time here I'll either go to Hiroshima or Nagasaki, or both."(IHT/Asahi: November 11,2009)