Office Ladies

Yoshiko is an "OL" (office lady). Generally you can recognize her easily. She works in a computer company in an office building next to City Hall in Yokohama. She rides a bicycle to work and parks near Kannai Station. She may be wearing a knee-length navy skirt, black pumps, white nylon stockings and a baby blue (or pink) pinstriped shirt with a white collar and cuffs (the unofficial OL uniform?). She has long straight hair held back with an "Alice in Wonderland" type headband. She might be pretty, but I couldn't say for sure because she is invisible somewhat. She punches in on time at work an sits at her desk all day (save a short lunch break -during which she eats the lunch box she brought with her on the bench in the park adjacent to the office) typing and occasionally answering calls or getting up to fax or photocopy something. Then she goes home to her shoebox apartment. Someday, a shy "salaryman" living a similar life and who lunches in the same park may notice her and find a way to ask her to lunch. Then she will probably get married and quit work.

Hyunsook is also an OL... but she is also an "Old Miss" (meaning that she is over 30 and not married). She works in rather conservative publishing company. Her life is much like Yoshiko's except that she makes efforts to wear something beautiful and different every day and takes pains with her make-up. Her make-up regime takes almost 2 hours everyday... starting from skin care to make-up base, make up and finally the drawing in of eyebrows. She is not as invisible as Yoshiko as she would like to be promoted and everyone knows it. They secretly (or not so secretly) find her abrasive and wish she would just get married and stop causing friction in the office. (Marriage is considered to be the answer for all problems from inability to sleep to pimples). As she does't even seem to have a boyfriend, it is rumored there must be something wrong with her... is she a man-hater, a lesbian or simply too obnoxious and pushy to find a man? After work, she goes home to her little apartment, cleans the floor and watches TV, ignoring the several calls in her voice mail. They are probably all just her mother calling to nag her about going on another match-maker arranged date.

Lots of people ask me whether I prefer living in Japan, Korea, or Taiwan. Everytime, I am often tempted to say Korea, but the truth is, the life for women is probably the best in Taiwan. For a foreign person living in each of these countries, there is a certain immunity. As a foreign woman, it is isn't unreasonable to say that I get treated differently than a local woman. No one asked me to make the coffee of serve the men at company dinners. I didn't find the Korean men who asked me out to be completely chauvenistic and domineering (as is rumored). But then again, what Korean man who expects to completely control his girlfriend would even bother asking a foreign woman out on a date (given that the stereotype of "American" women is what it is)? But there are reasons I left. Just before leaving, I applied for a job where I was the most qualified applicant. My interviewer did not even flinch when he told me he couldn't offer me the job as I was both female and not Asian-looking enough. Therefore, the older Korean men in the office would feel uncomfortable dealing with me in Korean. Here in Taiwan, things are a little more free. Office life can be frustrating and demanding... and I never seem to have time for a personal life. This aspect is the same for local women. But I never feel that I cannot advance because I am female. If I don't advance, it is likely to be because I consider other aspects of my project to be almost as important as cost-efficiency and profit... or that I don't smile enough while putting in my overtime.

If I were to tell you about Yi-in... her life is somewhat more free than Yoshiko's or Hyun-sook's. She gets up early and picks up breakfast at the food stand on the way to the office. She eats at her desk while deleting junk mail from her inbox. She spends her day allocating duties she feels she shouldn't have to do (like faxing and photocopying... there is another staffer more junior than her), replying to her manager's e-mails (manager is also a woman) and trying to get her work done in the remaining time. She goes for dinner with coworkers at about 7:00 before returning to the office to work a little longer. Between 9:00 and 11:00 she leaves work and browses the might market for something special. The girl in the neighboring cubicle bought a really cute handbag in the same market last week. On her way home, she calls her boyfriend (someone she met online) to complain about the stress levels at the office. At home, she browses online for a new job. She has already been at the last one for over 4 months and she has already put in an extra 2 weeks of overtime, has black bags under her eyes and is in need of a day off - a day which she won't be eligible for for another 2 months. Anyway, she can probably demand a higher salary at a new job since she has some inside knowledge of her current company. She can be an asset to current company's competitors by revealing her inside knowledge.