Sayaka Osakabe (; born 1978) is a Japanese magazine editor and women's rights activist. She went to court because of Japan's Equal Opportunities law. The government decided that discrimination against women because of pregnancy is illegal. In 2015, the U.S State Department gave Osakabe the International Women of Courage Award.
Life
Sayaka Osakabe was born in Japan in 1978. She had a job as a magazine editor. She became pregnant, so she asked her boss for shorter work hours. Osakabe's boss wanted her to quit her job. Osakabe was pregnant twice and she lost the baby twice. Then Osakabe asked for a leave of absence so she could leave her job to become pregnant, then return to the job. Her boss refused. Osakabe quit her job, but she took her case to a labor tribunal. In June, 2014, Osakabe won her case.
Work
Osakabe started a support group called Matahara Net. The word comes from the English words "maternity and harassment". The word "matahara" is now a legal term.
References
Other websites
2015 International Women of Courage Awards, U.S. State Department photostream on Flickr Secretary's International Women of Courage Award (U.S. Department of State)