I’m a former JET who returned to the US to begin my career as a front end web developer. There is a possibility I may end up back in Japan in a couple years since I’m marrying a Japanese citizen. I was very curious to know how likely it would be for a foreign female like myself to find web development work? And just in general, how inclusive of foreign women is the dev community in Japan?
Finally, I will be visiting Japan again this Nov-Dec and was interested in attending dev events. I saw there is Nodefest, which I was thinking about going to. Do you all recommend this one or are there any other events/meetups happening during this time that are good?
One of the biggest hurdles to getting your first job is that companies are reluctant to relocate someone to Japan, especially someone who’s at the beginning of their career. When you get married, you’ll be eligible for the spouse visa. This should make you more attractive than other candidates.
I’m organizing a developer event myself. Unfortunately, typically only one or two of the forty or so participants are women. I don’t think I’m doing anything that actively discourages women from attending, and I’d like to improve that ratio, but at the same time, I haven’t put effort into proactively recruiting women to attend. I think this is typical of many developer events here.
I think you’d be welcome at any developer event, and would recommend attending any that match your interests from a technical perspective. Besides that, if you’re looking to meet other female developers in Japan, I’d check out this article on Women’s Tech Events and Communities in Tokyo.
If she’s a foreigner and makes an effort to get into a good company, she’ll be ok. It’s very easy to find a crappy dev job, thus many people are tempted to settle for the ¥3 mil/yr job instead of looking longer. But stick to standards!
As a female eng living in Japan, it’s a step down vs in SF. A lot more mansplaining happens here, as well as general disbelief and doubting. I have to do and say more to get baseline credibility. It happens in SF too, but def not at the frequency it happens in Tokyo.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I also really appreciate the links and for sharing this topic with others on Twitter. This will definitely help me make the most out of my trip and finding other female developers to connect with, so thanks again!
