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“As a female lawyer, I will still be a minority working in East Asia,” says Teresa Schroeder, a senior from Renton, Wash., and a graduate of Seattle Preparatory School. “My project gives me a better idea of the challenges women face working in China and Japan, both professionally and socially.”
Marquis Scholar Teresa Schroeder is exploring the differences between the women’s labor force in China and Japan in a senior honors thesis under the direction of Susan L. Averett, associate professor of economics and business.
“There are distinct differences in women’s labor force participation rates in China and Japan and women’s occupations in each country,” Schroeder explains. “I’m trying to determine how communism and capitalism affect these differences via childcare subsidies, education, women’s political power, equal-rights legislation, women’s earnings compared to men’s, social influences, and political propaganda.”
Her project grew out of a long-standing interest in Asian cultures and politics, Schroeder says. “I have a life-long interest in the differences between China and Japan. Having grown up in Seattle, I’ve had a lot of exposure to Asian cultures and trade relations.”
Not only does her thesis connect with her past, it points the way to her future. She plans to be an international corporate lawyer specializing in the East Asian region.
“I would like to negotiate treaties, trade agreements, tariffs, taxes, and various other aspects of legal trade contracts,” she says. “As a female lawyer, I will still be a minority working in East Asia. My project gives me a better idea of the challenges women face working in China and Japan, both professionally and socially. It also establishes a base for comparison with the United States and recognizes how far the United States still needs to move to have a truly equal society.”
The project spans both of Schroeder’s majors, economics and business and government and law, Averett notes. “Teresa is an incredible student who is uniquely motivated. She’s interested in both sides of this issue.”
Schroeder says, “Professor Averett is extremely intelligent and open-minded, and is a strong woman who balances her professional and personal life in a way I really admire. She has been an excellent thesis adviser and has aided me in making professional and personal decisions.”
Another Side of Teresa
She was elected last spring to Phi Beta Kappa. She is a member of Lafayette’s Kirby Government and Law Society and has been an active volunteer in the Landis Community Outreach Center, under whose auspices Lafayette students conduct more than 30 programs of sustained community service each year.