We Are Tomodachi Spring 2019
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All the lecturers felt that ‘the “Prime Minister Abe attended the closing reception of the seminar, now in its third year. His appearance inspired participants to “try even harder to succeed!” FEATURE Empowering Women, Enhancing Societyattendees were excellent —as good or better than those at Harvard Business School back home.’ We hold you in great esteem, and feel confident that you will fully engage with the difficult issues that lie ahead.” Thus with pride in his voice, Prime Minister Abe delivered a closing address to the attendees of Participation by women in Japanese society is being boosted by both the public and private sectors. At a seminar for women regarded as candidates for next-generation leadership positions in businesses of various types and scales, Prime Minister Abe attended the closing reception in person and offered words of encouragement.the Executive Program for Women Leaders, held in January of this year. During the past several years, the participation rate by women in the Japanese workforce has rapidly increased. Under governmental guidance, policies have been implemented and laws enacted, such as improved access to nursery schools, beefing up paid maternity leave, and passing the Act on the Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, accompanied by new attitudes. As a result, 2.01 million women have entered the workforce during the 5-year period from 2012 to 2017. Employment of women of childbearing age, at 74.3%, is the highest ever. [1] Yet room remains for improving the ratio of women active as executives. Compared to Europe and America, where the rate is close to 20 to 40%, recent data from Japan shows that the rate has stagnated at 4.1%. [2] To address that issue, the Japanese government has supported the Executive Program for Women Leaders, featuring lecturers from Harvard Business School (HBS), as a way to assist the human resource development of women leaders across different business sectors. This year’s seminar, the third in the series, was attended by 60 women executives, upon the recommendation of firms in various regions and business sectors. There are many reasons for the shortage of women leaders in Japan, but when voices in the business world are heard, it is clear that, although the social advancement of women continues to improve, there is a need for more role models of women acting as executives. And they often express bewilderment about the best way of training women. Accordingly, the seminar focused on three areas: Competitive Strategy, Leadership, and the Macroeconomics Environment, presented in the form of case studies, rather than ordinary lectures. All the participants stayed 10Women Leadthe Futureof Business

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