report｜The 23rd International Conference for Women in Business

The eagerly awaited day had finally come. Many participants queued for almost two hours before the doors opened in hopes of getting front-row seats. They seized the first chance of the day to make new friends while they waited. The doors opened 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled 9 a.m. and reception proceeded smoothly with the face authentication system implemented for the first time this year.

As the venue filled, the participants exchanged business cards and introduced themselves and some posted photos on their social media accounts. Amidst those in suits and dresses, there were also junior high and high school students in school uniforms and people wearing kimonos, hijabs, and native costumes. A large group of reporters waited near the back of the venue for the kickoff. After the 800 participants—from age 14 to 80s, 90% female, 10% male—were seated, the 23rd International Conference for Women in Business opened at 10 a.m.

The floor lights dimmed and the audience turned their gaze to the stage as Conference Chair Kaori Sasaki took the podium.
She started by making three major announcements: the establishment of the Japan branch of WPO, the Women President Organization; the establishment of The Board, an exclusive club for 200 women who are outside directors or outside director candidates of listed companies; and the Diversity Index to be launched this autumn, as promised at last year’s Conference.

She then spoke of the sentiment behind this year’s Conference theme, Live Strong, once more defining the word “strong”. “If we are strong, we can listen to the opinions of others and create better ideas. We can detect changes in the times and circumstances to address them flexibly and gracefully. We can ambitiously tackle new things. We can energetically walk forward in good health amid this era of centenarians. This is what it means to be strong in this age of diversity.” She kicked off the day with a passionate call: “Let’s fully discharge all of our positive energy and spend a great ten hours together!”

Minister Seiko Noda was the first of 48 speakers to take the podium. She reflected on her life, commenting that “Perhaps ‘strong’ means to believe in yourself.” She said that as the minister in charge, she places emphasis on fairness as she pushes forward with women’s empowerment as the centerpiece of Japan’s reformation. Her closing remarks, “I hope that everyone here unites for our own happiness and to bring safety and reassurance to our children”, earned resounding applause from the audience.

President and CEO of McDonald’s Company (Japan), Ltd., Sarah L. Casanova was the next to take the stage. She started by pointing out that “lack of confidence” is one reason why diversity has not made much progress in Japan. “I’d like to share with you a formula for the confidence to move forward,” she said, explaining here three “secret sauces” based on her own experience. Many women nodded along in agreement to her message of encouragement.

The third speaker was 21-year-old Marin Minamiya, the youngest Japanese national, at age 19, to climb Mt. Everest. Last year, she reached the North Pole and became the world’s youngest person to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam. “I faced three invisible mountains,” she said of her arduous journey before achieving spectacular success. “It all comes to believing in yourself. If you become your own supporter and follow the compass in your heart, your dreams will come true one after another.”

Reiko Abe, President Director of Oriental Consultants Global in India, spoke of the adversity she faced in becoming a female engineer and being a female leader who managed subway and bullet train construction projects in India. The audience loved her stories about workers being astonished to learn she was a woman, being referred to as “a man who looks like a woman,” and how she responded to a collapsed crane by saying, “No problem.”

Next on the agenda were three talk shows. The first one featured Akira Matsumoto, the COO at RIZAP GROUP, Inc.; Libby Lyons, Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency in Australia; Takashi Nagata, CEO of the Deloitte Tohmatsu Group; and Makiko Eda, Chief Representative Officer of the World Economic Forum Japan. Their discussion emphasized how important it is for diversity management to produce results and how the right systems and the right environment are essential to accelerating diversity.

Three female ambassadors to Japan next took the stage. H.E. Ms. Rabab Fatima, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Embassy of the People's Republic of Bangladesh; H.E. Ms. Simona Leskovar, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia; and H.E. Mrs. Ndiyoi Muliwana Mutiti, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Embassy at the Republic of Zambia were joined by Sayuri Daimon, Executive Operating Officer of The Japan Times. They spoke of the hardships of being female ambassadors, what they have achieved, and of Japan’s gender issues. Their message to women was, “We are strong. We must bring out that strength and support other women.”

The morning session concluded with a talk show featuring dynamic women leaders in the business world: Haruno Yoshida, President and Representative Director of BT Japan Corporation; Eriko Asai, President and CEO of GE Japan; Susana Balbo, Founder of Susana Balbo Wines; and Minori Takao, an English news anchor of NHK World. Each openly shared their valuable experiences about living strong as women leaders.

The participants enjoyed the talk show as lunch, created especially for the Conference, was served. As the talk show ended, the ballroom began to buzz with conversation and it didn’t stop until Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike took the podium.

This was Governor Koike’s third appearance at the International Conference for Women in Business. She spoke about the preschool waiting list countermeasures in Tokyo and how 40% of managers are women. The entire room broke out in applause as she closed with, “It’s women who will rejuvenate Tokyo, and it’s a management strategy to harness women. Talented women deserve opportunities!”

Sachin N. Shah, Chairman of Metlife Insurance K.K., and Minori Takao, an English news anchor of NHK World shared the next talk show. Mr. Shah related, “My experience as an immigrant made me strong,” and pointed out that the strengths needed in the era of centenarians are spiritual fortitude, health, and financial resources.” He suggested, “Let’s see aging as a positive thing and change the sunset years.”

The final talk show of the day was themed “Age doesn’t matter!” Masako Wakamiya (age 83), who shot to fame last year for developing an iPhone app, wore a T-shirt featuring the BASIC programming language and a pendant she made herself using a 3D printer. The high school student and programmer Sakine Nishibayashi appealed, “I want to be recognized justly for what I’ve done, not because I’m a female high school student.” Neuroscientist Ken Mogi spoke fervidly of how “Japan’s gender equality is largely lagging.” He described how the first programmer of humankind was a woman, implying that age and gender don’t matter.

As the intense four-hour plenary session came to a close, the program shifted to Roundtable discussions in which all participants could interact.

Women directors and managers; double work and entrepreneurship; health management; diversified organizations; fintech—these themed roundtables feature interactive discussions among the panelists and participants.

During the short break before the Roundtable discussions, participants moved among the booths of the Conference sponsors the foyer to gather samples and buy books or Ms. Sasaki’s bestselling Action Planner 2019, an exclusive offer to Conference participants in advance of the general market launch. Here and there, speakers were seen having quick conversations with participants as they made their way to the Roundtable discussion rooms.

The Roundtable discussions that began at 3 p.m. were grouped in two 90-minute sessions, so participants could choose from five themes in each session.

Roundtable session 1 comprised “Inclusive Leadership”, “Is Japan strong?”, “‘Healthy’ management is the key for growth”, “New work styles: Double work and being your own boss”, and “Corporate management from female board members’ perspectives”. Roundtable session 2 offered “A Vision: 2020 and Beyond”, “Multinational Management: Working abroad. Working with other cultures”, “Corporate strategy. Is a diversified organization really stronger?”, “Life with Fintech”, and “So, we aim for Management!”

Joining speakers from the plenary session were: Sonja Vodusek, General Manager of The Peninsula Tokyo; Kyoko Hokugo, Director, the Gender Mainstreaming Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; Yuko Kawamoto, Professor at Waseda Graduate School of Business and Finance; Miwa Kato, Director for Global Operations at UNODC; Masato Arisawa, CHO of Kagome Co., Ltd.; Yuri Okina, Chairperson of the Institute at The Japan Research Institute, Ltd.; and many others who work at the forefront of their respective industries. This was a valuable opportunity to discuss and directly obtain knowledge from experts based on their rich experience and achievements, their outlooks on the future, and the latest case studies.

When the Roundtable discussions opened the floor to questions, countless hands shot up in very room. This is another distinctive feature of the International Conference for Women in Business; ranging from students and people who have just entered the workforce, to managers and top executives—participants of all ages, genders, titles, and nationalities ask questions and share opinions in a lively back-and-forth with the panelists. The panelists answer with honesty and compassion and both they and the audience are inspired by the experience.

The positive energy the Conference is known for is palpable in the Roundtable discussions. Participants were sharing their thoughts as they left the room; “My perspective changed after hearing valuable information that I normally wouldn’t hear”; “I experienced similar hardships”; “The speaker’s words encouraged me”; and “I want to put into action what I heard today, starting tomorrow.”

The day has gone too quickly and now it’s 6 p.m., time for the much-anticipated networking party.

A special live music show that brought many to tears, a networking party, and a promise to take a step forward from the following day.

The final program of the day was the networking party. Everyone gathered once again in the main venue among friends, old and new. Ms. Sasaki introduced 8th-grade musician Chihiro Watanabe. As she began to play the piano and sing “Imagine”, the venue fell silent as her voice filled the ballroom. In her second song, an original, many were moved to tears. Her performance, and the thundering applause and cheers of “Bravo!” got the party off to a great start.

First, Susana Balbo (Chair of W20 Argentina), Libby Lyons (Director, Workplace Gender Equality Agency of Australia), and Reiko Abe (President Director, Oriental Consultants Global Pvt. Ltd.) took the stage. Ms. Abe gave a toast, saying, “I also cried quite a bit. But I can always smile at the end. Please smile with me!” At her cue, 800 people enthusiastically toasted.

Gold Partners that supported the conference came to the stage: Yuko Tomiyama, Group Integration Head Office Human Resources Manager at Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd; Sawako Nakanishi, Women Empowerment & Diversity Office Manager, Mitsubishi Corporation; and Shoko Suzuki, Chief Marketing Officer at MetLife, Inc. Among their messages; “I picked up many hints”; “Using what I gained today, I want to live strongly and with gracefulness from tomorrow to promote diversity together with my colleagues”; and “I am grateful for a wonderful and inspiring day.”

Next, the nine matching sponsors and their beneficiaries lined up on the stage. The beneficiaries are high school and college students who wrote essays to apply for sponsored participation and the matching sponsors paid their entry fees. A high school student said, “I want to deliver news globally in the future, but the people around me are not supportive of my dream. But coming here, listening, and discussing, I gained the conviction that my aspiration is not misplaced. I will become a sponsor one day.” A male college student said, “The best thing was being able to witness people radiating as individuals regardless of gender.” The sponsors added, “It was double the happiness” and “I will increase my assets to participate as a sponsor every year!”

The crowd was lively, enjoying the wine and delicious buffet as they discussed the day’s events. They spoke frankly; “There are always forces of resistance when you try to start something. But I was encouraged today that if I think flexibly like a woman can and have the power of not being afraid of losing something, I can do it”; “I realized that it all comes down to me; I’ll be strong from tomorrow!”; and “I was unsure of what direction to take, but I now feel like my current course has been validated.”

It was time, unfortunately, for Ms. Sasaki to make her closing remarks. “Next year, please bring males and someone 10 or 20 years younger,” she said. “Let’s move forward and Live Strong and meet again on July 7th!” The party ended with participants promising to meet again next year.

The positive energy that spread through the International Conference for Women in Business multiplied so each participant went home filled with enough ideas and inspiration to propel their LIVE STRONG journey until the next Conference.