FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct 12, 2022
World in You
info@worldinyou.org

Business and Nonprofit Leaders Collaborate to Empower Women in the Workplace
～World in You starts the second term of Nonprofit Governance and Board Training～

Tokyo, Japan and online: In Sep 2022, World in You announced the start of the second term of the Board Fellow Program to encourage cross-sector collaboration between private companies and non-profit organizations and develop future social impact leaders. The theme of the program this year is “Women’s career empowerment over the life-stage transitions.”

The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022 ranks Japan 116th out of 146 countries, which means Japan remains in last place among major advanced countries. 46.9% of women leave the workforce after having their first child, and almost half of the women who return to work have little choice but to choose a “Mommy Track” job which tends to slow or block career advancement in exchange for flexible or reduced work hours. The traditional gender roles such as childcare or family caregiving responsibilities placed more burdens on women during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year, the Board Fellow Program will involve three direct-service non-profit organizations working on women’s career empowerment – ArrowArrow, Polaris, Mama-work Laboratory/Work Step – as well as business leaders from Shiseido, J.P.Morgan, and other companies, lawyers, an accountant, nonprofit leaders, and a city councilor. To kick off the program, World in You has been hosting a talk show series starting in Jun 2022 with various nonprofit organizations advocating for women’s empowerment in the workplace.

Masami Otsuki, CEO of Polaris, said “Now that we have been running Polaris for over ten years, we are excited to reflect our vision again through this program and discuss our future opportunities and roles to serve as a social organization with diverse participants.”
Rather than simply providing a volunteer opportunity for corporate leaders, the Board Fellow Program will have participants dive into social and governance issues over six months. In this way, the program will promote long-term collaborations, such as having corporate employees serve on nonprofit boards, a practice that is still rare in Japan.

About the participating nonprofits:

◆ArrowArrow strives for a society where anyone can choose their own desirable work and lifestyle in any life stage including childcare or family care periods by providing end-to-end support from maternity leave to return to work.

◆Polaris combats social issues that the current work system is inflexible and not sustainable throughout one’s life by running co-working office space services, regional information services, and social communities planning.

◆ To support women’s reemployment, Mama-work Laboratory provides career coaching and seminars for working women seeking a balance between a career and a family. Work Step offers human resource consulting and job reference services tailored to individual needs.

About the participants:
In addition to the above non-profit organizations, the following are the participants from various sectors including business, academia, and social:

Noriko Ichigi, Suntory Holdings Limited
Mitsu Shippee, Sony Group Corporation
Masahiro Kiriyama, Mysurance, Inc
Tomoko Shiomi, Shiseido Company, Limited
Takashi Manabe, NTT Docomo, Inc
Masako Taniguchi, Benesse i-Career Co., Ltd.
Rie Nishihara, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Yoshimi Ryu, Wellness Support Lab
Daigo Hashimoto, Replus
Miho Kito, Center for Systems Awareness
Kazuki Okada, Uzabase, Inc.
Hidetsugu Kishimoto, Marriage For All Japan, Tokyo Omotesando Law &Accounting LPC
Mayu Tazoe, WOMAN SHIFT
Tetsuro Tanaka, Accountability for Change
Nozomi Matsui, Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd.
Ayaka Konishi, Soka University

◆Program assessment

Yu Ishida, Miyagi University
Aya Okada, Tohoku University

Message from the participating nonprofits

Chihiro Unno, chairperson of ArrowArrow:
“With our collective minds and actions from a variety of people joining this program, we are pleased to enhance our value and draw our future together.”

Aya Tanaka, chairperson of Mama-work Laboratory and Work Step:
“As we see the 11th anniversary of Mama-work Laboratory, we are pleased to have the opportunity to redefine our foundation from a long-term view with people from various professional backgrounds and explore a better future.

Masami Otsuki, COO of Polaris:
“Now that we have been running Polaris for over ten years, we are excited to reflect our vision again through this program and discuss our future opportunities and roles to serve as a social organization from a variety of standpoints.”

ArrowArrow provides interactive workshops “SHAIN (“employee” in Japanese) ! Shine!”. Courtesy of ArrowArrow.

Polaris fellows working in various workplaces. Courtesy of Polaris.

“Women Draft Meeting” served by Mama-work Laboratory. Courtesy of Mama-work Laboratory.

For more information on the Board Fellow Program:
Please contact info@worldinyou.org if you are interested in programs on nonprofit boards, governance, and cross-sector collaboration to solve social issues.

About Us: World in You cultivates leaders, organizations, and communities that co-create across boundaries to better society. We have provided leadership development programs to 200+ mission-driven organizations, 500+ leaders from the business and social sectors, and students.
Book “Governance of non-profit organizations” (2020, Eiji Press)