HIDA Journal 2015 SPRING No.6

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HIDA JOURNAL20A Public Symposium as part of the Program on Empowerment for Women Leaders in IndiaHIDA held the Program on Empowerment for Women Leaders in India over a five-day schedule that started on November 17, 2014. This program came about as a result of a visit by the ambassador of India to Japan to HIDA in March 2014, when she mentioned the importance of training for women. As such, HIDA created this as its first training program aimed solely at women. For part of this program, a public symposium entitled “Toward the creation of a society where women shine” was held at Iino Hall & Conference Center on November 20. On the day of the symposium, approximately 40 participants, comprised largely of female leaders and managers at corporations, gathered in the conference hall. Keynote Addresses Outline of the address by Ms. Yoko Ishikura, Professor Emeritus At present, phenomena that are rife with elements of uncertainty are occurring at the global scale, and we are approaching a turning point unlike any we have encountered before. In order to succeed in such an environment it will be necessary to boost one’s competitiveness. The innovation that serves as the source for this competitiveness can be brought about by incorporating the new ideas of people with differing standpoints, and this is an area where women’s participation is crucial. But women face numerous challenges when it comes to advancing in society. Women must still take charge of housework, childrearing and nursing care, and the fact that it is difficult to balance this with work is a social problem. Things like evaluation systems where evaluations are performed based on time and long working hours are customary corporate practices in Japan. Another personal challenge for women is that they have a strong tendency to be hesitant about career advancement. Conceivable solutions to this would include structural changes at companies, such as introducing evaluation systems that emphasize performance, and solutions that make good use of technology. As an example, now thanks to technological progress it is possible to telecommute from home. In addition, some clerical work can be replaced by robots, which could potentially give rise to new jobs in their place. It seems that there are some women who are concerned because they feel a sense of isolation and lack role models within their organizations, and so we should use IT to collect a wide range of information for their reference. It is also important for them to develop a mentality of continuing on with lifelong learning and learning from failure to make another try. Outline of the address by Ms. Vanitha Datla In India it is common even for educated women to be married off and take up homemaking. I myself was married at the age of 18 and moved to the United States with my husband. I still wanted to pursue a career, so while I was in the United States I went to college and found a job at an insurance company. I became a homemaker after we returned to India for a while, but later on I joined a family-run analytical instruments manufacturer. I was able to grow the company by adopting a perspective of constantly innovating based on the experiences I acquired in the United States. Our company has set up various measures to support women. Wages and promotions are allocated equally between men and women, and women make up half of our employees and managers. We set in place programs for maternity leave and childcare leave and allow people to work from home or remotely so that women can continue working even when circumstances like childbirth and family relocation come up. However, within India there is still a tendency to quickly marry off women, who are seen as a “burden on the family,” and this robs them of the opportunity to receive an education. The average number of years that girls attend school for is 1.2 years. The first measure to support the social advancement of women is to mandate education for girls. I also serve as the chairperson for a chapter of a network Mr. Kazuo Kaneko, President of HIDA, giving the host’s address in front of a large crowd of female participantsMs. Mami Fukuchi, Director at METI, delivering an addressMs. Yoko Ishikura, Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi UniversityMs. Wadhwa, Ambassador of India to Japan, who has been very active as a female diplomatMr. Kazuo Kaneko, President of HIDA, kicked off the symposium with an address from the sponsor, with both Ms. Mami Fukuchi, Director, Economic and Social Policy Office, Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau, METI and H.E. Ms. Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, Ambassador of India to Japan, addressing on behalf of the guests. Two people were called upon to deliver keynote addresses; Ms. Yoko Ishikura, Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University, and Ms. Vanitha Datla, Executive Director and CFO of Elico Ltd. (a manufacturer of analytical instruments), who was also a participant in this training program. This was followed by a panel discussion in which business leaders from both Japan and India took part.

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