2022 US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue

JCIE is holding the 2022 US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue, a three-part virtual discussion bringing together more than 40 women leaders from across multiple sectors from the United States and Japan. The dialogue is co-chaired by Hon. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Hon. Seiko Noda, who is now Minister in Charge of Women’s Empowerment, Minister of State for Gender Equality, Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate. The dialogue is intended to provide a platform for women leaders in both countries to share insights and ideas on how best to empower women as full and thriving participants in our economies, governments, and societies, and to create meaningful connections and networks that serve to strengthen and underpin the US-Japan relationship.

This program builds on the discussions from two previous US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue discussions. The inaugural dialogue was held in person in September 2017 in New York, which led to the creation of a Diet caucus in Japan to support young mothers and fathers in the legislature, as well as the launch of a foreign policy study group for women Diet members. The second dialogue was held online in 2021 and focused on the theme of “Advancing Women’s Leadership in a Time of Crisis” to address the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on women, and it resulted in a set of recommendations that were published in a report.

The topics covered in our 2022 Dialogue are:

Session 1: Gender and the Role of Politics (January 12, 2022)
Session 2: Frameworks for Success—Systems to Empower Women in Politics and Promote Leadership (February 15, 2022)
Session 3: Promoting Women in the Digital Society (March 22, 2022)

Implementation of many of the proposed reforms discussed at the 2021 dialogue has yet to be achieved, though they have now become part of the mainstream discourse in both countries. This offers room for further discussions among women leaders in Japan and the United States to exchange concrete steps that governments, businesses and other actors can take to bring about the changes that are needed. The 2022 dialogue therefore focuses on discussing key policies and best practices in promoting women in politics to reflect more women’s voices in policymaking, and facilitate discussions between policymakers and leaders of other sectors including businesses and non-profits to promote women in the economy including those in STEM-related fields.

The dialogue was sponsored by the MRA Foundation, with additional support from ITOCHU Corporation.
Funding for the report was provided by Toshiba International Foundation.

SESSION 1 AGENDA

The first session of the 2022 US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue began with presentations on each nation’s gender policies. Hon. Seiko Noda discussed her new role in the Kishida cabinet and her plans to improve women’s employment conditions, reform Japan’s workstyle, and address childcare and eldercare in order to permit women to live up to their full capabilities. On the US side, Ms. Jennifer Klein, co-chair of the White House Gender Policy Council, then outlined the Biden administration’s newly released National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, the nation’s first-ever gender strategy, and Rep. Diana DeGette spoke about some of the policies that Congress has passed to improve the lives of women and families, particularly in light of the pandemic. All participants were then invited to voice their thoughts in a roundtable discussion on the impact of policies on key issues affecting women. Some of the topics raised included the importance of the care economy and making caregiving more accessible to all women, ways in which businesses are helping women meet the challenges of the pandemic, the impact that reliance on part-time/freelance jobs for women has on individual financial security and the economy, the undervaluation of women’s work in the nonprofit sector in Japan, and more.

Welcome & Introduction

Ms. Hideko Katsumata, Executive Director & COO, JCIE/Japan
Ms. Peggy Blumenthal, Chair, JCIE/USA; Senior Counselor to the President, Institute of International Education

Initial Remarks from Dialogue Co-Chair

Hon. Diana DeGette, Member, US House of Representatives (D-CO)

Remarks from Resource Persons

Hon. Seiko Noda, Minister in Charge of Women’s Empowerment, Minister of State for Gender Equality, Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate (LDP)
Ms. Jennifer Klein, Co-chair, White House Gender Policy Council

Moderated Discussion

SESSION 2 AGENDA

JCIE and the Center for American Women and Politics of Rutgers University have prepared an illustrative survey of programs and organizations in the United States and Japan that are working to encourage greater engagement in the political process among women. This will inform the second session, which will look at systemic challenges in each country to women’s leadership in politics and the private sector. This discussion will introduce existing efforts of civil society organizations and other mechanisms in place to help women overcome those challenges—from initiatives that encourage leadership among women in high school and college, to programs that offer advice on hiring campaign managers or train women to be effective speakers, and to organizations that raise campaign contributions. Our 2021 dialogue touched on a number of these structural issues, and this session will delve deeper into them and compare notes on what specific programs and approaches work in each society. We will also seek parallels between effective initiatives to promote women in politics and efforts to promote women’s leadership in business and other sectors.

Welcome by JCIE Representatives

Ms. Hideko Katsumata, Executive Director & COO, JCIE/Japan
Ms. Peggy Blumenthal, Chair, JCIE/USA; Senior Counselor to the President, Institute of International Education

Introductory Remarks from Co-chair

Hon. Diana DeGette, Member, US House of Representatives (D-CO)

Presentations

Ms. Jean Sinzdak, Associate Director, Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers-New Brunswick
Prof. Mari Miura, Professor of Political Science, Faculty of Law, and Deputy Director, Promotion of Gender Equality Office, Sophia University

Roundtable Discussion Moderated by JCIE Representatives

Closing Remarks from Co-chairs

Hon. Diana DeGette
Hon. Seiko Noda, Minister in Charge of Women’s Empowerment, Minister of State for Gender Equality, Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)

SESSION 3 AGENDA

Both the United States and Japan have been working in recent decades to encourage more young women to enter STEM fields, but with modest progress. Women remain underrepresented in areas such as computer science, mathematics, and engineering—areas that are particularly relevant to the digital economy and that often offer higher wages and greater career flexibility. And while women are better represented in some areas of the health/medical fields (which has put them squarely on the frontlines during the pandemic), they still face inequities in terms of the types of medicine they enter and their career paths. This session will address what has succeeded and what needs to improve in various sectors of society (education and research, media, business, and government), as well as how the United States and Japan can cooperate to promote women’s fuller engagement in STEM and the digital society.