The 2022 US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue was held virtually in January–March 2022, bringing together more than 60 leaders from both countries for meetings to share insights into the challenges and opportunities for women’s leadership in various fields. This year’s series of three sessions was co-chaired once again by Rep. Diana DeGette and Rep. Seiko Noda, and participants included nine national legislators as well as leaders from government, business, media, philanthropy, academia, and think tanks. The meetings featured lively discussions on key issues of social and economic equity, how politics impacts women’s lives and careers, existing and needed frameworks to promote women in politics, and ways to encourage gender equity and inclusion in a digital era.
The event was held as part of the US-Japan Women Leaders Dialogue, and the production of this report was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Toshiba International Foundation.
KEY FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations summarize some of the ideas that were generated to address the issues raised during the three discussions, but are solely the responsibility of JCIE. To read the full recommendations, download the report.
Improve Economic Equity and Security for All Women
- Treat women’s economic security as a critical component of the domestic and global economic recovery
- Maintain and expand access to workstyles that promote flexibility and work-life balance
- Provide equitable access to and encourage the use of paid family and medical leave for all workers
- Address the caregiving crises in each country to improve access and affordability
- Quantify the unpaid contributions of women to the economy
Create and Strengthen Empowering Frameworks for Women in Politics and Business
- Engage greater numbers and diversity of women in politics and corporate leadership
- Start early to change perceptions
- Increase access to political leadership training programs
- Don’t assume laws are enough—take concrete actions to promote political engagement
- Create a “reserve army” of women with leadership skills
Promote Women in STEM
- Improve diversity and inclusion in STEM at the K-12 level
- Improve diversity and inclusion in STEM in universities
- Promote continuing education and reskilling for women
- Invest in women-led businesses in the tech sector
Recommendations: An Agenda for US-Japan Collaboration on Gender Equity
- Explicitly incorporate gender in existing agreements such as the US-Japan Competitiveness and Resilience (CoRe) Partnership
- Promote comparative research and dialogues on government and corporate policies to improve the wellbeing of women
- Expand bilateral efforts to promote women in STEM
- Encourage investment in Japanese and American women entrepreneurs, particularly in future-oriented fields
- Increase the availability of funding to civil society organizations for people-to-people exchanges
