Haruno Yoshida

President & Representative Director, BT Japan

Women for the Future

One need look no further than Haruno Yoshida to see the future of Japan.

Ms. Yoshida chose a career in information technology that led her overseas early on. Having taken leadership positions in sales in major North American multinational corporations in the field, as well as at the New York office of NTT, Japan’s telecommunications giant, she returned to her home country and became an inspirational figure in a middle management position at the company’s Tokyo headquarters.

BT Japan came calling in early 2012, where she assumed the role of president, responsible for driving the strategy and execution of all of the company’s business operations in Japan.

This year Ms. Yoshida became a historical figure when Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation, which represents the interests of business, brought her on as its first female executive, as Vice Chairman of the federation’s board of councilors. Here she will take part in initiatives that aim to transform Japan’s business culture from the inside out.

In his opening remarks at the WAW! 2015 symposium, Prime Minister Abe pointed out a key hurdle that must be overcome. He said, “Our greatest barrier is a working culture that endorses male-centered long working hours. If men themselves do not awaken to this fact and take action, we will not be able to eliminate this bad practice.”

Ms. Yoshida, who participated in a high-level roundtable discussion at the symposium called Engaging Men in Reforms, agreed. “The way we work is not realistic,” she said.

She expects Japan will change and quickly catch up with the West through smarter adoption of information technology to increase productivity, by applying the best practices built up over the last 40 years by countries overseas, and by taking advantage of the inherent diligence the Japanese demonstrate in carrying out goal-oriented initiatives.

Linda A. Hill

Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Innovating with Women

The wealth of thinkers and opinion leaders at WAW! 2015 included more than men and women focusing solely on women’s issues and gender equality. Also part of the mix were leaders with insight on how to optimize the impact women do and can make in organizations at large. One of these was Professor Linda A. Hill, an organisational behavior specialist at Harvard Business School, whose groundbreaking work, Collective Genius, sheds light on the role that diversity plays in leading to innovation.

Professor Hill, who participated in the special session on Implementing Diversity and Innovation at the symposium, shared her unique insight, which aligns with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s confidence in the ability of Japanese companies, as well as governmental bodies, to transform and prosper through a diverse workplace where women are bringing “their own particular strengths and knowledge” to the table. “Diversity in human resources gives rise to innovation,” the prime minister said in his opening remarks at WAW! 2015.

That will require a fundamental shift in the mindsets of not just men but women too, in relation to traditional perceptions of what constitutes effective work styles, especially where women are concerned, and how those are likely to change as more female role models assume positions of leadership in the workplace and inspire other women to also express their full potential.

Professor Hill believes that Japanese leaders will need to embrace different work styles that some women are likely to bring to the workplace. “It’s not about selection, it’s about developing,” she said. “If you’re a man bringing women in, it’s not about finding the right woman who has the qualifications that make it look like she can be a leader, it’s more making sure you provide that woman with experiences that will allow her to use her own passions and talents to innovate and solve problems at work.”