- This event has passed.
Joining Forces on International Women’s Day 2023 to #EmbraceEquity
8 March, 2023 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm JST
SpCCJ is proud to be marking International Women’s Day 2023 with this #EmbraceEquity event, hosted in collaboration with the British (BCCJ), Belgian-Luxembourg (BLCCJ) and French (CCIFJ) Chambers of Commerce in Japan.
International Women’s Day (IWD) – celebrated annually on March 8 – is a global initiative that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity in, among other places, the public and private sectors.
This year’s global theme is #EmbraceEquity. Equity might look different for every organisation, depending on size and resources, which is why this year we are teaming up with three other foreign chambers of commerce in Japan to hear from cross-industry leaders of very different backgrounds, on what it truly means to embrace equity within their organisations, and what processes they have in place to create the mindsets and practices needed to create an equitable workplace environment.
We are pleased to invite Junko Kubokawa, Representative Director and President, Croda Japan KK, Natalia Sanz Laviña, CEO, YSLA Architects, Hiroko Suzuki, President & CEO, Kyowa Industrial Co., Anne-Line Rey, Sales Project Director, Head of Osaka Expo 2025, GL Events Japan KK, and Tomoyo Hiraoka, VP, Chief HR Officer, Mitsubishi Chemical Group, to share their insights on the topic, acknowledging the work already being done in organisations and communities to respond to workplace inequities, and addressing what the key roles are for individuals, corporates and governments in pushing the agenda forward and taking the strides needed to truly advance gender equity in the future.
Event Details
Date: Wednesday 8 March 2023
Time: 19:00-21:00 (doors open at 18:30)
1-hour panel, 1-hour networking
Venue: L’espace @ CCIFJ
Nihonbashi Honcho Ys Bldg. 1F, 2-2-2 Nihonbashi Honcho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0023
Fee: JPY 5,000 SpCCJ members / JPY 7,000 non-members
(this includes drinks and finger food)
Registration: SpCCJ Registration Form
Seats for SpCCJ are limited to 25, first come first serve.
The deadline for registration is Friday 3 March 5:00 pm or when seats are full.
Panellist
Natalia Sanz Laviña, CEO of YSLA Architects
Spanish architect holds a master’s degree from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. She worked as a project manager for Kengo Kuma and Associates in both Tokyo and Paris offices from 2008 till 2018 before opening YSLA architects in Tokyo. Her firm designs for public and private clients and her work spans from exhibition design to residential, hospitality and office buildings. Awarded among others with the DesignArt Tokyo 2019 for the exhibition Garden of Eden at Spiral Aoyama and the Good Design Award 2021 for the Shinjuku hotel conversion amid the pandemic. Among her academic activities, she has organized the cross-cultural workshop “Mediterranean blind and Japanese Sudare” and has been invited to lecture on Environmental Architecture at Chuo University Faculty of Science and Engineering.
Hiroko Suzuki, Representative Director and President, Kyowa Sangyo
Hiroko graduated from the University of Denver, USA in Accounting and Business Administration, and after a first experience in Los Angeles, she came back to Japan and started at Kyowa Sangyo in 1985 in charge of financial affairs and deputy manager of the computer-related operations section. After several positions, she became the Representative Director and President in 2001.
She is very active and takes several roles in the Gunma prefecture, advising in finance and in manufacturing
industries. She has received several awards, one global award from Gunma prefecture, the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun Excellent Manager Award for Female Managers as well as a letter of appreciation from the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare
(For many years of service as a member of the Gunma District Minimum Wage Council).
Junko Kubokawa, Representative Director and President, Croda Japan KK
Junko is the Representative Director & President of Croda Japan K.K., headquartered in Tokyo and with production & R&D sites in Shiga Prefecture.
Junko also serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan and is currently leading the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Taskforce. She also serves as Vice Chairperson of the Japan Cosmetic Suppliers Association.
Previously Junko held positions of Division Heads in Japan at BASF Japan and at Ciba-Geigy / Ciba Specialty Chemicals, in the speciality chemicals business for personal care, life science and other applications.
Junko has a bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from INSEAD, France.
Tomoyo Hiraoka, Vice President, Chief Human Resource Officer, Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation
Tomoyo started her career at one of the Japanese HQ with a long-history company in 2002 and worked as a salesperson at first. As she changed her career to Human Resources specialist, she started to experience the lead position of global projects including M&A in 2008, then expanded her capability and responsibility wider. Currently, Tomoyo holds the position of Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Mitsubishi Chemical Group.
Anne-Line Rey, Sales Project Director & Head of OSAKA EXPO 2025, GL events Japan KK
Anne-Line Rey has been working in Japan since 2002, first as a JET participant (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program), and then as an economist in a French bank. Afterwards, she joined a foreign event company based in Japan, before becoming a consultant specialising in business-to-local authorities relations. This led her to GL events Japan, where she has been working for 7 years, in charge of first Japanese development, then procurement, and now Osaka 2025 and sales. These include the Rugby World Cup 2019, Tokyo 2020, and other events.
Sponsors
Organized by
