2017 GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN
Beyond Womenomics: Accelerating Access
May 11-13, 2017 • Tokyo, Japan
A record 1,600 summit delegates from 62 countries attend the 27th Global Summit of Women in Tokyo
Japan’s Welcome Dinner takes participants to the beautiful Akasaka Palace. (Photo courtesy of The Mainichi)
The Voices of Corporate Leadership
Women CEO Forum discusses “Accelerating Women’s Corporate Leadership,” led by Sarah Gordon, Business Editor of the Financial Times.
Male CEO Forum discusses “Leading Diversity from the Top,” led by Angela Mackay, Global Publisher/Managing Director of the Financial Times. Click for clips featuring Sunil Nayak and Christopher Townsend.
The Business of Fashion and Design panel features experts discussing successes and challenges they faced as women in the fashion industry.
Marita Cheng, CEO of 2MarRobotics addresses the Youth Forum in a break-out session.
A Salute to Government Leaders
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe receives the Global Women’s Leadership Award from Summit President, Irene Natividad. (Photo courtesy of The Mainichi)
Former President of Malawi, H.E. Joyce Banda receives the 2017 Global Women’s Leadership Award.
The Honorable Yoriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo, is presented Japan Women’s Leadership Award by Noriko Nakamura, Chair, Japan Host Committee.
The Voices of Policy Makers
Ministers discuss projects advancing women’s economic opportunities.
The Honorable Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo, discusses challenges facing major cities in 21st Century.(Photo courtesy of Financial Times)
Breaking a Business Tradition, Women Open the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Summit Slideshow
Click here for more 2017 Summit Photos
Voice of the Media
From the Financial Times
Asia’s Lack of Women on Boards Shows It Has Work To Do
May 11, 2017
Women hold just one in eight seats on the boards of Asia’s largest public companies, a level that puts them behind peers in Europe and North America despite the region’s economic growth and increasingly mature stock markets. In the 1,557 largest listed companies in 20 Asia-Pacific countries, measured by market value, women account for just 12.4 per cent of board seats, according to Corporate Women Directors International, a Washington-based research group. Asia-Pacific lags behind Europe, where women hold 30 per cent of board seats at the top 500 companies, and North America, where just over a fifth of board members at the 500 largest public companies are women, according to the research. In Africa, women hold 14.4 per cent of board seats at the 300 largest listed companies.
_______________________________________
From The Mainichi
Female Leaders Gather in Tokyo to Discuss Women’s Empowerment
May 12, 2017
Women government and business leaders from over 60 countries gathered at a forum in Tokyo that began Thursday to discuss how to accelerate women’s economic progress worldwide.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the 27-year-old Global Summit of Women, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hailed the forum’s long-lasting efforts to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality and said his administration is committed to creating a “society where women shine.”
_______________________________________
From Japan Today
The World Watches Abe’s “Womenomics” as Global Summit of Women Ends
May 15, 2017
The three-day international women empowerment forum, Global Summit of Women, which this year attracted a record attendance of 1,300 women from across the globe to Tokyo, ended Saturday, highlighting Japan’s efforts to close its gender gap in its economic sector and improve women’s roles in leadership positions, a target Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised to successfully implement by 2020.
The event brought ministers, CEOs, businesswomen and men from over 60 countries in its largest gathering to date in 27 years, and highlighted issues Japan and other countries need to tackle in order to boost women’s presence in leadership positions and achieve women empowerment that both highlights fundamental rights and promises a boost in the economy.
_______________________________________
From The Japan Times
To Empower Women, Japan’s Cultural Mindset Must Be Changed: Global Summit of Women Chief
May 16, 2017
Changing the cultural mindset entrenched in Japanese society that underestimates and undervalues women’s abilities is not only key to promoting them to leadership positions, it will also lead to wider social and financial gains for all.
That is what Irene Natividad, president of the Global Summit of Women, said in a recent interview when she was in Tokyo for the group’s annual summit, which drew more than 1,300 business and political leaders from over 60 countries.
_______________________________________
From Savvy Tokyo
The Significance and Highlights of the Country’s First Global Women’s Summit
May 16, 2017
The three-day international women empowerment forum, Global Summit of Women, which gathered a record attendance of 1,300 women from across the globe in Tokyo from May 11, ended on Saturday, highlighting global — and Japan’s — efforts to close gender gaps in the economic sector and improve women’s roles in leadership positions.
The event brought ministers, CEOs, business women and men from over 60 countries in the largest gathering to date since its launch in 1990, and through various discussions provided hands-on tips of what countries need to do to empower its women population. Here are the highlights of the event as the Savvy Tokyo team observed.