For years now, gender issues and discrimination have been recurring topics that keep getting momentum. This phenomenon is not limited to only one country or industry, it impacts everyone. We hosted a live webinar about women leadership in the tech industry and invited 5 panelists from diverse backgrounds to talk about their experiences: 

• Elina Watanabe, Partner Development at AppsFlyer

• Hirona Hono, D&I Strategist, Consultant, Trainer & People Development Manager at Mercari, Inc.

• Raika Tanaka, DX Strategist and UX Expert at Recruit Co.,Ltd.

• Yu Kamiya, Software Engineer at CyberAgent, Inc.

• Jim Weisser, Investor & Entrepreneur (PBXL, SignTime and more)

Special thanks to Jackie Steel, political scientist and Founder & CEO of Enjoi D&I Consulting. Jackie has been a close partner of Wahl+Case for several years and did not only moderate the webinar but also advised us in how to put together the panel design.

Goals

We aimed to achieve 3 goals with this webinar:

• Understanding the biggest challenges women leaders are faced with in the technology field in Japan

• Reviewing the current work conditions for women in the technology industry and what needs to be improved

• Considering what employees, employers and ourselves as individuals can do to support women leadership

Experiences that shaped them and their beliefs

None of our panelists recorded having someone they looked up to as a role model when they started their career. Yu mentioned there were not many female engineers when she first started her career. Similarly, Hirona could not find a role model in her field as her position is so specific that only a few people have a similar role. Elina added that, at her first company, it was hard for women to pursue a career without being able to adapt to men’s society.

Raika said she remembers being struck with gender discrimination when asked whether she would pick her career or family when she reached a “marriageable age”. What shocked her the most was that this kind of discrimination was normalized and performed unconsciously and without any bad intentions. She believes people need to truly realize such words and questions are discriminatory.

This contrasts with Jim’s experience: he grew up watching his mother working full time and, to him, this was normal. He never considered that women had to choose between their career and family, to him, they were always able to do both.

Immediate actions we can take to support women’s leadership

While women’s work is less and less evaluated based on their gender according to Elina, Raika mentioned that the technology industry is still predominantly masculine and this still needs to change because, even now, there are very few people women can look up to as role models in this industry.

In order to improve D&I for women in their workplace, Hirona suggested exchanging roles with someone for a day as this will cultivate empathy, on top of reinforcing employees’ understanding that D&I is a mission, a value, and a business goal. D&I has to be one of the common purposes that link people inside the organization.

To this, Jim added that diversity in experience and backgrounds are proven to push team performances forward, which is why it is important for a company to respect its employees’ values and backgrounds. Leaders should be directly demonstrating the behavior they want to achieve at their company, and managers should be there to explain this behavior to employees.

Overcoming gender discrimination

There is still progress to be made in order to improve the work environment for women in the technology industry. Several people still use the term “working women”, which Elina believes should not be used anymore, as women should have more options in life than just working or staying at home. To her, an ideal company would be one that respects its employees’ values, especially women’s, and that does not believe there is a “right way of life” based on one’s gender.

Yu emphasized the importance of upper management and superiors reconsidering their evaluation criteria, which are, even now, heavily based on men. Women engineers, especially those who have children, are a minority, and it is often hard for them to keep up with these standards when pregnant or with young children. She suggested that companies organize events where minorities can speak up to raise awareness or that they become active supporters of STEAM education, as well as reassuring young women who want to become engineers that they will have enough flexibility to balance their work and private life, even after becoming a mother.

Jim re-emphasized that speak-up culture is essential for a company to be more inclusive. He advised that a different meeting leader should be appointed at each meeting with their role being to make sure everyone’s voice was heard. On top of that, he believes people should be hired for potential rather than experience.

Hirona recommended that for a company to overcome gender discrimination in the workplace, employees should first understand D&I’s various aspects, and switching the perspective of “who’s in charge of D&I?” to “we are all in charge of D&I”. Employees should also understand that these are not “emotional issues” but structural ones, and that there is nothing wrong with being part of a minority or a majority. 

Raika thinks that the first and most important step is that women realize when they are being discriminated against. Only then, them and the company as a whole can think of what can be done by reflecting on the matter all together. She also accentuated the importance of respecting each other in this process and at all times for it to work.

Discrimination against women and minorities in general is most likely not going away anytime soon. However, there are things we can do ourselves and, on a greater scale, as a company to fight against it. This is even more necessary in industries dominated by men, such as the technology industry. It is considerably more difficult for women to have their voices heard and their background taken into consideration in such workplaces, especially in Japan, where women are often expected to choose between their career and family life.

D&I should be on every employee’s agenda, and each should be given means to implement it. It is also important for both women and men to understand what discrimination is and what types of behaviors, actions and words can be discriminatory. We all need to be more sensitive. Companies also need to be more considerate of everyone’s backgrounds and responsibilities outside of work that will sometimes have an impact on their work life, and improve flexibility consequently.

At Wahl+Case, we aim at being a company where individuals can unleash their full potential by having diversity in each of our teams, and creating an environment where our members’ backgrounds are respected and accepted. We believe that in order to provide a great service, we need great individuals, so our employees’ well-being is one of our top priorities.

If you like our content, join our mailing list and receive our latest startup stories, market insights and job trends for Japan’s tech market.

More Market Insights

Faustine Verhaeghe
Marketing

LinkedIn