A closer look at the diversity and women’s empowerment initiatives promoted by SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP: Introducing the latest efforts of “W society”
Hello, I am Nakano from the PR team at SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP.
At SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, we have implemented a wide range of initiatives related to diversity and the advancement of women. This time, we would like to introduce the latest activities of “W society,” a women’s empowerment project promoted by our group company Good and Company, which co-creates solutions to social issues.
W society continues to share messages with society, in collaboration with participating companies, through initiatives such as research on “women’s health and careers” and participation in events hosted by Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), to help women live better lives.
Please take a look at the latest activities.
What is the Women’s Empowerment Design Project “W society”?
With the slogan “Changing society, shaping women’s future,” this project was launched to create “a society where all women can build fulfilling lifestyles with confidence.” It designs each woman’s “well-living (a state of being able to live better)” by addressing both women’s physical and mental challenges (W = woman) and social challenges (society).
Centered on three pillars—“Know,” “Learn,” and “Change”—the project develops various initiatives and, as a cross-company, industry–government–academia collaborative, socially participatory project, promotes the social implementation of measures that contribute to solving issues as well as broader social transformation.
Related articles from the past (excerpt) ▼
W society × Organon K.K. conducted a survey on “women’s health and careers.” While many women want to build their careers through work, more than 90% responded that “health issues” can affect their work.
Organon K.K. is one of the participating companies in W society.
With the vision “A richer, healthier everyday life for all women,” this is the Japanese subsidiary of Organon & Co., a global healthcare company focused on improving women’s health throughout their lives.
https://www.organon.com/japan/
Together with a company focused on women’s health issues, we conducted a “Survey on Women’s Health and Careers” timed to International Women’s Day on March 8, targeting 515 female business professionals in their 30s to 50s (section manager level and above) who belong to companies/organizations with 200+ employees and annual sales of ¥10 billion or more.
The objectives of this survey were: (1) to clarify health-related barriers to developing senior female leaders, and (2) to propose concrete measures that companies can take to support women’s careers.
The results suggested that while many women struggle with reduced work performance and productivity due to “health issues,” society and companies may lack sufficient understanding of women’s “health issues.”
(Survey results excerpt)
◆ 81% of respondents have career aspirations—strongest among director-level employees, and stronger among younger age groups.
◆ While respondents may be optimistic about their current health concerns when continuing to work, concerns about the future increase. As life and career stages change, the nature of concerns also tends to change.
While there were many positive responses regarding future career aspirations such as “seeking promotion” and “enhancing expertise,” it appears that although many have few health issues at present, many feel anxious about their future health.
Comparing current obstacles with those expected to become obstacles in the future, the largest gap was for “physical discomfort,” with a difference of 12.0 points.
◆ More than 90% of women responded that their health condition affects their work,
◆ About 40% took time off work due to health issues in the past two months, and 81% of those who took time off responded that it affected their productivity.
When asked whether they think their health condition affects their work, more than 90% (96.7%) answered “Yes.” Furthermore, when asked to what extent health issues have affected their work productivity over the past two months, about 80% answered that there was an impact.
Many women appear to feel that health issues affect their work performance and productivity.
W society and Organon subsequently compiled these survey results into a “white paper” and published it on the official website.
They are also engaging with a range of organizations, including the public sector, to help more companies translate this into actions to support women’s careers.
▼ The full “White Paper on the Survey on Women’s Health and Careers” is available here
https://wsociety.jp/news/1170
We hope this survey will be useful in creating environments where women can thrive in good health.
At the Keidanren-hosted seminar “Diversity and the Promotion of Women’s Health—How to Build Organizations That Consider Careers and Well-being,” Organon CEO Kevin Ali spoke, and W society founder Tanimura served as moderator for the panel session.
At this seminar held by Keidanren on March 22, specialists from various fields working on this issue spoke about the impact that promoting women’s health has on companies and society.
Provided by Keidanren
In the keynote address, Katsunobu Kato, advisor to the parliamentary group and a member of the House of Representatives, spoke on the theme of “The Liberal Democratic Party’s Parliamentary League for Promoting Bright Social Security Reform and Its Efforts on Women and Health.” Based on an estimate that the economy-wide loss caused by women-specific health issues amounts to approximately ¥3.4 trillion annually, he stated that he would like to take a broad view of women’s health issues and advance measures that are more closely aligned with individual circumstances.
In the special lecture that followed, Organon CEO Kevin Ali, who traveled all the way from New Jersey, USA, spoke.
Under the theme “Empowering Women’s Health: Innovations, Investments, and Impact,” he explained not only Organon’s contributions through the pharmaceutical industry, but also the “workplace policies that support women throughout all stages of life,” which Organon values, and emphasized that promoting women’s health is now a universal global theme.
Provided by Keidanren
In the latter panel discussion, “How to Build Organizations That Consider Careers and Well-being,”Yue Liu, Head of OMRON’s Sustainability Promotion Office; Shota Hirano, an occupational physician for listed companies and an obstetrician-gynecologist; Atsuko Kuroshima, Director of the Diversity Promotion Department, Administrative Headquarters, Kumagai Gumi; and Tomoko Soma, Director of the Economic and Social Policy Office, Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, took the stage. From a variety of perspectives—private companies, healthcare, government ministries, and more—they expanded the discussion on workplace issues and improvement measures related to women’s health, based on specific examples. W society founder Tanimura also participated as the moderator.
Provided by Keidanren
SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP President and CEO Jihara also delivered opening remarks in her role as Chair of Keidanren’s Diversity Promotion Committee. While introducing Keidanren’s initiative to achieve a 30% ratio of female board members by 2030 and the company’s own efforts, she emphasized the importance of promoting “corporate health management” and “careers and well-being.”
Provided by Keidanren
W society continues its activities by engaging not only participating companies in the project but also a wide range of companies affiliated with Keidanren,with the aim of creating “a society where all women can build fulfilling lifestyles with confidence.”
“When people’s hearts are moved, their actions change—and eventually, society as a whole changes.”
SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, which believes in the power of communication, will continue to move forward step by step to improve women’s well-being across Japanese society as a whole.
