Women’s empowerment for development emphasised

Islamabad: Women’s empowerment is imperative for national development, said senior adviser (human rights strategy) at SAP Japan Inc Achilles Michiko.

“We have to show commitment to promoting women’s empowerment and economic independence to accelerate diversity and inclusion in society,” Ms. Michiko told an online briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan about the World Assembly for Women 2022. The event’s theme was “WAW! For Mainstreaming Gender into a New Form of Capitalism.”

The adviser highlighted the challenges and opportunities for women’s leadership and empowerment in the country and claimed that the number of working women went up by 3.4 million in the last nine years. She added that there was an increase in the proportion of women in key administrative roles with the number of female executives going up by 4.8 times since 2012.

Ms. Michiko said women’s economic independence was at the core of the ‘New Form of Capitalism’ initiative by the current Japanese government, which considered it imperative for national growth and resource distribution to create a peaceful and stable society. Director at the Gender Mainstreaming Division of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Furumoto Tatsuhiko, who was also in attendance, said the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine crisis had led to increased economic and social instability, further highlighting existing gender inequalities in the global society.

He said the WAW was held to increase momentum toward achieving gender equality and empowering women. “This conference is part of our [government’s] efforts to realise gender equality and women’s empowerment, which is one of our priority issues,” he said, adding that the event featured lively discussions on women’s as well as gender-related issues. Mr. Tatsuhiko said the New Form of Capitalism proposed by the Kishida administration was based on a “virtuous cycle of growth and distribution”. He said growth generated resources that could be distributed, while distribution increased demand, which, in turn, strengthened the growth potential of the economy and leads to the next stage of growth.

“Through gender mainstreaming, diversity will create more growth, and the resources from that growth will be distributed in consideration of the rights of all people, including women, which will lead to further growth. If such a virtuous cycle is created, it will contribute to the realisation of a peaceful and stable society in which everyone can feel a sense of fulfillment in life,” he said.

The director said the basic policy on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women 2022 advocated economic empowerment of women, the creation of a society in which women could live with dignity and pride men’s engagement in families and communities, and the appointment of women to key positions. He said Japan provided support for the education and economic empowerment of women and girls around the world, while its international agencies offered support to women in vulnerable situations such as victims of gender-based violence.