THE MAUREEN MANSFIELDWOMEN’SEMPOWERMENTINITIATIVEJAPAN-KOREA-U.S.
EQUITABLE
WORKPLACESFOR WOMEN

THE MAUREEN MANSFIELD WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVEJAPAN-KOREA-U.S. TRILATERAL DIALOGUES:EQUITABLE WORKPLACE FOR WOMEN
Modern economies depend on women’s participation in the workforce, yet women continue to experience
discriminatory and biased conditions at work. Across advanced democracies, women are paid less than men
doing the same work, are less likely to get promoted to C-suite jobs, and face severe challenges juggling family
life with formal employment—due largely to skewed societal gender roles and the disproportionate time
women spend on caregiving. Women also endure sexual and gender-based harassment as well as implicit bias
in the workplace. The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on these challenges and further widened
the gender gap. Women bore the brunt of the increase in family caregiving responsibilities brought about by
the closure of childcare facilities and the switch to a virtual learning environment by many schools during
the pandemic. Many women shouldered these extra responsibilities while still working full time. Others had
to reduce their hours or exit the workforce completely. For instance, according to research by the Center for
Economic Policy Research, labor force participation by women in Japan had increased from 68% in 2016 to
73% in 2019.1 However, much of that progress was reversed when one million Japanese women left their jobs
between March and April 2020. Labor force participation by men during the same timeframe remained steady.2
Women are particularly vulnerable during periods of economic contraction—a vulnerability that is itself
a symptom of the larger problem of gender inequality. Remedying this structural inequity should be a
critical concern for all nations, especially countries like Japan, the Republic of Korea (hereafter referred to as
South Korea or simply Korea), and the United States that pride themselves on their commitment to equal
opportunity. In early 2022, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation assembled a trilateral working groupconsisting of women thought leaders with varying professional backgrounds to identify ways to create more
equitable workplaces for women, with a special focus on reducing the barriers for women seeking to re-enter
the workforce after a period away from their professions. Our working group was also tasked with examining
policies that would make it more feasible for women to remain in the workforce while still fulfilling family
caregiver commitments.
Maureen and her daughter Anne.
Photo provided by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library.

The Maureen Mansfield Women’s Empowerment Initiative is administered by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield
Foundation, with funding provided by a grant from the United States Department of State. The views
expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundationor the United States Department of State.

We approached this challenge by making women the primary beneficiaries of policies designed to facilitate
workplace re-entry or to reduce the obstacles to work-life balance. But while the primary focus of thisreport is on women and specific challenges they face—including factors such as unequal participation andcompensation and limited opportunities to leadership roles—the policy recommendations are designed tobenefit all employees, including people of all genders, members of the LGBTQIA+3 community, employees ofdifferent ethnicities, race, and national origin, people with disabilities, and employees of varying ages. Indeed,
our study group concluded that enacting policies to create a more equitable workplace for women requires
mobilizing support from all workers. Doing that, in turn, requires that the policy initiatives do indeed benefit
everyone, not just women.

1 Growing Economies Through Gender Parity, Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/womens-participation-in-global-economy/
2 Simeon Djankov, Tea Trumbic, and Eva (Yiwen) Zhang. “The gender gap and COVID-19: Evidence from eight advanced economies,” Centre for Economic Policy
Research. December 14, 2020. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/gender-gap-and-covid-19-evidence-eight-advanced-economies
3 LGBTQIA+: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Allies, Nonbinary/Genderqueer, etc.

1

Our trilateral dialogue was designed for women thought leaders who were willing to share their personal
experiences candidly in the hope that trilateral collaboration would lead to recommendations that could
benefit all three nations. Participants sought to narrow the gap between policy and reality, recognizingthat the most progressive laws and regulations may fail to affect change if implementation is spotty or if
enforcement is lax. Our working group identified realistic and attainable actions that policy makers, businessassociations, unions, and civic groups in Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States could adopt toimprove workplace equity. The recommendations are inspired by real-life stories, personal experiences, andbest practices with proven effectiveness.

DEMOGRAPHIC DRIVER – THE EQUITABLE WORKPLACE IMPERATIVEThe need to improve workplace equity is driven not only by concerns about fairness and justice, but also bydemographics. The Republic of Korea was recently marked as the country with the lowest total fertility rate
(TFR) among highly developed democratic countries. The average number of children (aggregate) born toeach woman is 0.78, according to the Korea National Statistical Office.4 Low fertility is not just a challenge inSouth Korea. The trend of declining TFR is global, particularly in advanced economies such as Japan, which
has been losing population for years.5 The policy responses to lower birthrates have so far failed to arrest
the decline. In 2013, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan announced a policy emphasis on “womenomics,”
emphasizing the importance of increasing women’s economic participation. The theory was that encouraging
greater participation by women in the workplace and creating a more inclusive and sustainable economic
growth model would not only help fill vacancies in the labor pool, but also bring about cultural shifts thatmight increase fertility. Unfortunately, those hopes have not materialized yet. In reality, government policies
are insufficient to address deeply entrenched cultural, societal, and structural constructs. Drawing lessons from
this, our working group members sought to identify normative shifts in the workplace that could accompany
government policies, aiming to narrow the gap between policy vision and actual change on the ground.

BLENDED POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
These recommendations are enhanced by our unique transnational framework, drawing on the experiencesof women working in three different nations with three distinct labor environments. This multinationalframework melds the perspectives of citizens from three countries with shared democratic values but different
cultures. Many of our recommendations are more incremental than revolutionary. Indeed, one of our
takeaways was that most efforts to improve the situation for women in the workplace require sustained effort.
We hope that even incremental steps will spur more fundamental changes over time, and this policy brief
offers a roadmap toward a more equitable workplace for all.
We envision an ideal work environment for all employees as a place where everyone can fulfill their potential
through work regardless of gender, age, race, or other factors. It would be a workspace that fosters diversity,
equity, belonging, and inclusion. With this goal in mind, the working group focused on three areas wherechanges could have the greatest impact:
1) Promoting greater flexibility in the workplace to improve all workers’ well-being;2) Strengthening skills-building and career advancement opportunities for women and othermarginalized groups; and
3) Adopting strategies to promote more equitable workplace cultures.

WHY IS TRILATERALISM IMPORTANT IN THE TOPIC OF EQUITABLE WORKPLACES?
Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States share critical core commitments. Among these are theirembrace of the values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as their support for
democratic systems, transparency, good governance, and respect for women’s rights. Although the threenations have unique cultures and their own national values—derived from their history, language, and cultural
norms—they nonetheless share a strong desire to build more equitable and inclusive societies. This common
desire offers all three nations a chance to learn from each other, to share lessons, best practices, frustrations
and successes, and to accelerate their own progress. The Maureen Mansfield Women’s Empowerment Initiativewas created to leverage our differences to inform our common purpose through empathy, active listening, andhumility.
The members of our working group fully embraced this method, reflecting a deep commitment to working
together and learning from each other, and to using their collective wisdom to achieve progress toward a world
featuring gender equality rather than bias and injustice. Our group acknowledged from day one that proposals
to advance gender equity would need to be tailored to the unique challenges facing women in each country,
but that there was still much to be learned through comparative analysis. Our working group’s strength
came from valuing and celebrating the differences that provided deeper insights into common challenges. By
collaborating across sectors and nations, we hope to bring these ideas to a wider audience, amplifying theimpact of our policy recommendations.

4 Preliminary Results of Birth and Death Statistics in 2022, Korea National Statistical Office, Data uploaded on February 22, 2023. https://kostat.go.kr/synap/
skin/doc.html?fn=165ba45c29fd8e341c82ca93541cd1745fdaeb97f13d8bd50a22e82c405cf05d&rs=/synap/preview/board/11773/
5 Total Fertility Rates (1970-2021) in Japan, South Korea, and the United States, OECD, Data retrieved on March 21, 2023. https://data.oecd.org/chart/71pf

2

Image Credit: Rawpixel

3

FLEXIBILITY IN THE WORKPLACEThe COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected women in the workplace and highlighted the unfair
societal structures and cultural biases toward working women. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, women
disproportionately carried the burden of household work and dependent care. In fact, women were alreadyspending “about three times as many hours on unpaid domestic work and care work than men.”6 As those
responsibilities increased, many women were forced to make hard choices and reduce work hours or even leave
the workforce.
In the wake of the pandemic, workers recognized that the status quo was untenable and began to rearrange
their lives, emphasizing the importance of a healthy work-life balance. Such balance is crucial to maintaining
an engaged and productive workforce, not just for women, but all members of the workforce. Establishinga sustainable flexible work arrangement is critical to motivating women at the beginning of their careers, tosupporting them if they wish to take a break from full-time employment, and to providing diverse options—
including part-time work or hybrid work arrangements—as they seek to re-enter the workforce after an
extended leave of absence. Therefore, we present the following recommendations and action items to improveflexibility in the workplace.

Promote adjustable work hours and modes

conventionally focused on motherhood. For normative shifts to be realized, the roles and responsibilities of all
employees—as parents and caregivers for family members—should be understood as equally important to all.
The group recommends that policies include the following:• Offer education and training opportunities for all employees about the importance of taking leave (e.g.
how it contributes to productivity, health, and job satisfaction), and create support systems within theorganizations to make leave more accessible.
• Make highly trained temporary workers (to include some subsidized by the government or graduatedfrom government-funded labor training programs) available for smaller companies who have difficulty
affording replacements for those workers on family or other types of leave. The U.S. State Department
employs REAs (re-employed annuitants) —retired civil servants with experience—who can assist during
periods of peak workloads. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provided loans to U.S. companies toretain workers during COVID, a system that could be reimagined as a workforce enhancement program
to provide replacement workers for those on parental or family care leave.
• Encourage men to take parental leave. For example:► The Ministry of Employment and Labor in the Republic of Korea provides incentives for men to
take parental leave9 and offers a resource and support system for fathers regarding childcare, called
Appa Net, with “Appa” meaning “father” in Korean.10► The Symphony Plan, implemented by Sony Group Corporation in Japan, enhances existingsupport for maternity and parental leave by introducing new measures to foster a balance between

Flexibility in work schedules enables people with families and eldercare, childcare, or general family care
responsibilities to stay engaged in the workplace and move into leadership roles. In order to enhance flexibility,
we recommend employers adopt the following approaches to work schedules:• Employers should devise structures in which multiple people are able to perform the same job, especiallyfor jobs that put a premium on 24/7 availability. This redundancy makes it is easier for workers to seek
flexibility without placing a burden on their co-workers.
• Employers should be more transparent about work schedules, communicating them to all employees sothey can collectively better balance the demands of both work and home life.
• Employers should establish remote work policies and make investments in equipment, software, andtraining to make hybrid in-office and work-from-home options viable for more workers.

Ensure that all employees—regardless of sex and gender—are granted parental and family careleave and encouraged to use it
Employers should implement a non-gender-biased parental leave policy. Employees at every level need toparticipate in changing the norms of taking leave. Many members of our working group witnessed how
the actions of one individual can result in a cultural shift in the norms surrounding caregiving and taking
leave. These cultural shifts can be inspired by example, especially when leaders and influencers within an
organization model best behavior. If it is standardized and celebrated when employees at the C-suite level takeparental or other types of leave, then many other employees will be encouraged to do so. For instance, Shinjiro
Koizumi, a Japanese politician who served as the Minister of the Environment from September 2019 to October
2021 and the son of a former Prime Minister, availed himself of Japan’s two weeks of parental leave policy,7 and
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg took a two-month break to care for his newly adopted twins.8
In addition, we affirm the significance of reframing and diversifying the concept of “caregiving,” which has

6 Whose Time To Care? Unpaid Care and Domestic Work During COVID-19, UN Women, 25 November 2020. https://data.unwomen.org/publications/whosetime-care-unpaid-care-and-domestic-work-during-covid-19
7 “Japan minister Koizumi to take paternity leave, aims to be role model,” Reuters, 15 January 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-ministerpaternity-idUKKBN1ZE0F4/

4Image Credit: Freepik

8 “Pete Buttigieg Joins the Parental Leave Debate: ‘This Is Work,” The New York Times, 15 October 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/us/politics/petebuttigieg-parental-leave.html
9 Father’s Month (), Korean Ministry Of Employment and Labor. https://www.worklife.kr/website/index/m5/bonus2.asp

5

work and life. This initiative includes vacation and leave plans tailored for infertility treatment,
flexible work schedules, and financial support to cover fertility treatment expenses. Notably, thesesubsidies are accessible to employees of any gender, extending to their partners. The program aims
to achieve 100% paternity leave uptake among male employees, as the company actively promotes
a modern approach to child-rearing and encourages participation in seminars on work-life balance
strategies.11► In 2020, the Lotte group in the Republic of Korea made parental leave mandatory for maleworkers, which the group highlighted in its marketing materials.12► The Japanese government has provided subsidies to private companies to encourage men to takeparental leave since 2016. In addition, since April 2022, following the revision of the Child Careand Family Care Leave Act, the Japanese government has mandated that companies create a work
environment encouraging men to take parental leave. Companies are now obligated to explain
to employees the specifics of leave, benefits, and social security when the employer is notified byan employee of pregnancy or the birth of a child. Companies with more than 1000 employees are
required to disclose the number of employees who took parental leave.
• Require medium and large-scale employers to implement mandatory paid family care leave programs,
easing the financial strain employees may face during parental leave or family leave.
► Washington, DC introduced the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016, showcasing aproactive approach to workforce welfare. The District of Columbia’s city council has further
complemented this by establishing the Office of Paid Family Leave (OPFL). This program offers
comprehensive paid leave.13► Japan initiated paid birth leave for women in 1947, with a 1992 reform that created an additional
unpaid parental leave system (ikuji kyūgyō) which women could utilize to extend
their birth leave. Furthermore, this 1992 reform granted men the right to parental leave and job
protection. In 2010, further advancements were made when the government eliminated exceptions
that previously allowed companies to deny leave to individuals whose partners were already onparental leave or not participating in the workforce.14• Provide incentives and recognition for individuals and organizations that achieve benchmarks for leavetaking, and reward employees, including men, for behavior change. For example:► Great Place to Work publishes yearly lists including “Best Workplaces for Women” and “BestWorkplaces for Parents” for the U.S. as well as general best workplace lists for Asia, Latin America,
and Europe.15► In Japan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange(TSE) annually select a number of TSE-listed enterprises that encourage women’s success in theworkplace and grant them the Nadeshiko Brand designation.16► The Korean government runs a Best Family-Friendly Management Programme which certifies themost family-friendly companies that promote a good work-life balance for their employees.17

10 Online platform “Appa Net (do?news_seq=8156)” opened, Ministry of Employment Labor, November 2, 2017. https://www.moel.go.kr/news/enews/report/enewsView.

11 Sony’s Life-Work Support Scheme: Symphony Plan, Sony Group Corporation. https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/diversity/symphony_plan/
12 “Lotte mandates father’s parental leave of ‘at least a month’,” The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean), July 11 2023. https://www.hankyung.com/
article/2023071190731

SKILLS BUILDING AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT
Women’s employment is particularly vulnerable during periods of economic downturn or global crises, suchas the COVID-19 pandemic. This vulnerability stems from many factors, including traditional and cultural
expectations for women to take on caregiving responsibilities and the overrepresentation of women in sectorsthat are hardest hit by pandemics: e.g. retail, hospitality, and other service jobs. Women are also more likely
to reduce their work hours or eventually leave the workforce due to the pay gap between women’s and men’ssalaries, the lack of affordable childcare, and gendered expectations about family care.
Even when women are ready to return to work after such events, they face many barriers, including thenegative perception of a “resume gap,” a period where women may feel they have fallen behind as they have
not received the latest training or have been out of the field for a period of time. Our working group endorses
a comprehensive approach to improve training for women who are out of the workforce and seeking an
opportunity to resume part- or full-time employment. Governments, companies, business associations, andcivic groups should all offer training opportunities to women who are unemployed or underemployed. We
present the following recommendations and action items to improve skill-building and career advancement
opportunities for women:

Enhance economic mobility through “returnships” and “reskilling” initiatives“Returnships” provide high-level, paid internships for those who have been out of the workforce for a year or
more. Returnship programs are for experienced professionals who can benefit from receiving pay and benefits
while they familiarize themselves with recent advancements or technological shifts in their fields. “Reskilling”
focuses on training employees to return to work in a new capacity, allowing them to adapt to changing
workplace demands. Reskilling initiatives can target a wide range of individuals—from entry to senior-level
employees. Our working group identified several promising examples of “returnships” and “reskilling” programs
and government initiatives.
• Goldman Sachs initiated a returnship program 15 years ago.18 This paid, six-month professional
development program helps employees re-enter the workforce, update their skills, and expand their
network. Over 90% of the participants have been women.
• In the Republic of Korea, a private non-profit corporation called Root Impact launched the Re:bootCamp program in 2021, connecting women seeking re-employment to organizations that need help.19
The Re:boot program redefines “women with a career break” as “women with career experience.” In thisprogram, participants can participate in an actual work project, catch up on current business trends, andleverage this experience for future career moves.
• Japan’s Rakuten and Korea’s Samsung Electronics have exemplary “reskilling” and basic training
programs that make it easier for workers returning from a period of leave to slot into a new role. They
teach all entry-level employees coding skills, regardless of their work department, greatly enhancing
worker flexibility. The Walt Disney Company’s “CODE: Rosie” program invites women employees
working for Disney’s non-technical departments to learn how to code. At the end of the program, womenat Disney can choose to continue in a technical position or return to their previous role.
• In June 2023, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida released an updated version of the “new capitalism”
initiative, originally introduced in 2022. This initiative emphasizes increased investments in areas likehuman resources, start-ups, green and digital transformations, and science, technology, and innovation.
As it highlights the importance of strengthening workers’ abilities and provide them new opportunities,
there are initiatives to enhance economic mobility through “returnships” and “reskilling,” particularly
targeted at women.20,21

13 DC Paid Family Leave, District of Columbia Department of Employment Services. https://does.dc.gov/page/dc-paid-family-leave
14 “Tainted Leave: A Survey-Experimental Investigation of Flexibility Stigma in Japanese Workplaces,” manuscript under review, Hilary J. Holbrow, 2023
15 Great Place to Work. https://www.greatplacetowork.com/
16 Announcement of the FY2020 Nadeshiko and Semi-Nadeshiko Brands, March 2021, Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. https://www.meti.
go.jp/english/press/2021/0322_003.html
17 The “Best Family-Friendly Management programme” was introduced as a government certification program by Hee-Jung Kim, South Korean Minister of Gender
Equality and Family of South Korea. Archived by the OECD at https://web-archive.oecd.org/2015-09-02/363338-korea-work-life-balance-policies.htm

6

18 Goldman Sachs Returnship, https://www.goldmansachs.com/careers/professionals/returnship/.
19 Re:boot Camp, Root Impact. https://rebootcamp.oopy.io/
20
atarashii_sihonsyugi/pdf/ap2023.pdf(New Capitalism Grand Design and Implementation Plan), June 2023. https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/

21 Japan’s new vision for economic growth, East Asia Forum, August 26 2023. https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2023/08/26/japans-new-vision-for-economic-growth/7

Make information and workforce reentry programs more accessible to all
Governments and private sector employers should provide tailored education benefits, training programs,
job placement services, and healthcare benefits for women seeking to enter or reenter the workforce. These
programs should cover a diverse range of career types, various stages in a person’s career, and varying
socioeconomic and educational levels. Greater effort must be made to inform women of the range of services
that are available. There is a clear need to strengthen the promotion of these programs through outreachto nonprofits, for-profit job placement companies, headhunters, social media job listing sites, employee
recruitment services, etc. There are some positive examples, such as:• In Korea, government agencies including the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Gender Equality
and Family worked together to operate Sae-il Centers (“New Job Centers for Women”), which provide
comprehensive career services including tailored career counseling, job training, internships, employment
liaison, and post-employment management.22 This government service also includes programs that
support women who wish to return to the workforce after a career disruption or those who have yet toenter the labor market.
, harōwāku), is an employment service center operated by the• In Japan, Hello Work (government’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. The Hello Work bureaus maintain a broad
catalogue of current job opportunities, which are made available to those seeking employment.
Beyond this, they administer unemployment insurance for unemployed individuals, irrespective of theirnationality. They offer a needs-based grant to low income job searchers who are uninsured, and offer
career education. In addition, they provide services to match job vacancies to those seeking employment.
• Work-net is a government-led digital platform, overseen by the Korean Ministry of Employment, offering
career and employment resources.23 This includes both public and private job listings, information on
employment policies, and job placement services.

De-stigmatize career breaks
For myriad reasons such as child-rearing, family care, ailments, and economic constraints, many women will
experience a career break at some point in their professional lives.24 A recent report from the Korean Ministryof Gender Equality and Family shows that when women re-enter the workforce after a career break, they earnon average only 84.5% of their pre-break wages, widening the already sizeable gender wage gap.

• Multi-sectoral example/mentorship: The American Council of Education (ACE) is a higher education
network in which more than 1,700 colleges and universities in the United States and abroad work
together to advocate and collaborate to strengthen high-quality practices. The Utah Women in Higher
Education Network (UWHEN) is part of the ACE network and was established by women in academic
institutions in Utah. It is dedicated to offering leadership opportunities and training for women in higher
education, as well as providing a platform for women professionals to expand their network.27• The Japan Women’s Innovative Network (NPO J-Win) was established in April 2007 as a corporate
member-based organization with the aim of promoting diversity and inclusion across various companies
in Japan. Specifically, this organization focuses on elevating the potential of women to attain leadership
positions through its “Women to the TOP” mission. Their initiatives geared towards building women’s
networks is structured as three complementary layers: a high-potential network for non-managers/juniormanagers, a next-stage network for senior managers, and an executive network for leading corporate
officers. The comprehensive program includes mentoring initiatives, regular meetings, and skill-building
training, among other components.28

Strengthen mentorship programs to foster a system of feedback, trust-building, and training
Mentorship, by both women and men, has been shown to have a positive impact on both mentors’ andmentees’ salaries, company retention rates, and feelings of fulfillment at work.29 Employers should nurture
their employees, recognizing their performance and helping them realize their full potential. Employers should
formalize mentorship programs to help employees to gain access to more experienced women leaders, who canbolster their confidence and provide them with resources to aid their personal and professional development.
Women leaders should take part in mentorship programs to provide a positive female influence and advocate
on behalf of other women who are at different levels of their careers. For example:• The Kyobo Life Women DE&I Mentorship Program started out as a pilot program in 2010 and extended
to a company-wide initiative in 2018. Women middle managers are matched with junior women
employees for one year to provide mentorship on work-life balance, career development, and leadership.

With this knowledge and the understanding that career breaks are often necessary, it is imperative thatgovernments and private companies elevate the importance of equal pay for equal value, but also that we
destigmatize these breaks.

• Keidanren, or Japan Business Federation, has established a policy committee on “Diversity Promotion,”30
with a focus on enhancing workplace diversity. This committee actively promotes various projects,
including hosting events and publishing reports and policy recommendations. One such publication is“Effective Women’s Support Programs in Line with Career Stages–for the Next Generation of Female
Executives,”31 a compilation of best practices for Japanese companies to effectively foster diversity andinclusion in the workplace for women at every stage of their careers.

Individuals who take time away from the traditional workforce continue to grow and develop, and theyshould be able to highlight these new skills on their CVs/resumes, with employers recognizing and valuingthese qualities. For example, LinkedIn introduced a new category of “career breaks” where job seekers candemonstrate new skills acquired while out of the workforce.25• Keidanren also hosts the “Women’s Executive Network”32 and regularly conducts Leadership Mentor
Programs, inviting CEOs and Chairs of Japan’s top companies as keynote speakers. They share
their views and principles on promoting diversity in their respective companies, offering networking
opportunities among both speakers and participants.

Employers must provide networking opportunities and support systems for employees; women
who are unemployed or on a career break should be provided the same by government entities
Our working group emphasizes the importance of strengthening governmental and nongovernmental
mechanisms that allow women to stay up-to-date on changes in the job market and keep abreast of
networking and job opportunities. For example:• The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in Korea collaborated with the Korean Women’s
International Network (KOWIN) to form a global network of Korean-American and Korean women
professionals ranging from community leaders to business executives to bolster women’s networks both
locally and globally.26

27 Utah Women in Higher Education Network. https://uwhen.org/
28 “3 Layers of Women’s Network,” Japan Women’s Innovative Network. https://j-win5.jp/en/program1/

22(Women’s Re-employment Centers), Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. https://saeil.mogef.go.kr/hom/HOM_Main.do

23 Work-Net (Employment Information Platform). https://www.dgovkorea.go.kr/service1/g2c_07/work_net
24 Report on Career Breaks for women, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in the Republic of Korea, June 1, 2023. https://www.mogef.go.kr/kor/skin/doc.
html?fn=87f505b0dee243a4b6c90bf4f8c0327a.pdf&rs=/rsfiles/202312/
25 “LinkedIn Members Can Now Spotlight Career Breaks on Their Profiles,” March 1, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/product-tips/
linkedin-members-spotlight-career-breaks-on-profiles
26 Korean Women’s International Network (KOWIN) chapters in the United States include New York (https://www.kowinny.org/mission-statement),
Washington, DC (https://kowindc.org/main), and Chicago (https://kowinchicago.org/).

829 Lin, Ligui & Cai, Xuejing & Yin, Jun. (2021). “Effects of mentoring on work engagement: Work meaningfulness as a mediator.” International Journal of Training
and Development. 2021. 1-17. 10.1111/ijtd.12210. And “Mentoring Matters: The Importance Of Female Mentorship,” Committee of 200. October 26, 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/committeeof200/2021/10/26/mentoring-matters-the-importance--of-female-mentorship/?sh=617e1614ccaa
30 Keidanren’s Committee on Diversity Promotion is under its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Policy group. https://www.keidanren.or.jp/policy/DEI.html
31 “Effective Women’s Support Programs in Line with Career Stages: for the Next Generation of Female Executives,” Keidanren https://www.keidanren.or.jp/
policy/woman/career/#target/page_no=1
32 “Women’s Executive Network Leadership Mentor Program,” Volumes 1-29. Keidanren. https://www.keidanren.or.jp/en/policy/woman/LMP.pdf & Executive
Network Updates, https://www.keidanren.or.jp/journal/times/executive_network.html

9INSTITUTIONALIZING EQUITY IN WORKPLACE CULTURES
Gender-responsive employment and human resources policies are essential for fostering an equitable workplaceculture. While increasing the representation of women in the workforce is a significant step, it is equallyimportant to assess the culture experienced by women once employed. Do women feel valued and recognized?
Do they have a sense of belonging? Employers must proactively create and sustain an inclusive and equitableculture. Furthermore, implementing diverse programs and organizational policies is vital to enhancing theworkplace culture, ensuring that all employees feel they are treated equitably.

Rep. Diana Degette providing remarks at the Capitol Hill Briefing.

While it is critical for businesses and other private organizations to implement these measures, governments
also have a vital role to play. The governments of Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States have all,to one degree or another, recognized the imperative of fostering an equitable workplace culture for women.
Each has unveiled comprehensive policies aimed at narrowing the gender divide and promoting inclusivity.
Their efforts are commendable, indicative of a broader global trend that recognizes the significance of gender
equity in fostering economic growth and promoting more inclusive societies. The Kishida administration
announced the “Intensive Policy for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality 2022,” underscoring theimportance of participation by both men and women.33 This policy promotes women’s financial autonomy
and one of the notable directives is mandating that companies with more than 300 employees disclose theirgender pay disparities. The Korean government has promulgated the “2nd Framework Plan for Gender Equality
Policies,”34 which identifies policy goals every five years to “realize gender equality in more practical terms byaddressing the gender gap between women and men” in both the government and the private sector. In the
United States, the Biden-Harris Administration in 2021 issued the first-ever national strategy to advance gender
equity and equality.35 These important initiatives are crucial, especially considering where the Republic ofKorea, Japan, and the United States consistently rank in gender pay gaps in OECD reports—respectively, thelowest, 4th lowest, and 7th lowest out of the 38 OECD countries.36 Hence, the imminent implementation of theequal pay for equal value principle, along with the extension of equal pay legislation to facilitate comparisonsacross different organizations, is vital.
Governments, private sector leaders, and other key stakeholders, including civil society and academia, must
collaboratively establish and champion best practices to foster an equitable work environment that does not
sideline women. With this objective in mind, we offer the following recommendations and action items:

Promote a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)

CAPITOL HILL BRIEF• Employers should prioritize having diverse leadership, as this is correlated with more equitable workplacecultures and inclusive policies.
• Employers should require training for unconscious bias, microaggressions, and related DEIA topics, andshould regularly evaluate their progress on these issues.
• When possible, employers should set up an office or designate staff who can oversee the creation of DEIA
policies in the organization.

33 Joint Meeting of the Headquarters for Creating a Society in Which All Women Shine and the Headquarters for the Promotion of Gender Equality, Prime
Minister’s Office of Japan. June 3 2022. https://japan.kantei.go.jp/101_kishida/actions/202206/_00009.html
34 Gender Equality Policy, Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. http://www.mogef.go.kr/eng/pc/eng_pc_f001.do
35 Fact Sheet: National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, The White House. October 22, 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statementsreleases/2021/10/22/fact-sheet-national-strategy-on-gender-equity-and-equality/

Amb. Kathleen Stephens providing remarks at the Capitol Hill Briefing.

10

36 Gender Wage Gap, OECD, retrieved in December 2023. https://data.oecd.org/chart/7ieJ

11

Working group participants break out into groups to discuss the policy recommendations.
From left to right: Aiko Doden, Margot Carrington, A jin Cho, Frank Jannuzi, Jongsoog Kim, Eriko Hamada, Hikariko Ono,
Mijin Kim, Nobuko Sasae, Eileen Pennington, Benjamin Self

Image Credit: Freepik

Zero tolerance for harassment and incivility
Employers have an obligation to do their best to prevent gender-based violence, harassment, andmicroaggressions in the workplace. Should it occur, employers must promptly address it and take remedialaction. According to a 2021 statewide survey in Korea,37 conducted every three years by the Ministry of Gender
Equality and Family, 4.8% of women reported experiencing sexual harassment at work. In contrast, 2.9% of
men reported such experiences, indicating a higher prevalence among women at 7.9%.38 In another significant
survey by the Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI), the percentage of employees experiencing
gender-based discrimination and harassment was 35.7% (42.2% of women and 29.1% of men).39 In the UnitedStates, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s task force learned that “anywherefrom 25% to 85% of women report having experienced sexual harassment in the workplace,” depending on
how sexual harassment was defined.40 A government survey in Japan found that one in three women faced
workplace sexual harassment such as unsolicited comments on appearance or age, unwanted touching, andinappropriate sexual questions.41 Regardless of how women label their experiences, the negative consequencesof sexual harassment, including psychological, work-related, and health impacts, remain consistent. Surveys
have primarily focused on women, but exceptions such as surveys conducted by the Merit Systems Protection
Board, also show significant reported rates of unwanted sexual attention or coercion among men, ranging from
15% to 19%.
Harassment can manifest in various ways. The management and organizational consulting firm Shikigaku
conducted a survey, which gathered responses from 2,204 individuals in Japan aged between 20 and 49.
Nearly 35% of the respondents reported experiencing workplace harassment, and the rates were roughly equal
between men and women.42 Respondents reported power abuse and psychological harassment as well as
negative comments about appearance or lifestyle.

37 The 2021 survey encompassed 1760 private and 770 public organizations in South Korea.
38 “7 out of 10 who experienced sexual harassment at work indicate not taking any steps to report,” Women News. June 7, 2022. https://www.womennews.co.kr/
news/articleView.html?idxno=224357
39 Korean Women’s Development Institute Issue Paper, 2021 May. https://www.kwdi.re.kr/inc/download.do?ut=A&upIdx=127643&no=1; A Study on the Status
of Sexual Discrimination and Bullying in the Workplace, 2021. https://www.kwdi.re.kr/inc/download.do?ut=A&upIdx=126871&no=1
40 “Report of Co-Chairs Chai R. Feldblum & Victoria A. Lipnic,” EEOC Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace. June 2016. https://www.
eeoc.gov/select-task-force-study-harassment-workplace#_Toc453686308
41 “A third of Japanese working women were sexually harassed: study,” originally Japan Times. March 8, 2016. Archived with Business & Human Rights Resource
Centre. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/japan-a-third-of-japanese-working-women-were-sexually-harassed-study/
42 “Roughly a Third of Employees in Japan Have Experienced Workplace Harassment,” nippon.com. December 6, 2022. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01513/

12

The U.S. EEOC task force on harassment in the workplace found that, “roughly three out of four individuals
who experienced harassment never even talked to a supervisor, manager, or union representative about theharassing conduct.”43 Governments and employers should more clearly define harassment, gender-based
violence, microaggressions, and hostile work environments in their employee handbooks and training materials
and should redouble efforts to ensure that all employees feel safe and supported at the workplace. Specificrecommendations include the following:• Ratify ILO Convention 190. As a basic framework for both employees and employers, ILO Convention
No. 19044 is the first international treaty to recognize the right of everyone to a workplace free fromviolence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment. It offers training andenforcement techniques to reduce such problems in the workplace.
• Clearly communicate rules and regulations to all employees and take disciplinary actions if code of
conduct violations occur.
• Ensure safe and effective methods for employees to report harassment without fear of retaliation.
Promising examples include:► New technological tools are being utilized by some companies to create safe, anonymous reporting
channels so that employees do not need to fear retaliation.45► The state of New York requires all employers to adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy andprovide training to employees.46 Since March 2022, the New York State Division of Human Rights
has provided a toll-free confidential hotline for individuals experiencing sexual harassment in theworkplace.

Collect data to measure progress closing the gender equity gap in the workplace
Just as businesses and organizations conduct financial audits on a regular basis to ensure transparency andbest practices, a regular “gender audit” ()47 should be implemented to understand anorganization’s current state of gender equity and check progress toward achieving gender equity goals. Gender
audits should be affirmative, not punitive, monitoring and celebrating progress rather than highlighting
failures.
• Gender audits should include anonymous employee surveys to provide a snapshot of the gendercomposition of the overall employee population, as well as the leadership positions. Furthermore,

43 “Report of Co-Chairs Chai R. Feldblum & Victoria A. Lipnic,” 2016.
44 https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/violence-harassment/lang--en/index.htm
45 Chiradeep BasuMallick, “6 Effective Tools for Reporting Harassment in the Workplace in 2020.” Updated December 2021. https://www.spiceworks.com/hr/hrcompliance/articles/best-tools-for-reporting-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace/
46 “Combating Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: A Nation-Leading Anti-Sezual Harassment Agenda,” New York State Government. August 2019. https://www.ny.gov/programs/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace
47 “Method/Tool: Gender audit,” European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). https://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/tools-methods/gender-audit

13

a gender audit can employ participatory methods that can uncover employees’ perceptions andexperiences regarding promotion, recruitment, career development opportunities, leaves of absence,
the flexibility of working modes and hours, gender-based discrimination, and harassment, amongst
others, while considering intersectionality–how multiple social identities interact and relate to systems of
discrimination and oppression.
• The gender audits can help employers produce policy baselines on wages, working hours, promotion
opportunities and timelines, and unbiased evaluation systems. The audits should be transparent andavailable to all stakeholders.

Evaluate performance and capability above effort and credentials to align with equity goals• Employers should embrace different forms of participation in the workplace, emphasizing impact andcontribution over working hours. Individuals bring a wide range of talents and skills to the workplace,and a worker’s contribution to the success of an organization should not be measured solely (or evenprincipally) by the number of hours worked. Employers should be creative in how they evaluate
employees’ performance.
► Instead of having a traditional evaluation method—one-way feedback from supervisors to theiremployees—the employer can implement a more creative and inclusive evaluation process wheremanagers and employees engage in a joint goal-setting conversation and evaluation of the progress
toward meeting previously set goals.
► Employee performance evaluations and joint goal-setting meetings should include a DEIA or
gender-equity related goal for the employee and/or the department.
• Hiring departments and search committees should devise more flexible criteria for job applicants, whichallow for the substitution of one skill for a comparable qualification or accepts satisfactory performancein one area as a substitute for a missing degree or certification.

Remarks from Kumjoo Huh at the Evermay Reception.

CONCLUSION
Transforming norms of behavior is difficult and the slow pace of progress can easily discourage those mostdevoted to creating more equitable workplaces. Women want to be part of a work culture that is committed
to flexibility, equity, and inclusion, but progress toward that goal is too slow. Women in leadership roles are
switching jobs or leaving the workplace because of burnout.48 Based on the Global Gender Gap Report 2022
published by World Economic Forum:

EVERMAY RECEPTION

In 2022, the global gender gap has been closed by 68.1%. At the current rate of progress, it will take 132
years to reach full parity. This represents a slight four-year improvement compared to the 2021 estimate(136 years to parity). However, it does not compensate for the generational loss which occurred between
2020 and 2021: according to trends leading up to 2020, the gender gap was set to close within 100 years. 49
To accelerate the pace of change, it is necessary to enlist not just women in the struggle for equality, but all ofus. Women’s voices will remain critical, particularly the voices of women in positions of leadership. Indeed, theMaureen Mansfield Women’s Empowerment Initiative is predicated on the notion that women’s voices need
to be amplified. But if their ideas are to affect real change, they must be embraced and adopted widely—by
governments, the private sector, civil society organizations, schools, and faith leaders. Japan, South Korea,
and the United States should lead the way, focusing on areas likely to have the greatest impact: enhancing
workplace flexibility, building skills, opening up pathways to leadership roles for women, and adopting policies
and regulations designed to ensure safe and more equitable employment opportunities for all.

48 “Women in the Workplace 2022,” Lean In. https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2022/
49 “Global Gender Report 2022,” World Economic Forum. July 13, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2022/

14

Remarks from Nobuko Sasase at the Evermay Reception.

15

This report was prepared by Mansfield Foundation staff. We have attempted to accurately present the key
findings from the workshop and capture the consensus of the group. This report may or may not reflect theviews of any individual member of the group. The views expressed herein should not be attributed to any
individual participant or the organizations with which they are affiliated. All members of the workshop
attended in their personal capacity. Conversations were conducted off-the-record to ensure an open andsupportive environment.

PARTICIPANTS LIST
Margot Carrington, Former Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs, U.S. Embassy, Tokyo
A Jin Cho, CEO and Chairperson, WNC
Aiko Doden, Special Affairs Commentator, NHK World
Eriko Hamada, Associate Professor, Rikkyo University
Mala Htun, Professor, University of New Mexico
Kumjoo Huh, Executive Vice President, Kyobo Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
Jongsoog Kim, Senior Research Fellow, Korean Women’s Development InstituteMijin Kim, Associate Professor, Daito Bunka University
Hikariko Ono, Press Secretary and Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Eileen Pennington, Senior Gender Advisor, The Asia Foundation
Nobuko Sasae, Chair and Moderator, Nobuko Forum
Teruko Wada, Director, International Affairs Bureau, KeidanrenFrank Jannuzi, CEO and President, Mansfield Foundation
Benjamin Self, Vice President, Mansfield Foundation
Ari Hyunhee Lee, Associate Director of Programs, Mansfield Foundation
Juliane Doscher, Program Manager, Mansfield Foundation

Top row, from left to right: Jongsoog Kim, Nobuko Sasae, Margot Carrington, guest speaker Susan Kyles,
Aiko Doden, Kumjoo Huh, Eriko Hamada, Mijin Kim, Frank Jannuzi
Bottom row, from left to right: Eileen Pennington, Hikariko Ono, A Jin Cho161156 15th Street, NW Suite 1105
Washington, D.C. 20005
202-347-1994
www.mansfieldfdn.org