30% CLUB JAPAN INVESTOR GROUP INTERVIEW SERIES VOL2
Interview with Junko Okawa : Building a Company Where Women Can Succeed
GSAM Okawa-san, you started yourcareer as a cabin attendant and thenbecame the first female representative
director of Japan Airlines (JAL). Which ofyour skills and experience do you think
were evaluated by the company? Also,
what motivated you to rise to your current
position?
Okawa I became a director of thecompany immediately after we experienced
bankruptcy. At that time, the mission ofmanagement was to determine what
needed to be reviewed and what reforms topursue. I think a key factor in accomplishing
this mission was frontline experience.
People working on the frontline can offer
clues or tips for solving problems and comeup with new ideas that can only be gained
through firsthand experience. Putting their
feedback to use was vital for rebuilding
JAL. Moreover, until then, the position ofGeneral Manager of the Cabin Attendants
Division was assigned to male employees
without any experience as a cabin
attendant. The role expected of me was toconceive new concepts and ideas thatcould not be derived through conventional
logic-based discussions and to ensure thatJAL moved forward. I assumed the position
with a strong sense of responsibility andcommitment to this mission.
GSAM When you were faced withchallenges in your career, how did you
overcome them? Did the company support
you in achieving work-life balance?
Okawa To balance work and family life, I
built a supportive network of friends andfamily. As a cabin attendant, I worked
irregular hours which involved staying
overnight. Until my child turned one, I usedthe company’s system of working shorter
flight hours and chose flight patterns
without an overnight stay. In the meantime,
I prepared myself in my work and personal
life to return to international flight duty.
Although it was not a normal child-rearing
environment, I was encouraged by mychild's nursery school principal, who said
that each person can have his or her own
style of childcare.
GSAM Could you tell us about JAL's
programs to support female employees indeveloping their careers and acquiring
skills?
Okawa The JAL D&I Lab (formerly known
as JAL Nadeshiko Lab) is JAL Group's
program to address diversity and inclusion
across organizations through a bottom-up
approach. In this program, one to two

employees from each Group company
voluntarily join the Lab to conduct researchin groups on themes related to diversity forabout nine months. In addition to research,
they share their findings and suggestions
with the entire JAL Group and deliverpresentations at an annual convention toapproximately 200 employees. The
convention is attended by the directors
including the President and Chairperson ofthe company.
GSAM How can women make their voices
heard in the workplace? What do you thinkfemale employees should do todemonstrate their abilities more effectively?
What part can you play in achieving this?
Okawa In this age of ambiguity anduncertainty, a sense of security throughhomogeneity is merely staying the same,
which in fact means going backwards. A
strong message from top management will
drive diversity forward. I would like for us tounderstand different personality types andhelp every employee grow. During a flight,
for example, ten cabin attendants eachserve the passengers differently and theirsynergy effects determine whether overallcabin service is good or not. I would like togive them confidence that their individual
diversity plays a significant part in ourservice.
GSAM In Japan, where the ratio of female
directors is low, what do you think isneeded in terms of awareness andenvironment for women to more easily
become a director?
Okawa Nowadays, more women aremanagers than ever before. Still, thenumber of women in department manager
positions, one rank before promotion to anofficer, is extremely low. This imbalance isreality. Therefore, we must think of aframework for nurturing female managers
who are seen as candidates for department
managers, officers, and top management.
Awareness will be built in the process. I
also feel that we need to rethink excessive
consideration given to women workers bymen, with the exception of special individualcases. Considerations such as “I don’t think
you can handle this" or "I don’t want totrouble you with this" can stop women fromgetting ahead. Even if men do not say
anything, women can sense their intentions
and lose confidence, which in turn impedes
diversity. I hope that both men and women
speak frankly and openly.
GSAM How is board diversity changing in
JAL management? What positive effects doJunko Okawa
Representative, External Affairs,
Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.
Junko Okawa joined Japan
Airlines Co., Ltd. in 1977. After
serving as a purser in theInternational Cabin Attendants
Department, an instructor in theCabin Attendants Training
Department, and other positions,she became Vice President of theInflight Service Department in2006. Under her leadership asVice President of the Cabin
Service Planning Department in2007, the Company introduced
quantitative evaluation of service.
In 2010, she became the firstfemale cabin attendant to beappointed Executive Officer andGeneral Manager of the Cabin
Attendants Division. After holding
a number of executive positions,
namely, Director, Senior Managing
Executive Officer and General
Manager of the Cabin Attendants
Division in 2013, Director andSenior Managing Executive Officerof the Corporate Brand Promotion
Department in 2014,
Representative Director, Senior
Managing Executive Officer andGeneral Manager of theCommunications Division in 2016,and Vice Chairperson of theCompany in 2018, Okawa wasnamed Representative of External
Affairs of the Company in April
2019.

you think diversity has had on board
meetings?
Okawa The situation is not ideal yet, but
the board members speak more freely than
before. As a female director with only
frontline experience, my ideas and opinions
may have been considered unusual at first.
But JAL was in a serious situation
immediately after bankruptcy andmanagement was forced to make difficult
decisions. There were times I had to fightalone based on my firsthand experience.
The directors eventually realized that thesuccess of our measures lay in sensitivity
or intuition to see situations as they are,and not in logical reasoning. This led topromoting diversity in the board.

GSAM Do you have any advice for othercompanies on how to develop female talentand increase the ratio of female managers
and directors?

Okawa A bottom-up approach such as theJAL D&I Lab alone is not sufficient to get
positive results. Top management must
declare and demonstrate their commitment
to diversity. It should not be left to directors
who are enthusiastic about it, but insteadunderstood by all directors that diversity isan integral part of management strategy. I
feel that repeated messages on diversity by
top management are necessary in internalcommunications.

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