The W Society Executive Committee has established and launched “W society,” a project to design women’s empowerment from both the physical and mental challenges (W=woman) and social challenges (society) that women face.

The Executive Committee consists of committee members who have expressed their support for this project (member companies: Roche Diagnostics K.K., Panasonic System Solutions Japan Co., Ltd., Unilever Japan Holdings Co., Ltd., SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Inc., etc.).

■Background to Establishment: Two Current Situations Surrounding Women in Japan

Japan ranks 120th out of 156 countries in the “Gender Gap Index (announced by the World Economic Forum in 2021),” which compares the magnitude of gender disparities by country. In order to overcome this situation, various companies and local governments are working on measures under the slogan of “promoting women’s empowerment,” but the reality is that it still takes time to implement concrete and effective measures that focus on women’s life plans and reflect them in their lives.

Also, focusing on one of the life events, “pregnancy and childbirth,” the number of infertility treatments in Japan is increasing year by year. The age at which infertility treatment is started is also increasing due to factors such as the trend toward later marriage, and Japan is “the world’s largest infertility treatment country^※1” with approximately 450,000 in vitro fertilization procedures performed annually. Compared to Europe and the United States, the timing of starting to face “one’s own body” is late, so while treatment technology is said to be the best in the world, the reality is that the “range of life plan choices” is unknowingly narrowing.

■Aiming for Social Implementation and Transformation with the Three Themes of “Know,” “Learn,” and “Change”

“W society” is a project that was formed to address the two major issues of “physical and mental challenges” and “social challenges” surrounding women that exist within Japan. This project will solicit participation from various companies, organizations, local governments, academic and research institutions, etc., and will be promoted as a social participation-type project that transcends companies and combines industry, government, and academia. We will develop measures based on the three themes of “Know,” “Learn,” and “Change,” and aim for social implementation and social transformation of measures that contribute to solving the issues.

■First, a Chance to Know “Your Own Body.” Enlightenment Campaign “egg week” Scheduled for This Fall

First, we will position “knowing” the current situation as the starting point for solving the issues, and plan to implement the enlightenment campaign “egg week” this fall to create opportunities to know your own body. Starting with improving literacy regarding the “AMH test^※2,” which is a type of hormone test for women, we will create “opportunities to know your own body.”

In the future, starting with the implementation of “egg week,” we plan to implement general seminar programs, corporate school training, establish a research group to research and investigate women’s healthcare and involvement with society, and promote the introduction of inspection subsidy systems for each local government, and implement each measure related to the themes of “Know,” “Learn,” and “Change.”

This project is starting its activities with the aim of creating “a society where all women can live fulfilling lifestyles with satisfaction.” Please look forward to our future activities.

*1 Comparing the number of in vitro fertilization procedures in 2017, Japan = approximately 450,000 (1st in the world), and the United States = approximately 280,000 (2nd in the world). (Calculated from data from the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, etc.)
*2 Anti-Müllerian hormone test: A blood test that reflects the ovarian reserve (an estimate of the number of follicles remaining in the ovary). It is expected that knowing the current state of one’s own body will be useful in designing a life plan.

■Three Themes of Activity

W society will develop activities based on the three themes of KNOW, LEARN, and CHANGE, and will promote the resolution of W = [physical and mental challenges] and society = [social challenges] related to women.

■Project Overview

Project name: W society
Committee members: Aya Ono (Head of Communication Department, Roche Diagnostics K.K.)
Masae Yamanaka (Director, Executive Officer, Vice President, Panasonic System Solutions Japan Co., Ltd.)
Yuka Shimada (Director, Head of Human Resources and General Affairs, Unilever Japan Holdings Co., Ltd.)
Etsuko Tsugihara (President and Representative Director, SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Inc.)
Sponsor: Japan Business Federation (Keidanren)

Official website:
https://wsociety.jp/ (W society)
https://eggweek.com/ (egg week)
*As of September 2021