On Thursday, May 2nd, MUSUBU held its one-year anniversary event open to the public, titled “Female Leadership and their messages to Men”. Joining the event as panellists were highly successful females in their respective industries – Yuko Shimizu (Japan Foundation, President), Eriko Ezaki (JETRO Toronto, Deputy Executive Director), Akiko Masuda (Mystique Company, Director), and Yukari Ikebata (Ikebata Nursery, President), and moderated by Dr. Momo Kano Podolsky (Sociologist).
As the Moderator introduced each Panelist, they each shared their experiences leading to their current career path. The event was held in Japanese and the Panelists’ passion was felt by the attendees with their highly energetic and informative insights on their journey to success. Each Panelist gave credit to their partner and family for their support and understanding when making key career decisions such as accepting leadership roles in Canada and relocating from Japan or making a loan to expand a business. The Panelists were driven by passion and determination to ‘make it happen’, such as voicing their interest on international positions and accepting opportunities and starting a new business by identifying both a gap and a need in the local community. They shared their leadership styles as inclusive and valued input from their team, and as leaders emphasized the importance of putting in place the supporting structure needed for their team to succeed. Encouraging was to hear the Panelists felt they were on level playing fields with men, and shared their experiences on how they dealt with gender bias.
In closing, Ms. Takako Ito of Consul-General of Japan in Toronto gave a speech thanking the Panelists and Moderator on the informative discussion and the level of energy they shared with the attendees and shared her experience and thoughts on female leadership. Ms. Ito congratulated the MUSUBU for its one year anniversary and shared her support in its initiatives.
Following the Panelist discussion and Q&A, the attendees socialized and networked with Panelists and Moderator over refreshments and snacks.
MUSUBU would like to sincerely thank all Panelists and Moderator, its supporters and volunteers to help make this event possible. Without their generous support, this would not be possible. A special thank you to HCafe Japanese Cafe for their delicious donation and the Consul-General of Japan in Toronto Ms. Ito for her support.
