Video: How Shifting Demographics Can Be a Catalyst to Get Japanese Women Working
Video: Joanna Barsh and Henny Sender discuss how Japanese women could revitalize their country's economy. (4 min., 11 sec.)
Japan's population, and ergo its number of workers, is rapidly declining. As this trend continues to unfold, it will have dire effects on the country's economy unless new sources of productivity can be found. At an Asia Society New York discussion on Monday evening entitled Womenomics: An Economic and Social Roadmap for Japan, panelists discussed the oppourtunity for underrepresented Japanese women to fill this void.
McKinsey & Co. Director Emeritus Joanna Barsh, author of How Remarkable Women Lead, explained how American women started going to work in larger numbers in the 1970s. "We were switching from unpaid jobs at home, where we weren’t recognized for all our hard work, to paid jobs in the office," she said. "We also had to buy a whole lot of cosmetics and clothing in order to look good in the office, so we were fueling all kinds of economic growth."
In the above video clip, Barsh goes on to explain the practical advantages companies find when they start hiring and promoting more women.