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March 8 is designated as International Women‘s Day by the United Nations. Every year, exchanges around the globe hold a “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” ceremony to show support for women’s active participation in society.
In partnership with organizers the UN Global Compact, JPX held a bell ringing ceremony at TSE on March 8, 2019, joined by representatives from UN Women, the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, the International Finance Corporation, the World Federation of Exchanges, and Women in ETFs.
This year, JPX invited State Minister of Cabinet Office Mr. Kazuyuki Nakane as a special guest. Mr. Nakane expressed his hopes for a society where women will more actively participate and contribute, and introduced some initiatives that the Cabinet Office are carrying out to promote female participation. Additional guests at the bell ringing ceremony included Ms. Junko Nakagawa, Chair of the Keidanren‘s Sub-Committee on Gender Diversity and Executive Managing Director of Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd., Ms. Kae Ishikawa, Director of the UN Women Japan Liaison Office, and Ms. Deborah Yang from Women in ETFs.
Following the bell ringing ceremony, JPX held a symposium for listed companies and institutional investors. The symposium aimed to look deeper into the objectives of the bell ringing ceremony from a capital markets perspective, highlighting the importance of work by the private sector towards female empowerment and introducing current real-world initiatives. This was the first time we held this symposium at JPX, and it attracted a significant number of attendees.
At the first panel, representatives from three leading listed companies known for their efforts to promote female participation introduced their ongoing initiatives in detail. At the second panel, investors held vibrant discussions on topics such as the impact of promoting female participation on corporate value, the expansion of related ETF markets, and incorporating corporate information on diversity, etc. into investment decisions.
| Program | Participants |
| Opening Remarks | Ms. Kae Ishikawa, Director of the UN Women Japan Liaison Office |
| Panel Discussion by Leading Companies | Moderator: Ms. Minako Takaba, ESG Research Executive Director, MSCI Panelists : Ms. Reiko Abiko, Head of Diversity, The Chiba Bank, Ltd. Ms. Kazuko Takeuchi, Deputy Head of the Diversity & Inclusion Development Center (Human Capital Group), Hitachi, Ltd. Ms. Junko Tsuda, Executive Officer, Marui Group Co., Ltd. |
| Panel Discussion by Investors | Moderator: Mr. Tetsuo Kitagawa, Professor, Graduate School of International Management, Aoyama Gakuin University Panelists: Mr. George Iguchi, Chief Corporate Governance Officer, Nissay Asset Management Corporation Mr. Osamu Okuyama, Head of ETF Group, Nomura Asset Management Ms. Emi Onozuka, Head of Stewardship Responsibility Group, Goldman Sachs Asset Management Japan Mr. Kazuyuki Shigemoto, Chief General Manager, Investment, Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Ltd. |
| Closing Remarks | Ms. Deborah Yang, Women in ETFs |
Contact
Sustainability Committee, Japan Exchange Group, Inc.
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