Increasing female labor participation not only economically and politically empowers women, it also has the potential to substantially increase economic productivity. This is an especially critical issue in Japan where getting more women into the workforce could result in GDP gains of up to 13 percent and help to offset losses caused by the country’s demographic decline. Cooperation and coordination between Japan and the United States could also help to economically empower women elsewhere around the world, especially in developing countries where the potential economic gains are most significant. While increased female labor participation presents a significant opportunity, the structural and social hurdles are enormous – and it is not clear that policy initiatives currently underway in Japan and elsewhere can surmount them. Join the CSIS Simon Chair for a major event on this important topic featuring government officials, NGOs, private sector representatives.
The CSIS Simon Chair in Political Economy and the Asia Foundation invite you to,
Womenomics: Why it Matters for Japan and the World
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
2nd Floor Conference Room
CSIS, 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W.
Please RSVP to simon.chair@csis.org
AGENDA
8:30 am Registration. Light breakfast will be available.
9:00 am Welcoming Remarks
Matthew P. Goodman
William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy, CSIS
9:05 am Opening Remarks
Wendy Cutler
Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative
9:30 am Panel 1: U.S.-Japan Cooperation on Women’s Economic Empowerment in 3rd Countries
Yumiko Tanaka
Senior Advisor on Gender and Development, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Cathy Cozzarelli
Senior Gender Adviser for Policy, Planning and Learning, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Eileen Pennington
Associate Director, Women’s Empowerment Program, Asia Foundation
Amy Studdart (moderator)
Deputy Director & Fellow, William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy, CSIS
10:45 am Break
11:00 am Panel 2: Why Women’s Participation in the Japanese Workforce is Critical
Chad Steinberg
Senior Economist, International Monetary Fund
Rui Matsukawa
Director, Gender Mainstreaming Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
Miko Oyama
U.S. Representative, KEIDANREN
Robert Feldman
Managing Director, Morgan Stanley
Matthew P. Goodman (moderator)
William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy, CSIS
12:15 pm Luncheon
12:30 pm Keynote Remarks
Akie Abe (invited)
First Lady of Japan
