International Symposium Report: “Multicultural Coexistence and Development of Leadership under Globalization”

2024年12月25日更新

The International Symposium on Multicultural Coexistence and Development of Leadership under Globalization was held on November 15, 2024, at Ochanomizu University. Organized by the Institute for Global Leadership, the event brought together distinguished scholars to explore pressing issues related to immigration, gender, and leadership in an increasingly interconnected world. The symposium featured a series of engaging presentations and discussions, culminating in a thought-provoking panel session that encouraged active dialogue among attendees.

The first speaker, Dr. Helena Hof, a Senior Research and Teaching Fellow at the University of Zurich and Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, delivered a speech titled “Gender Dynamics in high-tech startups: An intersectional perspective on labor in transnational entrepreneurship.” Dr. Hof’s presentation exemplified the event’s mission to provide new insights into leadership development and multicultural coexistence by delving into the unique challenges and opportunities faced by transnational entrepreneurs in Japan. She explored the intersectionality of gender, migration, and entrepreneurship within the context of Japan’s startup ecosystem. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews with 36 transnational entrepreneurs in Tokyo, she illuminated the unique challenges faced by foreign female founders in navigating Japan’s gendered and male-dominated business environment. These women face what Dr. Hof referred to as a “triple disadvantage”—being women, migrants, and outsiders in high-tech and entrepreneurial fields. These challenges intersect with factors such as race, nationality, and migration channels, making their experiences complex and nuanced.

A key theme in her presentation was the ways female entrepreneurs strategically navigate gender norms. Some adopt strategies to align with societal and workplace expectations, while others actively resist and redefine them. Dr. Hof shared examples of how women leverage soft skills to build trust with clients or use professional titles to assert authority in male-dominated industries. She also highlighted how household dynamics play a critical role, with gendered family roles influencing business strategies. Some women use child-rearing responsibilities as an avenue for networking, while others rely on family support systems to balance the demands of dual-career households.

Dr. Hof’s research also shed light on emerging opportunities within Japan’s evolving startup ecosystem. Demographic shifts, including a declining labor force and increasing diversity, are opening doors for transnational entrepreneurship, particularly for women who are able to leverage international networks and reskill to address local market needs. She illustrated her points with engaging case studies, such as a Chinese couple who strategically reinforced gender roles to succeed in IT ventures, and a Chinese-American entrepreneur who transitioned to a new industry to escape sexist workplace cultures and align her career with her family’s transnational mobility. Her speech emphasized that while transnational entrepreneurship offers opportunities to reshape traditional gender roles, systemic barriers persist in Japan’s business culture. Dr. Hof advocated for greater inclusivity in labor market institutions and highlighted the importance of addressing entrenched gendered assumptions to support diverse leadership pathways.

Dr. Hof’s insights contributed significantly to the symposium’s broader theme of leadership development in a multicultural and globalized society, sparking meaningful discussions during the subsequent panel session. Her thoughtful and data-driven analysis provided valuable perspectives on how to navigate and transform the challenges of gendered labor markets in a global context.

The second speaker, Dr. Hilary J. Holbrow, an Assistant Professor of Japanese Politics and Society at Indiana University, presented a speech titled “(In)visible Inequalities: Gender and Immigrant Background in Elite Japanese Firms” at the symposium. Her talk explored the nuanced intersections of gender and immigration in Japan’s white-collar workforce, focusing on elite firms as microcosms of broader societal and economic dynamics.

Dr. Holbrow’s research highlighted the transformative shifts in Japan’s labor market, driven by demographic decline and increasing diversification in hiring practices. Drawing on survey and interview data from employees at elite Japanese firms, she provided a comparative analysis of the experiences of Japanese and non-Japanese workers. Her findings revealed that, contrary to popular perceptions of xenophobia, gender remains a far sharper axis of inequality in elite workplaces than immigrant status. Immigrant men often face little disadvantage and, in some cases, experience opportunities on par with or even better than those of their Japanese counterparts, whereas women—both Japanese and immigrant—occupy the bottom of the stratification hierarchy.

Through personal anecdotes and data-driven insights, Dr. Holbrow illustrated how these inequalities manifest. For instance, foreign workers in elite firms often express “concerned uncertainty” about their long-term career prospects, exacerbated by age-based promotion systems and a lack of transparency in advancement pathways. Asian women, however, believe that their ambition and initial placement would suffice to overcome gender barriers, only to encounter systemic obstacles and, in some cases, gender-based harassment. By contrast, Western male employees frequently benefit from unacknowledged privileges associated with their perceived social value, enabling them to ascend more readily within organizational hierarchies. Dr. Holbrow also examined the intersection of cultural and linguistic barriers with workplace inequality. While some foreign employees successfully adapt and integrate, others face significant challenges in aligning with the cultural expectations of Japanese corporate life. Despite these barriers, her research underscored the resilience and adaptability of immigrant workers, particularly Asian men, who often overachieve to counteract implicit biases.

Her analysis also extended to the implications of these stratification patterns for leadership development and organizational innovation. She argued that addressing gender disparities is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic necessity for Japan’s elite firms, as diversity in leadership has been shown to enhance decision-making and foster creativity. By creating equitable pathways for promotion and reducing biases against women and immigrants, Japanese corporations can cultivate a workforce that reflects the complexities of a globalized economy. She emphasized that mitigating these inequalities would not only improve workplace diversity and inclusion but also position Japanese firms to better compete in an increasingly globalized economy. Dr. Holbrow stressed that this requires concerted efforts from both policymakers and corporate leaders to implement systemic changes that challenge entrenched hierarchies and open doors for underrepresented groups. Her talk provided valuable insights into the structural dynamics of inequality and sparked meaningful discussions among symposium participants, contributing significantly to the event’s overarching theme of leadership and multicultural coexistence.

The last speaker, Dr. Gracia Liu-Farrer, a Professor at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies and Director of the Institute of Asian Migration at Waseda University, delivered a compelling presentation at the symposium. Her talk, titled “Immigration, the Identity-Binary, and the Future of Japan,” delved into the sociopolitical and cultural challenges Japan faces as it evolves into a de facto immigrant society, shaped by demographic crises and labor shortages.

Dr. Liu-Farrer began by contextualizing Japan’s entrenched ethnonationalist identity, which depicts the nation as a racially homogeneous and culturally unique island. This ideology has historically fueled resistance to immigration, underpinned by fears that non-Japanese populations might disrupt the perceived cultural and social fabric. Despite this, she highlighted how the worsening labor shortage and aging population have necessitated gradual shifts in immigration policy. Over the decades, Japan has introduced “patchwork” measures, including flexible visa categories and employment schemes such as the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP), to attract and incorporate foreign labor. These policies, though incremental and framed as temporary or exceptional, have made immigrants an essential part of Japan’s economy.

Further, she emphasized the critical contributions of immigrants across various sectors. In agriculture, for example, foreign workers sustain production in regions like Ibaraki, where an aging workforce has left significant gaps. In urban areas, international students and technical interns form the backbone of the service industry, filling roles in convenience stores, restaurants, and other labor-intensive businesses. However, she noted that these contributions often go unrecognized, as the prevailing “Japanese-foreigner” binary relegates immigrants to outsider status, regardless of their long-term residence or contributions to society. This binary also impacts the children of immigrants and individuals of mixed heritage, who face unique struggles in defining their identity within a framework that equates being Japanese with ethnicity and bloodline.

Moreover, Dr. Liu-Farrer elaborated how Japan’s “no-immigration” political discourse, despite being largely rhetorical, influences policy making and societal attitudes. However, while Japan’s national government has been slow to officially embrace immigration, local governments and communities have taken the lead in fostering multicultural coexistence. She pointed to initiatives in municipalities such as Hamamatsu, which has implemented progressive policies to address the needs of its growing immigrant population. These local efforts, coupled with immigrants’ own grassroots initiatives, have created intercultural spaces where meaningful interactions occur, promoting a sense of belonging and localized inclusion. Yet, she argued, such changes remain piecemeal without a cohesive national narrative that fully acknowledges and integrates the immigrant population.

Dr. Liu-Farrer’s speech offered a nuanced perspective on the intersection of leadership, identity, and multicultural coexistence, sparking rich discussions among symposium participants about the future of immigration and diversity in Japan. Her insights underscored the importance of addressing not only structural challenges but also the cultural narratives that shape societal inclusion, making her talk a significant contribution to the event’s overarching theme.

In conclusion, the symposium provided a platform for exploring the critical intersections of immigration, gender, and leadership in a globalized context. Through the thought-provoking presentations by Dr. Helena Hof, Dr. Hilary J. Holbrow, and Dr. Gracia Liu-Farrer, the event shed light on pressing issues facing contemporary societies, including the gendered challenges of entrepreneurship, the complex inequalities in elite workplaces, and the evolving dynamics of immigration and identity in Japan.

This symposium underscored the necessity of fostering inclusive leadership that transcends traditional boundaries and addresses systemic inequities. It highlighted the importance of leveraging diversity as a strategic asset for societal and organizational innovation, particularly in the context of demographic shifts and globalization. The engaging discussions and case studies presented by the speakers provided actionable insights and inspired attendees to rethink leadership and coexistence in multicultural settings. Moreover, this event served as a powerful reminder of the shared responsibility to create equitable and inclusive spaces that embrace diversity. The knowledge and perspectives exchanged during this event will undoubtedly contribute to ongoing efforts to address these global challenges and to cultivate leadership that is adaptive, inclusive, and forward-thinking in a rapidly changing world.

Authored by: Jie Zhang (Project Lecturer, Institute for Global Leadership)

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