JAN 12, 2022

Seven lauded for
helping blaze trails to entrepreneurship

On Nov. 29, Veuve Clicquot — one of the world’s premier Champagne producers — hosted its Bold Woman Award ceremony at the The Tokyo Edition hotel in Toranomon. Launched in 1972, the award was established to honor female leaders who exemplify the spirit of entrepreneurship embodied by Madame Clicquot, who, nearly 200 years ago, took over Veuve Clicquot at the age of 27 and revolutionized the modern Champagne industry.

Formerly known as the Business Woman Award, the newly named Bold Woman Award emphasizes the drive of female entrepreneurs to create a more diverse, inclusive society in the face of mental and structural biases. The award commends female leaders who use their wide breadth of experience to challenge established norms and introduce innovation in various fields. By recognizing the accomplishments and expertise of these leaders, Veuve Clicquot spotlights inspiring role models whom future women entrepreneurs can look up to.

Six women and one man

This year’s ceremony recognized the accomplishments of six women, two of whom were awarded the Bold Woman Award and the Bold Future Award.

The Bold Woman Award, which goes to those who bring about industrial innovations, was awarded to Lin Kobayashi, founder and chair of the board of UWC ISAK Japan, an international boarding high school in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.

The Bold Future Award, which recognizes the pioneering initiatives of young entrepreneurs, was awarded to Haruka Mera, CEO of the crowdfunding company Readyfor Inc.

In addition to highlighting the accomplishments of female entrepreneurs, the awards also recognized efforts made by men to enhance women’s representation in society. This year, Veuve Clicquot awarded its first Bold Champion Award to Akira Yoshioka, CEO of the e-commerce company Askul Corp. Yoshioka was commended for his initiatives to increase the percentage of women in management positions and implement extensive career development programs for female employees.

Barometer sheds light on bias

The awards represent just one of Veuve Clicquot’s initiatives to encourage female entrepreneurship around the world. In 2019, the Champagne house launched its Women Entrepreneurship Barometer, an international survey conducted across 14 countries to identify obstacles hindering female entrepreneurship, such as mental and structural biases, and inspire public debate grounded in concrete data.

Veuve Clicquot launched the second iteration of the project in December 2020, covering 17 countries. In Japan, information was collected from 2,089 respondents — including men and women, nonentrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs — who provided their observations on gender equity. According to the survey, 77% of female respondents feel funding is more likely to be accessible to men than women, indicating access to finance capital is one of the primary hurdles facing female entrepreneurs in Japan. Another prevalent issue for female entrepreneurs is the challenge of balancing work and family life, as reflected by the 82% of female respondents who said it is much harder for a woman to do so as an entrepreneur than it is for a man.

Using the data from its Women Entrepreneurship Barometer, Veuve Clicquot hopes to spur public debate that will lead to a more equitable society and the fulfillment of the U.N.’s gender-equality sustainable development goals (SDGs). Bold Champion Award recipient Akira Yoshioka observed that the SDGs have had a significant effect on the way companies conduct business. “One of the biggest changes from when I started my career is the implementation of SDGs and how we, as businesses, are reorienting our operations around them,” he said. “With regards to gender equality, when you look at the low number of women being promoted to managerial positions, it’s obvious there are unconscious biases at play,” he said. “It’s therefore important that companies identify these biases and provide female employees equal business opportunities and fair assessment.”

Time for ‘bold conversation’

Following the ceremony, Veuve Clicquot hosted Bold Conversation, a panel discussion that involved Kobayashi and four other finalists: Noriko Ishizaka (president of Ishizaka Sangyo Co.), Chiaki Hayashi (representative director of Loftwork Inc.), Naomi Kurahara (CEO of Infostellar Inc.), and Chika Tsubouchi (CEO of Ghibli Co.). Moderated by Nihon Keizai Shimbun senior staff writer Natsuko Nakamura, the panelists shared their experiences as entrepreneurs and discussed the importance of pursuing a path that aligns with one’s values.

One of the topics discussed was the challenge of enacting change in the face of assumptions regarding gender roles. Ishizaka, who took over her father’s waste disposal firm in her 30s, drew on her experiences to describe the process of changing people’s preconceptions. “I entered an environment where there were only male employees, and a big challenge was shaping the perception that others in the industry had of me,” she said. “When I first became president around 20 years ago, men would assume I was there to serve them tea until I showed them my business card. Things have changed, however, and those in the industry now know us as the firm with a woman president. I want aspiring women professionals to know that change is possible.”

Hayashi echoed Ishizaka’s observations, noting that the very notion of female entrepreneurs was alien to prior generations. “When I started Loftwork nearly 20 years ago, there was a pervading assumption that starting a business was something only men do,” she said. “Women were not even afforded a chance at entrepreneurship. That we’re able to discuss the challenges of being a female entrepreneur in this way today reflects the progress women have made since then.”

Despite growing social acceptance of the concept, Kurahara’s experiences as a technical professional in the field of satellite ground communication systems indicate there are still lingering biases. “Although I haven’t experienced overt discrimination for being a woman, I have experienced instances of bias,” she explained. “For instance, when it comes to technical matters, attendees at business meetings will react to technical explanations given by a woman differently than those given by an older man in a suit.”

The panelists also discussed work-life balance, specifically with regards to raising children while managing a business. Tsubouchi observed that many aspiring entrepreneurs are troubled by the notion that their roles as mothers and businesspeople are in conflict. “Many aspiring businesswomen hit a wall because they feel they have to give 100% as either a mother or a business owner,” she said. “What is important to realize is that one’s qualities as a mother and business owner are not two separate things; they constitute who you are as an individual. The next step is to decide how you want to live in a way that is true to yourself.”

The importance of being true to oneself is something Kobayashi tries to instill in her pupils at UWC ISAK Japan by encouraging them to take chances and learn from failure. “There is a tendency among Japanese to fear failure,” she said. “But I think it’s important to encourage the youth to experience failure and learn to recover from it. This is something I encourage throughout my school and it’s a mentality I hope will gain traction throughout Japan.”

Tsubouchi, who manages a fishing company, described a wave pushing against a boat as a metaphor for the relationship between failure and progress. “A boat can’t traverse the ocean without waves,” she said. “It’s the presence of waves and wind that enables a boat to make headway. When we come across a problem or internal conflict, we try to apply this mentality, recognizing that the dilemmas we face are the byproduct of our progress.”

The panel discussion was followed by a brief conversation with ermhoi and Utena Kobayashi, co-founders of the Bindividual music label and two-thirds of the music group Black Boboi. The two artists concluded the event with a performance of “The Sacred Murmurs,” an ambient piece featuring dual harp instrumentation, majestic vocals and glistening yellow visuals inspired by Veuve Clicquot.

Bold Conversation is a series of events that will be held several times throughout 2022.