Wataru Hasegawa, President of the KCG Group, which includes Kyoto Computer Gakuin (KCG) and Kyoto Computer Guraduate Institute of Informatics (KCGI), attended the government-sponsored "International Women's Conference WAW!(WAW!(2022), where he participated in discussions with top leaders from Japan and abroad.Mr. Hasegawa, who was invited as the representative director and first vice president of the Japan Federation of IT Associations (ITF), made proposals on Japan's education system from his position as an educator.The conference was streamed live online and was also open to the public at viewing sites set up by local governments across Japan.
WAW!" is an abbreviation for World Assembly for Women.It was first held in 2014 as part of the Japanese government's efforts to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment, one of its top priorities, both domestically and internationally.Top leaders active in the world participate to discuss various issues, and the results are registered in UN documents.The 6th meeting was scheduled to be held in April 2020, but was postponed due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, making this the first meeting in three years, since 2019.
The main theme of this 6th conference is "WAW! for Mainstreaming Gender into a New Form of Capitalism".Following opening remarks by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and keynote speeches by the President of the Republic of Iceland and the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Women's Organization (UN Women), discussions and exchanges of opinions took place in breakout sessions and special sessions.
President Hasegawa spoke on "Session 3: Women and Digital/STEM Education.STEM education refers to an educational system that focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics to develop individuals who can contribute to the advancement of science and technology.
At the meeting, President Hasegawa stated, "The reason why the percentage of women in STEM fields has not increased is largely due to the education system in Japan.The first major cause is the career guidance given by high school guidance departments and homeroom teachers, which is based on the prejudice that it is difficult for girls to enter the science and engineering fields.The second cause is the higher education system, including the receiving university.He pointed out that private universities are unable to open or establish costly science and engineering departments, and that even if students excel in mathematics upon graduation from high school, the capacity of the universities to accept them is limited.He then recommended that "teachers with liberal arts backgrounds in upper secondary schools take measures to encourage their students to enter science and engineering" and that "it is necessary to consider measures in areas other than the educational system as well.
Launched in 2016, the IT Alliance is one of Japan's largest federations of IT-related organizations, bringing together more than 60 organizations comprising approximately 5,000 IT-related companies in Japan with a total workforce of 4 million employees.Many graduates and alumni, including women, of KCG Group are active in the member companies of each organization.