JSIE hosted the third Washington Women’s Dialogue on May 4, 2016, with the cooperation of Evermay and some female volunteers in Washington D.C.
At the third Washington Women’s Dialogue titled “From living in poverty to becoming a minister”, we welcomed the Honorable Masako Mori, a member of the House of Councillors LDP and the former Minister of State in charge of Support for Women’s Empowerment and Child-Rearing and Gender Equality (until September 2014). She spoke about her experience from growing up in poverty; working her way through university and into the legal profession to become an attorney; and becoming the minister. She also talked about some touching episodes of having met a mentor who had helped her and influenced her in her girlhood, which motivated her to become an attorney afterward; going to New York to study with her new-born child; studying hard to pass the bar examination working at a part-time job; and so on. She remarked that thanks to all those people around her and their support, it made her what she is today. At the end, she pointed out that there are still many challenges to overcome in our society, which led us to think about what each of us can do and should do to tackle the challenges.
Masako Mori is a member of the House of Councillors, LDP and an attorney.
Mori is from Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. She graduated from Tohoku University Faculty of Law, then went to New York University School of Law as a visiting fellow. In her career, she was Deputy Director, Planning and Coordination Bureau, Financial Services Agency; Financial Inspector, Inspection Bureau, Financial Services Agency; Chairman, Committee on Oversight of Administration; Deputy Secretary-General, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan; Chairperson, the Standing Committee on Oversight of Administration, House of Councillors, Minister in charge of Support for Women’s Empowerment and Child-Rearing and Gender Equality (until September 2014), Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety (second Abe Cabinet.)
Mori’s current responsibilities in the House of Councillors include Committee on Environment; Special Committee on Regional Issues and Consumer Affairs; Special Committee on Reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Power Issues; Research Committee on Deflation-Ending Measures and Strengthening Public Finance for Nationals’ Life. She is a mother of two and an author of “Akiramezu Massuguni” (means never give up and stay strong.)
JSIE hosts “Washington Women’s Dialogue” in Washington, D.C. This dialogue features prominent female speakers such as former government officials, business leaders, and political leaders, and the speakers share their life experience with participants. It offers opportunities that participants can discuss various issues on social and international challenges and learn how to overcome such challenges and strengthen women’s presence.
You can take a look at the photos of this event from JSIE’s official Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/JSIE.net
