UN Women's HeForShe Expands Movement Through Key Public and Private Partnerships in East Asia

With H.E. Prime Minister of Japan and CEO of Recruit Holdings Announced as HeForShe Champions, UN Women Bolsters the Mission of Achieving Gender Equality in this Key Region 

NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2022 -- At the HeForShe Summit, the annual meeting of UN Women's ambitious HeForShe Alliance members, two key partnerships were announced to grow the HeForShe movement and UN Women's focus on active allyship with men and boys in the East Asia region. While UN Women reports 52.7% of women participate in the Japanese labor force compared to 71% of men, the commitments of the Japanese Prime Minister and CEO of Recruit Holdings demonstrate the action needed to achieve gender equality.

"With a key focus on equal representation and enabling economic opportunities for all genders, I am inspired by the commitments from such influential partners in East Asia joining the HeForShe Alliance," said Anita Bhatia, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women. "Both our partners' commitments are concrete and tangible and will bolster efforts to achieve gender equality through male allyship in this important region."

Prime Minister of Japan, H.E. Fumio Kishida, committed his government to enabling gender equal policies by joining the HeForShe Alliance, following in the footsteps of his late predecessor, H.E. Shinzo Abe, who was previously a HeForShe Champion through the HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 movement.

"To change Japan and the world, we need to raise awareness of gender equality throughout our entire society and that means including among us men," said Mr. Kishida at the HeForShe Summit. "Japan has been supporting developing countries in line with the HeForShe concept to create a society where men, women, and all people can enjoy a life of opportunity. We will further strengthen our partnership with UN Women and will contribute to creating a society in which "No One is Left Behind.'"

President, CEO, and Representative Director of the Board of Recruit Holdings, Hisayuki "Deko" Idekoba, also announced his Championship at the HeForShe Summit, committing to gender parity in all levels of the leading HR organization. With the aim of closing the gender gap in Japan and around the world, the Recruit Group will accelerate its own efforts to achieve gender equality by bringing solutions to workplaces globally in collaboration with UN Women, its partners and other like-minded organizations.

Mr. Idekoba reinforced the importance of leadership acting to remove barriers with any influence they may have, saying "as the global leader in HR matching technology, we will work with UN Women and its broader community to break down gender bias and barriers so that workplaces everywhere will become fairer, more just and equitable for all people. The more opportunities for people to freely pursue their passions, the better our future becomes."

The HeForShe Alliance aims to develop the largest set of scalable and shareable solutions for gender equality's most pressing challenges.  Convening trailblazers throughout a broad set of fields, with tangible commitments focused on transformative change across countries, companies, and communities, establishing this regional leadership is key to the success of the HeForShe Alliance. These role models join forces and through the HeForShe Alliance, they will develop the scalable and shareable solutions for gender equality's most pressing challenges. Japan and Recruit Holdings are the latest organization to join this ambitious group, to inspire others to follow and demonstrate the value of allyship in accelerating progress in achieving gender equality.

About UN Women
UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. For more information, visit www.unwomen.org. UN Women, 220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017, New York. Tel: +1 646 781-4400. Fax: +1 646 781-4496. For more information, visit www.unwomen.org. 

About HeForShe:
Created by UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, HeForShe is a solidarity movement for gender equality that invites men and boys to act for a more equal world. HeForShe provides targeted platform where a global audience can engage and advocate for the achievement of gender equality in our lifetime. The movement invites people around the world to stand together as equal partners to craft a shared vision of a gender-equal world and implement specific, locally relevant solutions. For more information, visit: www.HeForShe.org/en.

About Recruit Holdings:
Founded in 1960, the Recruit Group creates and provides platforms that connect companies and consumers. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, the Group offers a wide range of services in a variety of areas including human resources, education, housing and real estate, bridal, travel, automobiles, dining and beauty. The Group has more than 50,000 employees and operations in more than 60 countries. For more information, please visit the company's website at https://recruit-holdings.com/en/

Media Contact: Erica Sayers
Email: erica(dot)sayers(at)unwomen(dot)org