With hopes of realising a society where women can truly shine, JFA has established 8 March as "JFA Women's Football Day." In order to find out about the actions taken to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment by Japan National football team's supporting company, FamilyMart Co., Ltd., we have conducted an interview with Ms. TONOZUKA Yuri and Ms. HORI Kaori from the Diversity Promotion Group of the company’s HR Department, and Mr. ASO Hiroya from the Merchandising & Marketing Department’s Communication Group.

――Tell us about the actions taken to promote gender equality at FamilyMart.

TONOZUKA　In 2017, we established the Diversity Promotion Office (currently the Diversity Promotion Group), which focused mainly on women’s empowerment. We then formed the Diversity Promotion Committee with President SAWADA as the committee’s chairperson, where we managed key performance indicators to monitor gender equality within the company, and conducted “FamilyMart Women Project (FMWP)” as part of our bottom-up activities, which aims to promote development and reformation of female employees and the company as a whole. In our first year, we held the “FMWP College” where we had female employees gather at the company headquarters to participate in a month-long demonstration experiment and share opinions that will help improve productivity. Positive activities were shared to all employees in the form of “Awards.” Dispatchment to external trainings and seminars have been conducted as part of the managerial development process.

HORI　Back then, only 10 percent of the full-time employees were women, and President Sawada took the situation seriously, as he pointed out that we were not producing convenience stores that meet the expectations of our customers. That is why we made drastic changes from our first year to close down the gender gap.

――What kind of changes did you see since making changes?

HORI　Since we started to take action in 2017, the percentage of female full-time employees increased from 10.8% to 16.8% in 2019. We also saw the percentage of female managers rise from 2.3% in 2017 to 4.7% as of 1 December 2019. The number is still low, but it has doubled in three years. In 2019, two female directors were appointed for the first time, and it is a good example to show how much the company atmosphere has changed.

TONOZUKA　When looking at the sales department, there has been an assumption that female representatives cannot continue with their career after life events, such as marriage and childbirth. However, with the company’s new approach, we have seen female representatives continue to work in the sales department on reduced working hours, as the managers have shown their understandings to support the new working conditions.

――The lack of girls’ football teams at the junior high school category, limited number of coaches, and the gender gap compared to men’s football have been major issues for women’s football in Japan. There must have been many obstacles for your company as well.

TONOZUKA　When coming up with new ideas, it is important that there is a positive vibe that implies “Let’s give it a shot.” A sense of denial will only make it harder for people to make suggestions and make them think “It’s not worth trying.”

HORI　We used to have a top-down culture, but ever since we started to take action, managers are now more willing to listen and give their subordinates opportunities to tackle on challenges. That cycle has allowed many employees to succeed and helped the development of individual employees.

――Your company has been supporting the Japan National football team since 2001, but what kind of activities have you conducted?

ASO　Our franchise has many store locations throughout the country, and we have made many efforts to familiarise the Japan National football team to the general public. For instance, we place the match schedule on the screens of our cash registers and make advance ticket sales available at our stores. Also, at store locations nearby the stadiums, we display tournament posters and flyers to foster an enthusiastic atmosphere. The Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women’s National Team) is scheduled to play a match at Yurtec Stadium Sendai on 11 April, so we will be selling tickets and displaying posters at nearby locations to show our support for the team.

――Share us with your thoughts and expectations towards the Nadeshiko Japan.

ASO　The men’s team always seems to attract more attention, but the Nadeshiko Japan has won the Women’s World Cup and they continue to show great development, so we are paying close attention to their activities. With the women’s professional league scheduled to launch soon, and with Japan bidding to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023, we will continue to support both men’s and women’s national team.

▼For more information on the "JFA Women's Football Day" projects and events, please visit the follwoing website.