When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe showed up last Sunday for the 19th International Conference for Women in Business, Kaori Sasaki — who has been organizing the gathering to empower women since 1996 — finally felt that society was changing.
When Sasaki launched the project almost two decades ago, companies scoffed at her, saying a meetup for female professionals was for losers, she recalls.
Some progress has been made since Abe took office for a second time in December 2012. Viewing women as a crucial force needed to save Japan's teetering economy, Abe is pressuring companies to help them land 30 percent of the leadership positions in all industries by 2020.
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