43rd Edition - March 19, 2012 A New Start: Japanese Staff Spearhead Fast Response 67568 Editor’s Note: This series on inclusion shares the perspectives of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) across the Bank Group. We caught up recently with the key members of the Nihonjin- kai, which translated into English is “The Association of Japanese People.� T his year’s new kanji, or leader- ship of the Bank Group’s infor- mal Japanese association has a small problem. They love to debate. Yet debate is not a core tenet of the samurai code, which traditionally has infused Japanese culture with values like honor, loyalty, and respect for elders. “It is a shame that Japan is one From left, back row: Naoto Kanehira, Shino Saruta, Kaori Oshima, Mayumi Beppu, and Naoki Ogiwara; front row: Kiyoshi Okumura and Naoko Kojo. of the top donors in many countries, but our presence is not very visible, governance is actually working suf- to hold the Annual Meetings in especially outside Asia,� said Naoko ficiently. This is converging with a Tokyo this October. Kojo, a Sr. Economist in PREM’s Eco- growing Japanese intellectual lead- nomic Policy and Debt Department. ership, around topics such as risk, Nihonjin-kai: E-Give “I believe this is changing,� coun- vulnerability, and resilience.� campaign and fast-track tered Naoto Kanehira, a Young Pro- Fortunately, the debate is civil knowledge sharing fessional (YP) in Corporate Reform and uplifting. It is undoubtedly In the Bank Group, there are about and Strategy. “During the interna- timely given Japan’s evolving role 300 Japanese nationals. Their Ni- tional economic crisis, there is a new on the global development stage. honjin-kai (association) is a place for question whether Western economic The Bank Group and IMF are poised personal and professional network- ing, but last March, events inter- vened. A powerful earthquake struck Japanese Staff in the WBG with a vengeance. It triggered fero- Organization cious tsunami waves that sent water Grade (all orgs) rushing up to six miles inland. The IFC disaster caused nuclear accidents, GEF nearly 20,000 deaths, and is also IBRD estimated to be the most expensive MIGA ETC ETT natural disaster in history. GA-GD The Nihonjin-kai immediately GE Gender launched an E-Give campaign. “When GF-GG GH+ I joined IFC last year, this group was UA/UC organizing a fundraising campaign,� Women said Shino Saruta, who works in IFC’s Men new Inclusive Business unit. “It was continued on page 2 thE-Junction March 19, 2012 | page 2 March 2012 Celebration of Diversity: What’s Next? Business Case for Inclusion: Harnessing our Uniqueness and Differences March 19, 10:00 to 2:00pm IFC L-101 The session aims to help participants understand their own inner diversity better and will explore strategies for working together in highly adaptive teams. D&I Leadership Awards March 28, 3:30 to 4:30pm MC Atrium Mark your calendar. The event recognizes individual staff and teams at all levels for their efforts to create a more inclusive and diverse organization. Managing Director Caroline Anstey is confirmed, as well as MIGA’s Executive Vice President Izumi Kobayashi. The Celebration of Culture Performers will bring their unique brand of vibrant performances as well. …A New Start: Japanese Staff Spearhead Fast Response continued from page 1 which supports children in the earth- passed the budget for their IDA con- quake zone. Sr. Knowledge Manage- tribution. “This was a big sign,� said very impressive to see people who are ment Officer Naoki Ogiwara is a co- Kanehira. “The Japanese Govern- so active and giving.� director of the project, working on it ment’s commitment to international “People were tremendously gener- at night (when Japan is awake). development is impressive.� ous,� marveled Kiyoshi Okumura, an These days, Ogiwara’s peers con- Now a year removed from the Investment Officer in IFC’s Climate tinue to help. Kaori Oshima collects tragedy, Japan is hoping the world Business Group. lessons from Bank-financed commu- can learn from its recovery. On the The two-week campaign netted nity-based disaster-recovery projects Japanese Finance Ministry’s website, about $250,000 for disaster victims. and shares them with non-Bank an organizer’s letter invites partici- “It boosted the morale and solidarity Japanese nationals who are engaged pants to consider this year’s World among Japanese colleagues,� said Kojo. in the rebuilding effort. Bank-IMF Annual Meetings a bit of “There was an outpouring of voluntary a renaissance: “October 2012: From support. We were very touched.� A resilient people, committed Tokyo, a promising new start for Soon thereafter, the kanji hosted to development Japan and the global economy.� a BBL on the work of the Japanese Less than a week after the earth- Debate or no debate, that’s a new nonprofit Project Yui Consortium, quake, the Japanese Diet (Parliament) start we can all agree on. thE-Junction March 19, 2012 | page 3 Creating a Level Playing Field for Women Women, Boards, and the Fortune 200 I n the world’s largest companies Belgium, Italy, Malaysia, and the more and more women are serv- Netherlands followed suit. ing at the top echelons of power, “Sometimes we hear companies say, but there is still a lot of room for im- ‘We just can’t find qualified women,’ provement. This was the conclusion but once quota laws are passed, com- from a session for senior diversity panies find them,� said an exasperated officers from the private and public Natividad. “It just drives me nuts.� sector who assembled at the Bank Beyond quotas, an Australian pro- Group for a global look at gender gram that pitted male CEOs against diversity on Boards. each other to sponsor more quality fe- The all-day event was held Febru- male board members seemed to work ary 24, 2012, and was part of the Col- well. The Male Champions of Change loquium on Global Diversity: Creating program equipped these men to be the a Level Playing Field for Women. The public voice for board diversity. As a group first turned its attention to a result, other CEOs clamored to join, revealing CWDI Report: Women Board and in one year, women on boards of Directors of Fortune Global 200. increased from 8.3% to 12.9%. Irene Natividad is the President of the Global “A measly 13.8% of board seats are “Most of the good news this year is Summit of Women. held by women in the world’s largest coming out of Europe,� allowed Na- 200 corporations,� said Irene Natividad, tividad. “The United States has been Certain industries still predomi- President of the Global Summit of stuck at 15% for the last five years.� nate. Those with the highest percent- age of women board of directors “The business case is still the primary motivator." in 2011 include food and consumer products (28%), general merchandise – Irene Natividad (25%), mail packaging and shipping (24%), and healthcare (20%). Women and Chair of Corporate Women That notwithstanding, the top com- “The business case is still the Directors International. “And that’s panies are still dominated by US firms. primary motivator,� Natividad said, actually the good news!� Seven of the top 10 companies in terms noting that more than 30 case studies Natividad explained the bad news. of female board representation are US across the US, Europe, Turkey, and Among the top 200 global companies, corporations: Proctor and Gamble have Vietnam have all shown the same about 25% have no women directors. 46% women, with 5 of 11; followed by thing. “There’s a strong correlation Many of the Asian companies are lagging. Wellpoint (5 of 12); Norwegian Statoil between a diverse board and better In Japan, 18 of the 24 companies have (4 of 10); General Motor (4 of 11); Tar- performance leading to more corporate no women on their boards. In China, 11 get (4 of 11), Wells Fargo (5 of 14), HP profitability. There is greater oversight out of 19 have no women. And in South (5 of 14), and PepsiCo (4 of 12). and an increase in shareholder value.� Korea, none among 5 companies. Europe is leading the way with quotas that require women on Let your voice be heard—in English! boards. Norway set a trend in 2003 Bank staff know that communicating effectively in English is important when the country established that for working with colleagues and partners around the world. Global Eng- 40% of board seats must be held by lish is an online English learning solution to help country office staff women in listed companies. Within improve their English skills. Please send an email with your name in the two years, all were compliant. subject line to globalenglish@worldbank.org by March 20, 2012, to place Spain followed in 2007, along with your name on the list of staff to enroll. Iceland and France in 2010. In 2011, thE-Junction March 19, 2012 | page 4 Improving Gender Diversity Across Borders A view from Coca-Cola, Sodexo, and Deutsche Post I mplementing gender diversity emerging talent around the world are Rohini Anand, Sr. VP and Global through the ranks is challeng- more and more women. So we are Chief Diversity Officer at Sodexo said ing enough in one organization. looking at our future workforce.� the company has a global strategy, But when multinational corporations It is vitally important to cultivate but tailors it to every country. So- mainstream it across countries and a thriving pipeline of female as- dexho has about 400,000 employees cultures, it helps to know how other sociates, said Bucherati. He made in 85 countries. organizations have fared. the distinction between ‘ready-now’ “What has worked for us is a This was the topic of discussion and ‘ready-future.’ “We fill jobs in a strong leadership commitment, a for a session featuring chief diver- ‘ready-now’ world,� he emphasized. connection to our core business, sity officers from Coca-Cola, Sodexo, “You can do all you want around and a cultural competence where we and Deutsche Post at the Colloquium retain, recruit, and develop, but if work,� said Anand. “We expect some on Global Diversity held at the Bank you don’t have an enabling culture, resistance, but use creative strategies Group on February 24. The assembly you will fail.� to overcome it.� included top-level practitioners from Because of a renewed focus on China and India are growing mar- private, public, and multilateral sectors. global gender diversity, Coca-Cola is kets, with 16,000 and 32,000 staff respectively. “What I’ve found there is that women are hungry for lead- ership opportunities, and in many cases, they are moving ahead even faster than their European counter- parts,� Anand said. Next, the VP of Corporate Culture and Code of Conduct at Deutsche Post DHL said diversity is a strength the firm promotes at all levels. “Today, we have 37% women in our total workforce and 17% in executive positions,� said Susanna Nezmeskal- Berggotz, who admitted: “We should be doing better.� While working to improve gender diversity, Nezmeskal-Berggotz has From left, Rohini Anand, Betsy Silva, Steve Bucherati, and Susanna Nezmeskal-Berggotz. discovered that she’s most successful when she communicates on a group- With operations in 206 countries, showing some impressive progress. wide level and fosters transparency on Coca-Cola may be the greatest learn- Global recruiting at the senior level facts and figures. “It’s been very im- ing lab on the planet, said Steve has jumped from 13% women in portant to get clear commitment from Bucherati, VP of Global Diversity and 2007 to 41% in 2011. Female rep- the top and make changes visible.� Inclusion at the global soda company. resentation globally has increased In a firm with 470,000 employees “Why do we focus on this? Out from 23% in 2007 to 28% in 2011. in 220 countries, even a little bit of of simple economic interest for our Moreover, the immediate global change can send progressive ripples business,� said Bucherati. “This is a pipeline—a category the firm is ob- across the world. sustainability issue, pure and simple. sessively tracking to evaluate “ready- We know that 70% of the people future� talent—has gone from 28% in For more information on thE-Junction, purchasing our products around 2007 to 34% in 2011. “This growth at contact Pauline Ramprasad, 202-473-0821, the world, and 85% in the US, are the top has happened because we are pramprasad@worldbank.org. women. We know that much of the focused on the pipeline,� he said.