National Women's Education Center

For nearly 40 years since its establishment, NWEC has been fulfilling its mission to promote gender-equal society through education and learning assistance, by way of organizing training and exchange programs for leaders and related persons in women's education, conducting research and surveys on gender equality, women's education, and home education, and enhancing its capacity to collect and provide information. At the same time, we have expanded a national network of women, developed learning programs with them, and accumulated valuable records and data towards the goal of realizing a gender-equal society. Despite these efforts, participation of women in society in Japan lags far behind that of women in other parts of the world. The participation rate of women in policy and decision-making processes remains low, the number of men involved in child rearing and household chores is still small, and there are a host of other problems. We are only halfway in achieving a gender-equal society in Japan. Against this backdrop, the Japan's Fourth Basic Plan for Gender Equality was started in 2016. The Basic Plan includes concrete measures for achieving the 202030 goal of having women in 30% of managerial positions by 2020. It also clearly stipulates the roles of NWEC in achieving gender equality. In this new phase that envisages new developments, NWEC will engage ever more proactively in strengthening and deepening the projects we undertake as an organization promoting gender equality. We would like to ask for your support, cooperation, and guidance. Fusako Utsumi