Women’s participation in the economy is increasing worldwide. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average rate of women with college degrees or higher in 2006 was 82 percent. In the U.S., women companies have twice the sales growth rate of male companies.
As of 2002, there were 6.5 million women companies, accounting for 28.2 percent of the total. Unfortunately, about 80 percent of women-owned companies are small, with annual sales of less than $50,000, mostly in wholesale and retail and manufacturing. In US, there are many business women in the home business sector and in the health and social support sectors. Recently, there has been a steady increase in the number of women entrepreneurs in the field of expertise and science and technology. Among women-owned companies in the multiracial U.S., 28 percent are women-owned, and there are relatively many Asian and black women CEOs.
Japan Women’s Management Association, known as Emerald Club (representative Sugahara Tomomi), is an association of women CEOs who have been operating in various industries in Japan. The Emerald Club, established in 2009, has about 1,570 members interacted with each other, set up four branches in Japan, and partnered with the Overseas Women’s Management Association to promote business development. The club is one of the members of The International Women’s Federation of Commerce and Industry (IWFCI), whose head office is based on Melbourne, Australia. It is an association establishing a strong network between women entrepreneurs in 13 countries within the Asia Pacific. Sugahara is preparing for an annual conference of IWFCI that will be held in Tokyo, Japan in October 2020.
Sugaraha started her business with a company, named Natuluck, which has grown rapidly as a service platform business that can re-rent offices in each Japanese company’s buildings. The company also imports and distributes Korean beauty and health care products. She imports, and distributes LED Therapy Belt product called Lumi Diet from Korea to Japan.
Sugahara is now showing her interests in Korean beauty and healthcare companies and products with high technology and quality. Recently, in December 2019, she visited the Seoul office of LA Times Asia Journal and agreed to cooperate with each other and actively review the Korean companies and products introduced.
For the business development of Japanese Women CEOs as members of the Emerald Club in Japan, her move is expected to maximize potential for small and medium-sized enterprises owned by women and to develop the business ties between Asia and global economy.
Mike Choi
Asia Journal
(Los Angeles Times Advertising Supplement)
