by Kay Curry
Northwest Asia Weekly
Clockwise from top left: Moderators Rita Brogan, Paige Cottingham-Streater, Kendee Yamaguchi and Misa Yamashita. (Screenshot of Kai Kuri)
Coinciding with International Women’s Day, the Washington State Japanese American Association delivered an online presentation titled “Empowering Women in Japan and America” on February 24. The event invited three distinguished professional women to share their experiences and perspectives on work and life success.
Panelists Misa Yamashita, Human Resource Consultant and Global Human Resource Consultant, JERA Co., Ltd.; Paige Cottingham-Streater, Executive Director of the Japan-US Friendship Committee and Secretary General of CULCON USA; Kendee Yamaguchi, Deputy Mayor for External Affairs, Seattle, responded to the guidance importance and how they face challenges in their careers. They offer advice on how to be seen and heard in workplaces where women have to work harder than men.
It’s about “sit down at the table,” Yamaguchi concluded. As the youngest Asian-American to ever serve in the White House, and previously the youngest member of the AAPI Cabinet in Washington state, Yamaguchi now works for Bruce Harrell, Seattle’s first Asian-American mayor. She acknowledges that “personal history intersects with a vocation and passion to help the community” as her fortunate and privileged voice for Harrell’s #OneSeattle policy.
Yamaguchi and Harrell’s family were sent to the same Japanese internment camp, and her grandfather actively promoted the news about the camp after her release.The legacy, she said, represents “the core of what shaped my career path…that’s why I chose public service, and I feel like if there were more people [of color] In government and decision-making roles, this history may not happen. She did her part to ensure “a voice to prevent future injustices”.
Cottingham-Streater confirms the importance of “following your passion”. She attributes the curiosity of the parents who took her to Japan as a child to her “why not?” attitude that led to a “leap of faith,” from working in law to building a career bridge. That trip gave her a desire to support the U.S.-Japan relationship, and she did. In 2004, on the 150th anniversary of the Japan-U.S. Treaty of Peace and Friendship, she was honored by the Japanese Foreign Minister for her long-standing work.
For Cottingham-Streater, it was important to identify transferable skills and find other avenues to pursue her passions while still leveraging her background. She noted that none of the first steps of her career were planned.
She’s just going in the direction she likes. As a black woman, she doesn’t know or see anyone who looks like her in these roles and leadership responsibilities, but says, “I’m committed and passionate enough to develop a set that can be transferable to a variety of different leadership opportunities.”
Yamashita offers a glimpse into life in Japan, where “work-life balance” didn’t exist when she first came to prominence and still isn’t for many women trying to do everything.
“My career hasn’t always been smooth sailing,” Yamashita said. “One of the big challenges I faced was when I changed my career.” In switching from communications to HR, Yamashita admits she overcame “working long hours” and “the manager and the people around me gave me a lot of good advice” of doubts.
Networking was critical to the career trajectories of all three panelists.
Yamashita offers five tips: 1) Know your strengths and areas for improvement; 2) Constantly seek feedback…from people you respect; 3) Surround yourself with multiple role models and mentors; 4) Use the PIE model: “Performance, impression and exposure…you can’t just perform. You need to make a good impression…you should present yourself to others so you can build your network of support”; 5) Have confidence in yourself.
Through the guided acts of this webinar, every woman recognizes the importance of their support. Yamaguchi revealed what she called “the untold secret” that many executives have attended professional leadership training. Yamaguchi himself attended the Asia Pacific Women’s Center for a year. She credits the experience as giving her the tools to deal with tough times, especially as a young Asian woman.
“When anything gets tough, I go back to my center and know that I can control what I can control. I can control how I receive information, I can control how I am affected by that information.”
“It can be challenging when you’re dealing with something that you can carry in person, carry with you,” Yamaguchi continued. When she started, Yamaguchi was told: “You don’t sway. You can’t stand out…that goes against a lot of what you might need to do.” To address this, she carried a piece of paper that read “Three Four OK, symbolizing how many times I need to speak at the meeting to be present.”
Cottingham-Streater, responding to an audience’s question about diminishing interest in cross-cultural communication, said that while nothing can replace in-person meetings, she sees a positive impact from the disruptions of COVID-19.
“It also gives us the opportunity to look for other ways… When we think about equity and…promote diversity and inclusion, these virtual platforms…help reduce costs and The hurdle of time…I hope we can cast a wide net to provide opportunities for the next generation of leaders.”
The recording of “Empowering Women in Japan and America” can be viewed at youtube.com/watch?v=KEPmRQrlje0.
Kay can reach info@nwasianweekly.com.
