 Okay. Good morning everyone. My name is Sadia Zahidi. I had the forum's work on education, gender and work at the World Economic Forum. Welcome. We're very excited to be kicking off the issue briefing on the impact of women, impact on women off the Fourth Industrial Revolution. A quick point of housekeeping. When the minister is speaking, he will be speaking in Japanese and if you'd like to hear the translation switch to channel one, you should all have those headsets. Okay, great. We will get started. Let me introduce our two panelists. Dean Mary Boyce is the Dean of Engineering at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University in the United States. And Shimomura-san is the Executive Acting Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party, member of the House of Representatives of Japan, and a former minister. Welcome. Let me give just a little bit of context based on some of the work that we've been doing at the World Economic Forum. Last year at this time we released a study on the future of jobs and it looked in part at what the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution would be on women. And we found that out of the jobs that tend to employ mainly men, for every new job that would be created, three would be lost. And for the types of jobs that tend to employ more women, for every new job that would be created, five would be lost. And so at least in the white collar professional workforce and the type of disruption that it would be facing, it is possible that there will be a more negative impact on women. Now of course there are many other sectors, many other types of professions, and it could be that we find that this is actually an opportunity to accelerate gender equality rather than to lose ground. And that's what we're going to try to find out here today. So let me start with Dean Boyce. What do you think will be the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on women? What will it look like in terms of the distribution of work between women and men? How does it look in different geographies and in different industries? Well first thank you for inviting me to participate. And I have a very positive outlook and I think it will, there's a great opportunity for what's being referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution to actually accelerate gender equality in the workforce. When we look at the fact that we have a great convergence on so many fields that technology is really disrupting so much and whether it's biology, medicine, sustainability, this is a great message to young men and women everywhere that the impact, I look at it as the impact of engineering and applied science on all aspects of humanity. This is a very motivational message and I think this will draw in women in a great way to these new job opportunities that are going to be emerging over the coming decades. So our ability to bring technological disruptions to medicine, okay, to sustainability, to our connectivity with one another and to our creativity. This is a different message and a different, if you will, stereotype of what an engineer or applied scientist has been in the past and I think we have an opportunity to shift the stereotype, to attract women, to attract a very diverse population, to enter engineering and to enter this new opportunity. So I feel very positive about the future impact on women. Of course, we have to help get them there. Okay, so we're going to talk in a second about how we do that. Shimomura-san, let me ask you what do you think the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will be on women in Japan? On the other side of the world, what will happen in particular in terms of the fact that there is a smaller shrinking workforce, more women are being brought into the economy? Are there likely to be positive or negative impacts from the 4IR? Right, we have changes in phases. First of all, at the current situation, we call it MG curve, but especially the ladies in the 30s, it's been employed 75%. That's very small. The reason, why is it? Because they're very occupied with looking of the children or nursing their parents. Women are forced almost in a way to engage in those activities. So the current ABEP administration is helping assisting those situations. The women can go back to the workforce without having a children waiting for daycare or leaving the nursing care. So in that way, well, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is beginning already and in the next 15 years, well, the British scientist Michael Osborn have mentioned that in America, 47% of the jobs would be changing because of the computer. And according to a think tank survey in Japan, 49%, the job will be handed over to the computer. So unless there's a new industry, half population will be jobless. In Japan, we had a survey, how do we adapt to the society? In Japan, women responded more positively. Well, in the past, the computer would take over people's job. It has been done in three areas in the past. It's not only in Japan, I think it's universal. The first area is that hospitality, to give kindness to the people and hospitality is an area where women are excelled more. And the second area is I think it's nothing to do with the sexuality or gender. It's creativity to create something from nothing. That is creativity that is being also wanted. And the third thing is it's governability. So we have lots of different opinions. And how do we actually manage it and govern and put it into one directive? And it's needed in business and needed in society, needed in global society. So I think these areas are something that is needed when we are seeing more development in AI. And I think that's considered to be the area that is more excelled amongst women. And I think that is reflected in the service results, that women are more adaptable to the new environment. The areas which require more human traits and women have tended to excel more in those in the past, perhaps something like the care sector. So there's an increase or a growth in roles and jobs and that. There's an increase in the type of roles that require creativity. And those will continue to grow. There's an increase in the need for more leadership to govern this transformation and change that we're in the midst of. And then, of course, there's actually a need for some of the more talent in the space that is driving the fourth industrial revolution. And that is STEM related roles, ICT and STEM related roles. So science, technology, engineering, and math. So let's hear a little bit more from you, Dean Boyce, on that aspect. Do we need to get more women into that pipeline and how? Yes, so I think that that's a critical aspect of the participation of men and women in this fourth industrial revolution and really being, preparing themselves for the fact that we're going to have major disruptions in the type of jobs available in the future. But we're going to have new jobs emerging that we never would have imagined before. And these are far more knowledge based than ever in any recent history. So if we think of the fact that we've always considered liberal arts as a foundational education and there's been a strain away from math and science and engineering. I think as we look to the future, math, science, engineering are foundational as an education. We are certainly seeing this in universities. At Columbia Engineering, we're actually rather proud of our history with women that we have over 40% women in our engineering undergraduate program, 47% women in our entering undergraduate program. In the graduate program, in the masters, we're over 30% and at the PhD on the order of 25%. So we're definitely working on how do we, as one university, attract women to this incredible opportunity and we feel we're succeeding. And I'd like to say, I think the presence of women also attracts other women, right? So that's a tipping point as we like to use the word tipping point that women and the visibility of women in these fields and it's not just in the caring elements of these fields, it's in all parts of these fields. Women actually architect new computers. Women are changing the face of medical technologies. Women are at the heart of creativity. So women are in all parts of these fields and can really play a major role and we need their visibility because that attracts and welcomes other women into the field. So I've talked a bit about at the college level, but this really now needs to start and permeate into our elementary school or high schools that the sense that every student should get empowered with mathematics, with science, with engineering. And that they should feel that that's part of what they should be learning just as much as reading and writing. And we need to change that dynamic. And I think we're starting to get there, but it's the challenge. So some of that challenge is upstream. It's that pipeline of women that are coming in, having them go earlier and earlier into those kinds of fields to see some of those role models. What happens downstream? Are organizations prepared to bring those women in? So I think that's a great point and it brings me to the issue of the visibility of women in those professions because it helps increase enhance the environment to welcome women into these technology fields. We're certainly starting to produce women educated in these fields. And how do we have the right welcoming environment? We have heard some about the providing the right kind of childcare or family friendly environment. Also teamwork environment and the environment that you're working towards a greater goal to have an impact on things that affect the lives of people around the world. And I think that those kinds of messages really also enhance the environment that will draw women in. And you do need that to see that all along. And I would also just like to add one other key element that we have never paid enough attention to. And by we, I mean the global we is lifelong learning. Things are changing so rapidly, so disruptively now that you need that foundational education that you're getting at a university. But you need to really be preparing yourself to learn throughout your life that your careers are changing over time. And you need to be adaptable. I love the adaptability message here and the sense of how are we using technology to help with that, right? So we're starting to offer these short courses, micro masters in, for example, in artificial intelligence that we're offering. This is for students lifelong learners to be taking online. We're also one in data science. You may be out there already well educated and suddenly your whole job has changed because of the data science revolution. How do you catch up with that? So we need to have our, prepare our students with the foundation when they're in the university, but be able to be prepared to be lifelong learners. And do you find that there's a gender balance or imbalance in some of those lifelong learning courses? So we are a little bit concerned with that, that we are finding that men are taking these lifelong learning MOOCs, if you will, more than women. These, of course, are offered internationally. Around the world are signing up for these. And we are actually looking into how do we attract more women to be signing up for these lifelong learning opportunities. So to build on that point of adaptability, if you had to ask for one thing for business to do and one thing for government to do to ensure that we use this moment for that strategic acceleration for women, what would those two things be? So at the government level, and actually business can participate as well, is working on how do we permeate math, science, and engineering into all levels of education faster. So this is at the, you know, from the elementary school on up. And even at the university level there, we can have assistance. I want to say one more thing at the university level at Columbia, we're working on, and particularly in the School of Engineering, not only how do we best educate our engineering and applied science students, but also how do we provide the right sort of foundational courses for students who are studying other fields, right? So there's a role, a very different role there. At the business, it's level, of course, they can be participating in supporting education efforts. But I think this, providing the right environment and attracting more women into these technology focused fields, and I think a message they can be using is the impact of these fields on humanity, on the lives of people around the world are being changed because of what you're able to do with engineering and technological advances. And of course there's elements around the environment they can be providing within their, within their companies. Thank you. Shimomura-san, what we're hearing is if we stay on this course there could be some particular disruption for women in labor markets, but that there is a lot of opportunity. And we need to try to build towards that opportunity. So what would responsive and responsible leadership look like to ensure that we make that kind of change? The fourth industrial revolution has begun. But there are things we should do beforehand and also there are things we should do a little bit later. There are two things. The first of all, in Japan, I'm sure they have been done in other countries, up until high school. We have an education that is gender-free, but in university there are different courses selected by different gender. So women tend to go study arts or other home economy, science, or nursing. These are the areas that women have more share than men. And for engineering, science, architecture, and those areas, those measures tend to be studied by men and women only share 20 percent or less. I think there is a gender issue there. So women are thinking about the jobs that would be more nurtured toward women. So women think, and also the parents think that it would be better for girls to go and study where they will be more catered for the jobs later. But with artificial intelligence, if that change is 50 percent of the jobs, and then within science and technology, it would be a different focus. It's a focus not only to enhance the ability to do science, but then we will have different sense, sensibility, more human or art-related sensibility. Unless we do that, we lose the artificial intelligence. What we excel from that artificial intelligence is not just to pursue the science, pure science, but how do we incorporate the amenity and humanity, hospitality, in there? How do we integrate and enhance ability at the same time in science? And I think that also makes women shine as well. So we did have some gender differences, but I think in the new development of artificial intelligence, I think there are more areas that the women will be able to contribute to more. I have been a minister of education, science and sports. I think the more we progress towards the error of the artificial intelligence, I think the more we'll be able to see women into the society. And I think our political leaders' task is how do we neuter the environment for women to come more so that we will not be beaten by the artificial intelligence? And your question back to you, how do you think that can happen? What should governments be doing more? I think it's fundamental and universal in any place in the world. When we have this revolution, fourth evolution, the humankind, do we see utopia or dystopia? And 2025, and we have a new era coming. And then Karlsweil said 90% of the people do not need to work, so only 10% of the people work. There might be a word like the coming. When it comes to utopia, if 90% of the people are not working, is it going to be a very disruptive uncertainty? Or is that going into the lack of humanity and then the society will be very disrupted? So that gives us back into the important message. We used to have education that is more geared toward input, but now it is the output oriented education. So what kind of society do we need to have? So it is also the perspective of the lifelong education. So how do we able to live life positively, proactively while you enjoy your life? I think we cannot find that if you continue the same education system we are doing now. So how does a political system will provide that early enough? That is our task. Thank you. Let's take some questions from the floor. We have a few minutes to do that. I would like to keep two minutes at the end for my final question for the two speakers. But if we have a microphone. If you could just state your name and organization and then a brief question, we should be able to get a conversation going. Thanks for being here. My name is Stephanie Copeland. I'm the head of economic development for Colorado. I'm here keenly focused on bringing more women to the workforce with our emerging technology sector. One thing that you mentioned Dean Boyce was K through 12 and really the participation of girls which I think is also fundamental. How do we change our teaching to engage these girls earlier when we have a system that is fundamentally oriented towards the neurosciences of boys versus the neurosciences of women and is that something that you believe can actually be addressed? So I think there is an opportunity to really think on the earlier stage mathematics and maybe rethinking how we are actually educating our students on that. I think computer science is a big opportunity. We're seeing more students in the earlier ages interested in computer science and I think there's something very tangible about it that you see, you program something and you see a result. That can actually be inverted instead of thinking how do I provide the mathematics to do computer science and start with something computer science and then draw people into mathematics that way. I think there's a real opportunity there and I don't think we've captured that at all. It's a way to motivate students to learn math in a context that will have a more immediate impact. The other great opportunity which we haven't mentioned here is the maker movement. The sense that especially with tools like 3D printing that we can design and create and make new things is a very fundamentally human activity that we are creative human beings and we are able now to actually create rapidly, see our ideas turned into practice. What has astounded me is that what we don't capitalize in women if we go back and the area of home economics was mentioned. Home economics actually has many making elements to it and it's never been highlighted as the creativity of making involved in sewing, designing and sewing or cooking. We should be celebrating elements like that as really being part of creativity and making. Now we're taking that to another level with the idea of designing and fabricating other useful elements that can change so much of how we accomplish everyday things and 3D printing is really helping make that available to so many. We're seeing that infiltrate into middle schools and high schools. I think the more we see that that's going to draw students into computer aided design. Computer aided design is engineering. There are avenues where we can take some of the things that we might think of. You've learned A, B, C, D, E, F before you actually get to the engineering or before you get to calculus. Maybe there's things that we could do earlier on such as computer science, such as making and CAD that will motivate that to actually really make long-term bigger contributions you're now going to have to really understand what's behind these tools. What is the underlying mathematics and science? I think that that can help shape K to 12. We can take one very, very brief question. Hi, I'm Paul Costa from AFP agency in Paris. I would like to go back to the figures of the impact of technology. Do you have some figures on this? It's only a matter of revenue or it's also an impact of these strange jobs? Yeah, sure. We can have a conversation on that afterwards. It's the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report and it's focused very much on large multinational companies across nine different industry sectors. It's primarily white-collar work. I think there's a lot of other opportunities we've heard from the panel in other areas as well. Let me then ask the final question of our two panelists. If we are going to be in a world where we want men and women and robots to fulfill their potential, then how should we be advising children today? Perhaps we can start with you Shimomura-san. If you were to advise a 15-year-old girl today, what should she be studying? What would that be? For example, in Japan, we have memory-oriented education. That was the main core of the education system. However, for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the Artificial Intelligence Age, we need something beyond that. We have iPhone right in front of you. It can get very accurate information. So the world is changing. But iPhone and Artificial Intelligence progress, how do we actually gain the ability that would not be beaten by those things? I have mentioned before, but the area of hospitality, it is what we call a very feminine characteristics. How do we actually acquire that ability? And creativity. Hospitality, number two, creativity. It's also why you're studying, you think. How do you think while you're studying? So it's not just 15 years old. How do we continue to motivate curiosity throughout your life? How are we able to enhance my ability and live life fully? And also number three is when we have computer robotics, we will have more communication ability. So while we are cooperating with others, how do you live in society? So how do you feel happiness? So how are we learn the basics, I think, in school and also at home? And also it has to be consciousness in the individual itself. How do we live creatively and happily? And I think that is important. That makes our society better, I think. Guys, a 15-year-old girl today on what she should be learning in order to prepare for her future professional life. What would that be? So I will go back to thinking about and ask that 15-year-old young woman to think about her impact that we have a remarkable ability to have disruptive and rapid impact on so many aspects of humanity today. We see the big challenges in climate and sustainability and the rapid advances in medicine on human health, our ability to actually engage with one another locally, globally. And this message we have been giving here today on creativity. And when we think about that, these foundational elements in math and science and engineering are all part, an integral part of preparing yourself to have that impact. And so how do we motivate, and this is an earlier question, how do we motivate the right kind of education, and in this case it would be at the high school level, to unlock that creative spirit that math and science enable? Because that is needed to have the knowledge-based workforce that's going to have these big impacts, and to actually be prepared for a very changing and dynamic work environment going forward, and ability to really engage in very productive and leading ways. Thank you very much, Dean Boyce, Shimomura-san, for sharing your views on the impact on women of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Thank you. Thank you.