After becoming the highest-ranking female official ever at the Bank of Japan, Tokiko Shimizu is now focused on breaking glass ceilings with a plan to tackle deep-rooted gender inequality from the bottom up.
While the usual route for Japanese bureaucrats after leaving the public sector is to join a large company or think tank, Shimizu, 59, is starting her own consultancy after leaving the BOJ in May. She wants to focus on attracting more women to STEM-related fields, starting in high school.
“There are huge gaps between Japan and other countries, it’s one of the main motivations for starting my new company,” Shimizu said in her first interview since leaving the BOJ in May. “Japanese women are no less talented than men. I can help bridge that gap because women have a lot of potential.”
