〜Toward Mutual Understanding, Brotherhood, and Humanhood〜

“A mentor isn’t someone who gives you answers – they share confidence with you. Senior leaders believed in me and said, ‘You can do this.’ That support carried me forward.”

At TBWA\HAKUHODO, there is a voluntary, cross-organizational group of employees calling themselves the Peace Pirates, who are passionate about DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) and all things bridge-building. Since its launch in 2020, the group has organized and hosted many study sessions and events such as “Gender Week” and “Pride Month,” driving positive changes in HR policy and office culture through their inimitable friendly yet thought-provoking bottom-up approach.

For this year’s International Women’s Day, Peace Pirates once again chose “mentorship” as its central theme. Centered around the progress of a newly launched internal “women’s mentorship program,” at TBWA\HAKUHODO, the session welcomed some very special guest speakers—including the Head of Sustainability Planning at Hakuhodo and the CEO of TBWA\Australia—fostering dialogue that transcended national and organizational boundaries.

Speakers

Kimberlee Wells
CEO, TBWA\Australia
One of the leading female executives in the TBWA Collective . Through mentorship programs such as “Take the Lead,” she has led the charge of closing the gender gap in Australia.

Chigusa Emura
Executive Manager, Corporate Sustainability Planning Department,
Corporate Strategy Division, Hakuhodo Inc.
Leading DE&I initiatives across the Hakuhodo Group, she has designed and implemented innovative programs that incorporate external leaders as mentors.

Kyoko Yonezawa
Head of Innovation, TBWA\HAKUHODO
Leads the mentorship program within TBWA\HAKUHODO. Drawing from her own experience, she advocates for systems that alleviate the concerns of young female employees.

Facilitators: Saya Oka, Yuina Goda, Mayumi Hamada (Peace Pirates)

The Stark Numbers Facing Japan and the Advertising Industry

At the beginning of the session, a harsh reality facing Japan was presented. In the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap Index, Japan ranked 118th out of 148 countries. While the country scores highly for gender parity in education and health, it still significantly lags behind globally in economic participation and political representation.
The advertising industry is no exception. With a dearth of female leadership in the industry in Japan, ensuring diversity in executive positions remains a major challenge. As a key to breaking through these structural barriers, “mentorship” has come into focus as a way to foster and inspire young female talent into leadership.

Overcoming Anxiety with the “Parts Model”

Emura emphasized the importance of the “mentorship with external female leaders” program launched on a trial basis in fiscal 2025.
“When there are few female leaders within a company, and they tend to be very strong, super-robust types who have risen through the ranks. Younger employees see this limited pool of senior women and think ‘I can never be like that.’ To address this, we intentionally created opportunities for dialogue with female leaders from outside of Hakuhodo, so our mentees can have exposure to the widest range of women leaders as possible.”
She continued: “Because they are external, there are no conflicts of interest. This allows mentees to speak openly while receiving objective advice. This psychological safety is what truly empowers young employees to take the next step.”

Yonezawa added that one of the biggest takeaways from mentoring was the idea of a “parts model.”
“Instead of searching for one perfect role model, you can learn different elements from multiple mentors—‘I admire this aspect of this person,’ or ‘I want to adopt that mindset.’ This approach of combining ‘parts’ helps you build your own unique leadership style much more effectively. That’s why it’s so important to have leaders from diverse backgrounds—it gives us many different parts to learn from and put together.”

Emura also noted: “Every woman has a unique background and mindset, so there is no one-size-fits-all mentor. Through dialogue with multiple people, mentees realize—paradoxically—that they must take ownership of their own careers and cherish that ‘will’ and ‘self-belief’ they discover through the process.”

Parental Leave Is Not a Career Gap, but an “MBA-Level Learning Experience”

One of the most engaging parts of the session was the reframing of parental leave in a positive light.
Yonezawa cited cited research from Switzerland showing that each instance of a father taking parental leave increases the mother’s lifetime earnings by 7%. (*1) She firmly stated the value of both parents taking parental leave as follows:
“There’s no need to view a year of parental leave as a blank in your career.
Our work is about understanding people and lifestyles deeply and designing communication based on this deep knowledge.
The process of raising a child offers you experience and insight that is as valuable as (if not more than) studying for an MBA, I think.
If society starts recognizing child-rearing and balancing family with work as a ‘valuable experience,’that contributes to your growth and maturation as a worker too, young professionals will feel more empowered to embrace their different needs at different life stages.”

Have the Courage to “Hit the Ball”

From her uniquely global perspective, Kimberlee Wells delivered a powerful message about the leadership mindset:
“At a DE&I event with Martina Navratilova, Martina said:‘Hit the damn ball.’
When opportunity comes knocking, many of us hesitate.
We wonder, ‘Do I deserve this?’ ‘Can I do it perfectly?’.
Imposter syndrome rears its ugly head, but the truth is, you don’t need permission from anybody. What’s most important is to step up and have the courage to own the room.”
She also defined the essence of mentorship:
“A mentor isn’t someone who gives you answers—they share confidence with you. When I doubted, senior leaders believed in me and said, ‘You can do this.’ That support carried me forward. Now it’s my turn to pass that on. This cycle of energy is what defines Sisterhood.”

Sisterhood as a Gateway to “Humanhood”

Toward the end of the session, the discussion expanded beyond women’s solidarity to the broader vision of organizations.
Wells opined:
Wells opined: “Sisterhood isn’t about excluding men. Women supporting each other, can inspire men to build their own sense of brotherhood—where they also acknowledge vulnerability and support one another. Ultimately, we should aim for ‘Humanhood’—an environment where everyone is respected as individuals, beyond gender.”

Emura concluded:
“By sharing knowledge across TBWA\HAKUHODO, Hakuhodo, and the global TBWA network—and by continuing to make diverse role models visible—we can create a future where everyone can choose their own way of working.”

Peace Pirates members and guests Kyoko Yonezawa, Chigusa Emura and Kimberlee Wells (pictured left)

The Peace Pirates will continue to create an environment of open and friendly communication through a bottom-up approach to shed light on the issues that need to be discussed. Stay tuned for what’s next!