Otsuka Yumi: Writing My Own Story

This guest article from Otsuka Yumi is part of the Asia program’s Women’s Voices from the Indo-Pacific Project. John E. Merow Senior Fellow Sheila A. Smith features influential women in Japan’s political, economic, and social fields.

I joined Toyota Motor in 1992 as part of the first wave of women entering the Japanese workforce after the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law of 1986. That year, including me, only six women were hired for non-engineering positions, bringing the number of women in career-track positions to 22 out of 839.

Throughout my career, I was a trailblazer. From being one of the first female career-track hires to becoming the first female Chief Officer at Toyota, I had no established path to follow. At times, I struggled to find my way. Fortunately, I had support from many as I charted out my own course forward.

Why I chose Toyota

When I began my job search, I had no idea that I would end up working for Toyota Motor Corporation. I thought Toyota might offer good opportunities to work globally, but there were few female professionals there. A young Australian woman who tutored me in English encouraged me to think about my future differently. She told me, “If you don’t have female professionals around you, you can build your career in your own style without being compared to anyone else!” I was so impressed by her approach that I decided to apply to Toyota.

Of all my job interviews, I found Toyota’s the most interesting. Several company recruiters asked me questions about the fact that I am a woman and how I intended to bring up children while working. On the other hand, my interviewers at Toyota simply asked me if I was committed to making a contribution (yaruki) to the company. They wanted to know who I was as a person and what type of employee I would be.

The Value of Being Different

At Toyota, I worked my way through a series of jobs. I began in product planning, where I was responsible for the Starlet and the Yaris, two compact cars. The Yaris continues to be loved by customers around the world.

I have always enjoyed storytelling, so my interviews with customers allowed me to develop stories around these small cars. Product planning requires creating a story about the product and its users. We combine data with individual interviews and work closely with our engineers to translate this story into specific features—such as exterior and interior design, engine horsepower, and more. Finally, it involves setting a price and launching the product onto the market. 70 percent of the users of these two cars were women, and I could empathize with them as they told me about their daily lives and needs. I fell in love with the job of product planning.

At the same time, I was always under a certain amount of pressure since I was usually the only woman in every meeting. I didn’t want to be perceived as special; I was determined to work in the same way as the men and prove that I could contribute to the company just like them. I tried to understand and follow the logic of the organization as much as possible, so I would not disrupt the organization’s harmony. Back then, I did not realize the value of being different.

In 2002, the Human Resources Division created a special project team to empower women, and I was selected to be a member of the team. Women in career-track positions were having trouble balancing work and childcare, and many were leaving the company. In response, we created an on-site childcare center and introduced flexible work rules, including a work-at-home system. The retention rate of women improved.

That experience changed my attitude toward work and even life. I realized that there is value in being different. My thinking changed from not wanting to be considered different or standing out to embracing who I was. This realization reminded me of why I joined Toyota—to build a career in my own way based on the diversity of perspectives I could contribute.

The Constant Struggle

I became more conscious of diversity and have been able to enjoy my work life more actively. However, the more senior I became, the more challenges I encountered. While my coworkers may not have deliberately sought to exclude me, I often found myself on the outside as a woman. I wasn’t listened to with care. My talking style and my behavior seemed different from those of male managers.

Especially after becoming an executive, I looked at other executives and created an ideal image of what I thought I should be, becoming caught up in constant comparisons. Whenever I observed the language and behavior of other executives, I felt inadequate and unworthy of my own role. When I faced difficulties over the years, I attributed them to my own shortcomings. I realized that many of these challenges were shared by many other female corporate executives across the globe. Imposter syndrome—the feeling now has a name. For many, overcoming this sense of isolation requires a great deal of effort.

After I became Chief Sustainability Officer in 2021, I had opportunities to meet female executives at our overseas affiliates. To me, they seemed larger, more confident, and self-possessed. One of them, Sandra Rogers from Toyota North America, encouraged me a lot. She holds a law degree and always speaks confidently and logically. She won many awards, such as the Lifetime Diversity Crusader Award, the Outstanding Alumna Award from the University of Texas School of Law, and the Black Enterprise Lifetime Diversity Crusader Award, among others.

Yet, she revealed that she also questions whether she is the right person for her position, which surprised me. I realized that leadership requires courage even when you have doubts. Sandra helped me realize that I shouldn’t step back from my role because I felt a lack of confidence. Instead, I must work hard and step forward. Changing my own mindset was the first step.

The advice of our chairman, Toyoda Akio, who was then the president, also helped. He told me, “You don’t have to compare yourself with others. That’s what diversity means.” His encouragement helped me focus on what I care about and excel at, allowing me to contribute through those strengths.

Toyota’s Transformation

Over my career, so much has changed at Toyota. First, the proportion of women in recruitment has greatly increased. Women were only 3 percent of the total number of career-track recruits in those early years. Today, women make up 30–40 percent of the total in non-engineering positions and more than 10 percent in engineering positions. Additionally, the values and working styles of our employees have changed dramatically. Our male employees taking parental leave rose from 3.3 percent five years ago to 61.5 percent in fiscal year 2023.

Moreover, Toyoda Akio has changed the way our company is governed to create opportunities for greater diversity in leadership and ideas. Our personnel structure has been streamlined. We are no longer top-heavy—the senior advisor role has been eliminated, and our Board has been reduced from twenty-seven to ten. Responsibility has shifted to those closer to the company’s actual operations across the globe. Toyota’s new personnel structure allows for greater input from all employees.

He also led Toyota’s transformation from a traditional automotive manufacturer to what we now call a “mobility company,” which gave us the opportunity to recognize the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for innovation. Our goal is to create a sustainable and inclusive society where everyone can move around comfortably, safely, and happily, expanding the value of mobility, diversifying mobility solutions, and connecting mobility to social infrastructure.

Last year, we held the first Global Women's Conference in Japan. Approximately 160 participants attended the conference, including President Satō Kōji, executive officers, department heads, female employees, and members from overseas affiliates. We discussed initiatives to change the working styles and the mindset of everyone at Toyota, aiming to create a company where women can thrive. In many ways, this conference was a gathering of women leaders and passionate advocates for diversity from around the world, coming together to accelerate and embrace diversity in Japan and to educate the Japanese workforce. Chief Scientist Dr. Gill Pratt gave a lecture on the essence of diversity and unconscious bias from a scientific perspective, and a North American female leader shared her career story, emphasizing the need for a shift in management mindset together with her sponsor. Seeing the venue filled with learning, empathy, and active discussion was truly uplifting.

There is still a long journey ahead, but I am determined to maintain this momentum and create a workforce where women are more able to contribute to meaningful work—not simply pursue the next title on the corporate ladder. Because of my own experience, I believe this focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion is essential to enhancing employee well-being and the sustainability of Toyota as a company.