The Shin Taro Yamada D&I Foundation (hereinafter referred to as "the Foundation") co-hosted the "Girls Meet STEM Summit 2026" (hereinafter referred to as "the Summit") on May 21, 2026, with CARTA HOLDINGS Inc. The summit brought together companies, universities, and other organizations participating in "Girls Meet STEM," a tour-style experiential program for junior high and high school girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

At this summit, we shared the implementation report and achievements of "Girls Meet STEM" for fiscal year 2025, and announced the policy for business expansion and new initiatives for fiscal year 2026, which will involve over 260 participating companies, universities, and colleges of technology (hereinafter referred to as "colleges of technology").

Furthermore, through a guest session featuring Cathy Matsumotoi, General Partner at MPower Partners, known as the proponent of "Womennomics," we shared the significance of industry, government, and academia collaborating to address the gender gap in STEM fields.

On the same day, a demo tour of "Girls Meet STEM," where first-year high school students from Jūjō Junior and Senior High School interacted with female engineers, was held in parallel at a separate venue. Active information exchange and interaction also took place among participating companies, universities, and organizations, deepening horizontal connections between entities facing common challenges such as recruiting and nurturing STEM talent.

"Girls Meet STEM Summit 2026" Event Overview

Date and Time: May 21, 2026 (Thu) 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Venue: CARTA HOLDINGS Inc. (Toranomon Hills Station Tower 36F, 2-6-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo)

Participants: Stakeholders from "Girls Meet STEM" participating companies, universities, and local governments (over 80 organizations)

Organizer's Greeting

At the beginning, Shin Taro Yamada, Representative Director of the Foundation, took the stage and explained that through the scholarship grant program, he realized that encounters with university students studying STEM and working professionals could be a significant catalyst for junior high and high school students considering STEM careers. This led to the launch of "Girls Meet STEM" in 2024 with the cooperation of companies and universities.

The initiative, which started with 16 companies in fiscal year 2024, has expanded to include over 260 participating companies, universities, and colleges of technology this fiscal year. On the other hand, although 8,962 junior high and high school girls participated in fiscal year 2025, applications reached nearly 13,000, highlighting the challenge of not being able to provide opportunities to all interested students. He then expressed his desire to deliver opportunities to more female students and expand this initiative into a societal movement.

Business Update (Fiscal Year 2025 Implementation Report and Fiscal Year 2026 Development)

Next, Hideaki Ishikura, COO and Senior Managing Director of the Foundation, explained the Foundation's initiatives and the latest business status. The Foundation has identified the resolution of the gender gap in STEM fields as one of its key policies, aiming to increase the proportion of women in STEM fields among university entrants to 28% by 2035 (OECD average in 2021, according to the Foundation's research). While Japanese female students demonstrate world-class academic ability in mathematics and science, their enrollment rates in science and engineering faculties remain among the lowest in the OECD. The Foundation emphasized that the background to this is not a difference in ability, but a structural issue of insufficient information and experiential opportunities at the career choice stage.

Based on domestic and international research, it was explained that exposure to familiar and diverse role models increases female students' interest in STEM careers, and that fostering confidence in "I can do it too" is more crucial than simply "liking STEM" in encouraging STEM choices.

In fiscal year 2025, a total of 171 organizations, including companies, universities, and colleges of technology, participated, with approximately 9,000 junior high and high school girls participating. Participants showed a 0.55-point higher intention to choose STEM fields (on a 5-point scale) compared to non-participants, and their confidence in "being able to enter a STEM faculty" (on a 10-point scale) increased by an average of 1.0 point after participation, indicating significant growth, particularly in confidence.

For fiscal year 2026, a total of 263 organizations (as of May 21) including companies, universities, and colleges of technology are participating. The policy to expand opportunities nationwide in collaboration with 12 local governments was announced, with a target of approximately 17,000 participants. In addition, new initiatives were introduced, such as "STEM Day" (August 26th), where participants can hear from women working in STEM fields online, and "STEM Week" (scheduled to be held in approximately 50 schools) around International Day of the Girl (October 11th), featuring career lectures (outreach classes) at junior high and high schools nationwide.

Guest Session "Women's Power Drives Japan ~Possibilities for Resolving Gender Gap through Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration~"

Guest: Cathy Matsumotoi, General Partner, MPower Partners Fund L.P.

Facilitator: Hideaki Ishikura, COO and Senior Managing Director, Shin Taro Yamada D&I Foundation

In the guest session, Cathy Matsumotoi, who proposed "Womennomics" in 1999 and has long advocated for the relationship between women's economic participation and economic growth, engaged in a Q&A with Ishikura to discuss the potential for diversity and next-generation development in Japanese society.

Matsumotoi recalled that women's economic participation began to be discussed not only in the context of human rights and equality but also in economic and management contexts, triggered by the government's inclusion of women's economic participation in its growth strategy in 2013. While Japan's female employment rate, once among the lowest in developed countries, has now risen to nearly 70%, surpassing Western countries, she noted that challenges remain in the proportion of women in decision-making positions and employment types.

She also presented data-driven analyses, such as the tendency for companies with a higher proportion of female directors to have higher ROE (Return on Equity), and the tendency for countries and prefectures with high female employment rates to also have higher birth rates, emphasizing the importance of viewing diversity from the perspective of economic rationality. Furthermore, she touched upon research findings indicating that teams with higher gender diversity from the early stages of their founding exhibit higher performance.

She stated that resolving the gender gap is "a marathon, not a sprint," and that collaboration among government, private sector, and education (society) is essential, emphasizing the significance of industry-government-academia collaborative initiatives like "Girls Meet STEM." Finally, she concluded with the message, "You can only be what you can see," stating that the presence of accessible role models broadens the pool of the next generation.

"Girls Meet STEM" Demo Tour

On the same day, a "Girls Meet STEM" demo tour was also conducted with the cooperation of participating companies. 17 first-year high school students from Jūjō Junior and Senior High School (Toshima-ku, Tokyo) participated in the tour. Through panel discussions and round-table talks with female engineers such as Satoko Otake and Jianghui Ouyang from Telesi Inc. (CARTA Group), they learned about the job content and diverse careers in AI and data science. By speaking directly with women working in STEM fields, the students had the opportunity to concretely imagine STEM-related jobs.

Information Exchange and Networking Session

Finally, an information exchange and networking session was held for participating companies, universities, and organizations. It served as a forum for frank discussions on common challenges in recruiting and nurturing STEM talent, as well as the unique approaches taken by each company. Feedback included comments such as "I expanded my horizontal connections with people promoting diversity in other industries" and "Each company is struggling with recruiting women in STEM, and I felt the importance of such collaboration."

"Girls Meet STEM" will continue to expand experiential opportunities with participating companies, universities, organizations, and local governments to deliver various possibilities and choices in STEM fields to junior high and high school girls nationwide. The insights and networks gained through this summit will be utilized to improve program operations.

Participation in "Girls Meet STEM"

"Girls Meet STEM" is currently recruiting new participating companies, universities, and colleges of technology.

If you are interested, please contact us at the following.

Inquiries regarding participation (for companies, universities, and colleges of technology):

https://share.hsforms.com/2mZnzIiyZQZWKpO8pp5Txlwr8gla

About "Girls Meet STEM"

"Girls Meet STEM" is a tour-style experiential program in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields for junior high and high school girls, implemented by the Foundation in cooperation with colleges of technology, universities, companies, and research institutions. Participants visit campuses, laboratories, and company offices to experience actual STEM fields, and broaden their possibilities for higher education and careers through interaction with university students, graduate students, and working women.

"Girls Meet STEM" Program Official Website:

https://gms.shinfdn.org/

About the Shin Taro Yamada D&I Foundation

The Shin Taro Yamada D&I Foundation is a public interest incorporated foundation established in July 2021 by Shin Taro Yamada, CEO of Mercari, with the aim of creating a society where everyone can demonstrate their abilities through the promotion of D&I (Diversity & Inclusion). It focuses particularly on the gender gap in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and develops programs to support junior high and high school girls in pursuing higher education and career choices in STEM fields.

Representative Director: Shin Taro Yamada (Representative Executive Officer & CEO, Mercari, Inc.)

Date of Establishment: July 1, 2021 (Thu)

Shin Taro Yamada D&I Foundation Official Website:

https://shinfdn.org/

[Contact for General Inquiries]

Shin Taro Yamada D&I Foundation Secretariat

Email: [email protected]

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  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: Event報告
  • Organizations: MPower Partners