‘Terra grano’ is a project by Toyo Nut Foods Co. that introduces women who live in their own way. We are grateful for this chance to be featured.
ーーーーーSee below for the excerpt of the articleーーーーー
『Women we Admire by Terra grano (Vol.28)』
In this project, ‘Women we Admire’, we introduce various ways of life for women in a relay format.
The ‘Woman we Admire’ recommended by Terra grano is Kimiyo Aizawa.
WOMENCANFLY.CO was founded in Sydney in November last year and engages in activities to help women improve their skills and realise their dreams.
Kimiyo was asked about how she started her current activities and what she’s doing now.
Q. What kind of business or activities are you doing?
In order to support Japanese women in improving their skills and realising their dreams, I provide opportunities for women to make as many opportunities and see inspiring ideas as possible through events and workshops. I’m also planning a practical upskilling course that can be taken online for women who balance work, housework and childcare.
Since I just launched WCF in November 2019, I would like to make content that is more attractive from now on.
Q. What kind of ideas have you launched?
In each case, women who say "I want to do something but I don't know what I can do", realise their dreams by taking action and don’t use their environment or lack of time as an excuse.
In addition, we launched a website in Sydney with the desire to create opportunities for Japanese women to come into contact with as many ideas as possible in English and broaden their options.
I myself am struggling every day while facing life events and language barriers that are unique to women. I hope I can become an experiment while increasing even one option for a brighter future for women.
Q. What kind of world are you aiming by supporting the success of women?
We aim to create a world where women can enjoy work, marriage, and childbirth without giving up their careers. I believe that this does not mean that women are given preferential treatment but that it also benefits men and gives both men and women more choices. Life doesn’t have just one solution. I would like to spread information and ideas so that everyone can have as many choices as possible.
Q. Tell us about your previous work experience.
When I left my previous job at an urban innovation company in 2018, I went to Australia because I wanted to see Japan from an overseas perspective and understand the real needs of foreigners. My family and those around me opposed my decision to leave my job and relocate at the age of 32. Most of their reasons were related to life events like age and environment and many people asked, "Don’t you want children anymore?" This gave me an opportunity to think deeply about whether I would really regret going to Australia or whether it would be a good decision. After a lot of thinking, I went to Australia but once again realised that women are more dependent on marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth than men.
I have also seen many close friends struggle with marriage, childbirth and childcare, so I wanted to help them.
I like working, so I had a feeling that I didn't want to give up my job to have a child. Fortunately, during my stay in Sydney, I was able to see how women abroad balance work and raising children up close so I will continue to think about women's work-life balance and spread information about it.
Q. What has left an impression on you since launching the business?
At the time of the launch, I didn't have the funds and I did all the website creation myself. It took more time than I imagined to make one page because it was my first time and the website currently open is very simple but I spent more than 200 hours on it. I found out how delicate and difficult it is to create a website. The next time I renew our website, I would like to raise funds and feel more comfortable by asking engineers to do it. (laughs)
I also need to translate the Japanese version of the website into English as I’m thinking about putting the concepts and sentences in English and making it our main page. It also took some time to translate to make our vision consistent with the English version. Since it’s a small platform, I want to challenge everything speedily so improving work efficiency is my current issue. From this year, a writer living in Bangkok has joined the business and is gradually sharing work. Not only has the work been streamlined but the range of activities of WOMEN CAN FLY has also expanded so I’m really grateful. The website I make with her is filled with feelings of making everything from scratch but I have put my thoughts into each word. I hope you can see it at least once.
Q. What or who has influenced you?
I have more opportunities to talk about women's social advancement with many people regardless of their gender. What I’ve noticed is that there are so many different ways of thinking, what people want, and how they perceive it. I’ve realised once again that there is more than one answer.
Especially in Sydney, I meet people from different backgrounds and ages on a daily basis. It's natural to have a diverse background so I don't have to bother to ask about their nationality or age. Being exposed to completely different ideas can be an opportunity to reconsider my own ideas and it seems that the number of people who share their own values increases each time. That inspires me every day.
Q. Tell us your goals and dreams
I would like to concentrate on increasing the number of subscribers and followers so that as many people as possible can receive information about what we’re doing this year.
I believe that as the number of people increases, we can have the chance to create change instead of being an organisation where one person may not be able to make a difference.
From next year onward, with profits that I can generate, I would like to create a system in which funds flow to necessary places like support for female entrepreneurs and infertility treatment.
Although it is just the beginning, I want to continue to create a space that supports women and their hard work. I will continue to challenge myself.
January, 2020
Thank you for reading this, and We are always here for you! Much love, xxx
Team WCF
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