Navigating Gender, Race, and Culture in the Japanese Workplace with Jessica Kennett Cork

In today's episode, I share a conversation with Jessica Kennett Cork, Vice President of Community Engagement and Communications at YKK Corporation of America. In this week’s episode of the podcast, Jessica Kennett Cork shares her experiences as a foreign woman working in Japanese companies, as well as her insights into how to successfully navigate cultural expectations regardless of your gender or race. She also explains how decision-making functions within Japanese companies, and why it’s so important for non-Japanese employees to cultivate “global dexterity.”

Today's word:

りんぎ

ri-n-gi

Meaning: The formal passing around of a written proposal in order to gain approval from all stakeholders within a company, typically in a bottom-up manner, that occurs in large and traditional Japanese companies.

Jessica's Links:

-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-kennett-cork-ab41a812/   

Book Recommendations:

-JETRO booklet: https://www.jetro.go.jp/costarica/mercadeo/communicationwith.pdf   

-"Global Dexterity" by Andy Molinsky: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15824353-global-dexterity?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=xG3eVsNCFD&rank=1   

Related Episodes:

-Kasia on Hourensou: Improving Communication in Japan With... Spinach? (https://anchor.fm/businesssuccessjapan/episodes/Kasia-on-Hourensou-Improving-Communication-in-Japan-With----Spinach-ed15d8)   

-On Being an Effective Communicator in Japan with Anthony Griffin (https://anchor.fm/businesssuccessjapan/episodes/On-Being-an-Effective-Communicator-in-Japan-with-Anthony-Griffin-el1v9m)   

-Meetings in Japan: Honne, Tatemae, and Nemawashi… Oh My! with Ken Okamoto (https://anchor.fm/businesssuccessjapan/episodes/Meetings-in-Japan-Honne--Tatemae--and-Nemawashi-Oh-My--with-Ken-Okamoto-ekhnqr)   

Want to support the podcast? Check the podcast's ko-fi page to help keep me well-caffeinated: https://ko-fi.com/businesssuccessjapan

Be sure to subscribe for more Japanese language and cultural insights. And if you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review so that other people can find it as well. And of course, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, please email me at businesssuccessjapan@gmail.com.