With International Women’s Day approaching — and recognizing that a single day is never enough to celebrate the contributions of women — we are dedicating the entire month of March to spotlighting voices from across the industry as part of our IWD Voices series. Throughout the month, leaders will share their journeys, experiences, and the lessons that have shaped them.
Next up, we speak with Haruna McWilliams, Managing Partner at UltraSuperNew EMEA.
Over the course of our conversation, Haruna reflects on the gender dynamics she has observed in Japan, how she came to the industry by chance, and an early mentor who shaped her approach to leadership.
She also discusses a Women of the World networking event she led in Tokyo, what she believes senior leaders must do beyond statements and policies, and the change she wants the next generation of women to never have to notice.
The theme for International Women’s Day 2026 is “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.” What does this mean to you professionally and personally?
I actually don’t think of rights and justice in terms of gender to be honest. It is true that my home country (Japan) has similar issues and sometimes in a worse position when it comes to gender equality (125th out of 146 countries, lowest amongst G7, female income is at 75% of male income, with the gap that gets bigger the older the age) in business.
However, I’ve also seen and worked with so many women, Japanese women, who thrive in business globally around me from the beginning of my career.
On the other hand, I believe that men also need help in Japan. They are expected to fit into certain expectations when it comes to business. Although we see some glimpse of hope, for instance with more men taking paternity leave and more people opting out of the traditional corporate life, I still see a lot of women and men who are expected to work in certain ways, usually very time consuming, unproductive ways, such as many and long meetings without agendas and clear decision making, lack of accountability and clear roles and responsibilities.
I see that girls are still being exploited in show business, and hardly any of those girls end up running the show (so to speak) later.
Now that I’m based in Amsterdam, I’ve met a number of Japanese expats, usually single, younger women and men, who say that they have more freedom working abroad, without the ‘nemawashi’ (seeding and pre-agreeing with key stakeholders before a public, group meeting), and that they prefer to work in Europe than Japan.
On a personal level, I see that girls are still being exploited in show business, and hardly any of those girls end up running the show (so to speak) later.
Having said this, Japan is a country of paradoxes. When you look at the world ‘happiness’ ranking by gender, not only is Japan ranked relatively high as a country, but women have been scoring higher on happiness than men since the end of the Bubble era (80’s). In other words, the gender gap as defined by economic and political standards is lagging in Japan behind other ‘developed’ markets, but when it comes to happiness, women seem to be ‘happy.’
What first drew you to your industry, and was there a defining moment that set your career in motion? Was there a role model who influenced you early on?
I really ‘fell into’ the industry by chance. All my life, I’ve been ‘translating’ Japanese culture to non-Japanese people and cultures I grew up in, and when I wanted to continue doing that as a job, an Account Planner position seemed appropriate for me. I didn’t even know what Account Planners were when I joined my first agency!
A defining moment for me was when I worked on Unilever brands at the beginning of my career. I was surrounded by intelligent, outspoken and globally minded women both on the agency side but also on the client side. My ‘senpai’ (senior members) showed me the importance of leading teams and making decisions quickly. They were also not afraid to say when something was wrong to their bosses and clients. My peer group was mostly women, too.
A defining moment for me was when I worked on Unilever brands at the beginning of my career. I was surrounded by intelligent, outspoken and globally minded women both on the agency side but also on the client side.
I have to say that my role model back when I started was this Account Director who was leading a Unilever brand on the agency side. She only gave me pointers when I was lacking – the rest of the time, she treated me as her equal and spent a lot of time with me discussing, ideating, questioning my thinking. I wanted to be more like her.
How has your understanding of fairness changed as you’ve gained experience and seniority?
Nothing is fair – where we were born, what kind of family you are born into, what opportunities you find (or are provided) in life. The most important thing as a manager is to give as many opportunities to as many people as I can. Sometimes I was given opportunities, and I didn’t even know it. Sometimes I fought for opportunities.
The most important thing as a manager is to give as many opportunities to as many people as I can.
Not everyone is equal, and so when you see someone wanting opportunities (to expand their roles, to do something different, to try something that’s never been done before), I try to give them as much as I can.
As conversations around women and work have evolved, what do you think has genuinely improved—and where do you think more attention and action are still needed?
I haven’t seen much improvement, to be honest. Maybe I’ve just been fortunate enough to be myself and see other women around me flourish and succeed. There are many steps that need to be taken, however. At the hiring stage in Japan, there should not be a quota of how many men and women companies want to hire.
Maybe I’ve just been fortunate enough to be myself and see other women around me flourish and succeed. There are many steps that need to be taken, however.
There should be much stricter KPIs for each person inside an organization and clear accountability. This way, it’s not about ‘how late you can stay at the office’ or ‘how many meetings you can attend,’ but it would be more about what each person (women or men) delivered. Some people might have to go home early, because they have young children or elderly parents. That’s OK – as long as you deliver against your KPIs.
Is there a project or initiative you’ve worked on related to women’s empowerment that you’re particularly proud of? What made it meaningful to you?
I led a breakfast networking event with female entrepreneurs from around the world with an organization called Women of the World (WoW). It was a wonderful opportunity to bring together women with diverse backgrounds professionally, personally and culturally in one place (Tokyo). I invited Japanese women who are at the frontline of global business.
We shared our experiences on being women in the workforce. Surprisingly, most of the women had positive experiences, but we also agreed that there needs to be more women feeling this way. In order to do that, we also agreed that everything starts with ourselves. We should treat others the way we want to be treated.
What responsibility do senior leaders have in shaping more equitable workplaces, beyond statements or policies?
We need to be cognizant of the fact that life happens. Babies are born, people get married, go on holidays and they get sick. Everyone lives different lives. The world changes (sometimes overnight). Senior leaders should constantly ask for feedback from the teams, and we should also give productive feedback. If one person cannot perform the way she is expected to do, think about what else she could do instead.
If someone is clearly not willing to change the way they think, move on. Find your ally somewhere else. Life is too short!
As a senior female leader, be in the room and call it out when something isn’t right. I continuously tell my management team that we need more women in leadership. I even ask clients about what they do, and why it’s not happening. At the same time, stop wasting time – if someone is clearly not willing to change the way they think, move on. Find your ally somewhere else. Life is too short!
What is one change you would like to see in workplaces for the next generation of women?
I want women never to think or notice, ‘Why aren’t there more women in the room?’
