Yoshiko Shinohara

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Yoshiko Shinohara
Born (1934-10-19) 19 October 1934 (age 89)
NationalityJapanese
Known forFounder and chairman emeritus, Persol Holdings (formerly Temp Holdings)

Yoshiko Shinohara (Japanese: 篠原欣子, Hepburn: Shinohara Yoshiko) is a Japanese businesswoman and philanthropist. Shinohara founded Persol Holdings (formerly Tempstaff) in 1973, leading the company until she retired while taking on the role of chairman emeritus in 2016. In 2017, she became the first woman in Japan to become a self-made billionaire.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Shinohara was born in 1934, to a school headmaster and a midwife.[2] She had a tough upbringing growing up during World War II and her father died when she was only 8.[2][3] She attended public schools, eventually graduating from Yokohama Eiri Girls High School in 1953.[4] She got married shortly after finishing high school when she was 20 but left her husband shortly thereafter realizing "she would rather not be married."[4] She never remarried and has no children.[5]

Career[edit]

In 1973, Shinohara founded Tempstaff from a one-bedroom apartment after returning to Japan after living abroad in Europe and Australia where she saw women working as temps.[6] She was 38 and had recently divorced her husband.[7] At the time, it was unusual for Japanese women to do paid work let alone start a company and, initially, her company was in violation of the law which did not allow for temporary employment.[8][9] The company was initially staffed entirely by women but began hiring men in 1988.[6]

Shinohara retired from her role as chairman of the company in 2016 while retaining the title of chairman emeritus.[10] As of 2020, she had an 11% stake in Persol Holdings.[11] In early 2023, she became Japan's first self-made woman billionaire as shares in her company boomed.[12] Forbes estimated her net worth at $965 million in 2023.[10]

She has described her management approach as "start small, grow it large” explaining that "women have the knack of steadily building a businesses as well as being able to give form to ideas that are close at hand."[9]

Awards[edit]

She has been ranked as one of the world's strongest women executives by Forbes, a top women in world business by the Financial Times, as one of the most powerful women in business by Fortune for nine consecutive years, and as one of the "Stars of Asia Entrepreneurs" by BusinessWeek.[13][14][15]

Philanthropy and advocacy[edit]

In 2016, she donated $140 million of stock to endow the Yoshiko Shinohara Memorial Foundation which would fund scholarships for students studying to become nurses, social worker or day-care staff.[2] Her decision to retire from Persol Holdings to focus on philanthropy has been cited as an example of women being more likely to donate than men of equal means.[16]

She is an advocate for government policies that encourage more women to enter the workforce.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Neate, Rupert. "Forbes billionaire list: Trump loses $1bn as elite club gets 233 new members". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "The Philanthropic Pledge: The Story of Japan's First Self-Made Woman Billionaire". Amazons Watch Magazine. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Yoshiko Shinohara". Bloomberg. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b "女性リーダーのビジネススタイル テンプスタッフ篠原欣子社長が語る"体験的男女論"". 日経ビジネスオンライン. 11 August 2006. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  5. ^ Sorvino, Chloe. "Meet Japan's First Self-Made Woman Billionaire". Forbes. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b Yamazaki, Anthony J. Mayo and Mayuka (1 October 2009). "Pioneering entrepreneur Yoshiko Shinohara on turning temporary work into big business in Japan". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  7. ^ "放送 テンプスタッフ 社長 篠原 欣子 （しのはら・よしこ）氏". カンブリア宮殿： テレビ東京 (in Japanese). 2 July 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  8. ^ Clifford, Catherine (24 January 2017). "Japan's first self-made woman billionaire began with an idea that could have sent her to jail". CNBC. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Shinohara, Yoshiko (11 June 2012). "Women need more help to stay part of the workforce". www.ft.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Yoshiko Shinohara". Forbes. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Yoshiko Shinohara". Forbes. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Meet Japan's first self-made female billionaire". The Independent. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  13. ^ "「最強女性」はペプシコＣＥＯ テンプ篠原氏も３７位に - 47NEWS（よんななニュース）". 16 June 2013. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  14. ^ "The top 50 women in world business 2011". www.ft.com. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  15. ^ "The top 50 women in world business 2010". www.ft.com. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  16. ^ Sellen, Charles; Skidmore, Tessa (25 February 2021). "Giving while female: Women are more likely to donate to charities than men of equal means". The Conversation. Retrieved 11 April 2024.


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