Aiming to realize a society where women who choose to "work" can find support suited to their situation and continue working without being isolated.
- The following is content from the press release -
ArrowArrow (Representative Director: Chihiro Unno), a nonprofit organization that aims to realize a society where "life events" and "work" are not a choice between the two, has launched a free "Support Map for Working Women," which enables women to find support groups and companies according to the problems and difficulties they face as they continue working, from June 30, 2025. The map is designed to help women find support groups and companies that meet their needs and concerns as they continue to work.
What is "Support Map for Working Women"?
The "Support Map for Working Women" is a visual guide in PDF format to help women find support suited to their own concerns according to the various challenges and situations they face while continuing to work. 50 organizations and companies are classified into three categories ("Work," "Care," and "Health"), and each organization and company is introduced with a hashtag representing its support characteristics, making it easy to find support tailored to your concerns. The guide is divided into three categories ("Work," "Care," and "Health"), and each organization or company is introduced with a hashtag that expresses its support characteristics, making it easy to find the support that best suits your concerns.
The organizations and companies listed on this site support women by focusing their activities in the Tokyo metropolitan area, providing nationwide support online, or operating websites that disseminate specialized information necessary to solve women's problems.
Category Details
Work: Support groups and companies that expand options for "work" and lead to solutions to problems
Exposure to diverse ways of working
Connecting to a diverse workforce.
Challenge yourself to advance your career.
Consult with us about your "working" problems.
Learning for the Future
Care: Organizations and companies that support family caregiving, childcare, and other family-related activities.
Raising Children
Fostering Partnerships
Caring for and caring for parents
... Take care of your heart.
Health: Support organizations and companies related to women's health that are close to life events.
Having a child, wanting to have a child, and after having a child
Care for women's unique bodies/health, menopause, women's cancers
Background of "Support Map for Working Women" Creation
Before 2010, when our organization began its activities, the percentage of women who continued to work before and after the birth of their first child was around 40%, but the latest figures (2015-2019) show a significant increase to 69.51 TP6T (*1). Furthermore, the employment rate for women by age group in 2024 will be at the highest level ever for all age groups (*2), and the number of working women itself has increased significantly over the past 15 years. This change has meant that people who previously provided care at home, such as child-rearing and nursing care, are now entering the workforce, and as it has become more common for women to assume care while working, various issues have emerged. Furthermore, in recent years, the impact of health issues unique to women, such as menstruation and menopause, on career development has become widely recognized.
While legal systems are steadily being developed, including revisions to the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law, the Law for the Promotion of Women's Activities, and enactment of laws related to work style reform, and other measures, and an environment that supports diverse work styles is now in place at all companies, issues still remain on the frontlines. Even if companies are aware of the issues, there are cases where problems cannot be solved within the company alone or where it takes time to design a system. In addition, there are many cases where consultation systems in the workplace are inadequate in non-regular employment or in employment environments that tend to isolate workers.
On the other hand, working women themselves do not have the opportunity to learn about the various events that may occur in their lives, such as pregnancy, childbirth, child rearing, caring for family members, and taking care of their own physical and mental needs before entering the workforce. As they spend most of their day working without prior knowledge, they are forced to look for information only when faced with challenges. As a result, there are many cases where they are unable to connect to appropriate support, which hinders their ability to work. This current situation is a new social issue that has arisen because of the expansion of women's work options, and it is necessary to support individual women as well as promote the development of systems on the corporate side.
As one of the solutions to this new social issue, we received pro bono support from Members Inc., which operates a DX on-site support business for companies by accompanying digital human resources, and spent six months creating a "Support Map for Working Women. We surveyed support groups and companies whose activities are centered in the Tokyo metropolitan area and which provide nationwide support online, and after repeated analysis and categorization of the characteristics of each support, we visualized the results in a format inspired by the "chaos map" of the IT industry.
The hashtags that represent the characteristics of support are used to introduce organizations and companies, making it easier to find support tailored to your concerns. In addition, by aggregating the various challenges that women may face in their working lives, the site provides insight into situations that they have not yet experienced. Knowing that there is a destination to which they can turn for help leads to a sense of security that they may be able to manage their problems, and provides emotional support for women as they continue to work. This support map aims to realize a society where women who choose to work can find support in various phases of their lives and continue to fulfill their own choices.
Reference
*1: National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, "The 16th Basic Survey on Fertility Trends (National Survey on Marriage and Childbirth)" (2021)
*2: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications "Labor Force Survey" (2024 average results)
We have made repeated efforts to organize and categorize the complex needs and issues of working women and to convey necessary information in a visually clear and concise manner.
Chihiro Unno, Representative Director, NPO ArrowArrow Comments
Working women's options expand as they learn about support.
Aiming for a society where people can continue to fulfill their choice of "wanting to work.
Before 2010, when our organization began its activities, more than 50% of women were leaving the workforce after the birth of their first child. We launched our activities with the hope of changing a society in which women are forced to choose between life events and careers, and over the past 15 years we have worked to expand the options for both individuals and companies. Today, companies are accepting diversity in the way they work, and it is necessary for both individuals and companies to come together to address the new issues that have emerged from this change.
My inspiration for creating this support map came from a renewed awareness of the fragility of women's "work" at the Corona Disaster. In talking with various women, I saw that the degree of impact was completely different depending on the situation they were in, and that there were many women who did not know where to turn for help and held it all together.
However, there are actually many organizations and companies in the world that provide support in various fields to women who often face challenges that stop them in their working lives. Because I was able to learn about this through the activities of NPOs, I have a sense of security that if I have any problems in the future as I continue to work, there is a place where I can go for advice, and that something will be done about it.
On the other hand, company employees have few opportunities to get involved with NPOs and other support organizations. I myself had no contact with such organizations in my 20s when I was working in the private sector. It was only when marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth became close at hand for me, and I was concerned about whether I would be able to continue working, that I looked for a place where I could consult. That is why, when faced with challenges while working, I want to do something about the problem of being stuck in a situation where I don't know what to do.
In creating the Support Map, we aimed to create a map that consolidates the concerns and problems that women may have, and to support women in finding support for their own concerns and "find and connect" actions. We hope that after learning what may happen to you, you will realize that no matter what situation you find yourself in, there are people who can support you.
What you know will greatly affect the choices you can make. We would like to take even one step forward to realize a society where women can find the support they need and continue to fulfill their choice to work, receiving help and support instead of worrying and giving up something alone.
Talk Event Information
In conjunction with the release of "Support Map for Working Women," an online event will be held from July 14 (Mon.) to 18 (Fri.) to provide information on "current social issues facing working women. Organizations and companies working to support women in various fields will be invited as guests to provide their voices from the frontlines.
For more information, please click here.
About ArrowArrow, a non-profit organization
ArrowArrow is a non-profit organization that aims to solve social issues where people have to choose between life events and work, and to realize a society full of choices where everyone can realize the future they want. We are working to expand options for both individuals and organizations, including projects that support both men and women in taking maternity and childcare leave, support for balancing work and child rearing, and outplacement for women.
Corporation name: ArrowArrow, a non-profit organization
Representative: Chihiro Unno
Established: July 1, 2010
Business description: Support business related to maternity and childcare leave, training business to support career development of women and men facing life events, and provision of information including lectures and training programs.
URL｜https://arrowarrow.org/
