This March, during Women’s History Month, EquiLend will be featuring Q&As with some of the EquiLend women who are helping to shape our business!
Yuka Hasumi
Sales
Associate Director
Tokyo
Who are the women who inspire you the most, and why?
All mothers.
Becoming a parent, a working-mum, inspires me to be a positive role model, and for me, being a mother means being fearless and courageous.
My mother in particular is my inspiration and my role model.
In 1992, we relocated as an expatriate family from Tokyo to London. Despite communication difficulties, unpredictability of life in Britain, very different culture to what she’s known her whole life, she thrived on bringing up three daughters through primary to higher education, through thick and thin, and taught and motivated us to grow without any barriers. She welcomed each day as it came, and I never saw her without a beaming smile on her face – she made it look so easy. Collectivism is not how you describe her; she always promoted individualism.
I still recall my late grandmother telling me, “Always look at life ahead of you as a challenge, and seize each day.” This was the last time I saw her when she visited us in London despite her fear of heights and first-ever air flight over 6,000 miles. My mother carries on her legacy with her determination and independency, which continues to inspire me.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Too many! But my #1 would be: “The world is bigger than you think it is, and your worries are not as important as you think they are. Just be you.”
As we’re celebrating Women’s History Month, what advice would you give to any women reading this?
Take risks and don’t fear – you have the power to shape your life and career. The experiences in life bring things into perspective and enrich social values. Build on belongingness socially and at work. Smile more and worry less!