Megumi Matsumoto received the FY2024 “Saitama Prefecture Ginko Ogino Award” Encouragement Prize

I was honored to receive the “Saitama Prefecture Ginko Ogino Award” Encouragement Prize, which is awarded to individuals and organizations that have contributed to the promotion of gender equality.
Dr. Ginko Ogino was the first female doctor in Japan.
At a time when women were not even allowed to become doctors, she was a pioneer who, driven by her own experiences and the desire to help other women, spent 14 long years forging a new path.
Her biography ends on these words:

“Solving problems rests not on someone else, but on the shoulders of each and every one of you. Now is the time to support and cooperate with each other, transcending the barriers of male, female, race, ethnicity, nationality, creed, and religion.”

Reading these words renewed my desire to help build a society where people’s strengths can flourish and where we can support one another.