TDC Global challenges norms at Japan workplaces

• Name: Sarah Liu
• Title: Founder and Managing Director, TDC Global
• URL: https://tdcglobal.jp/en/
• Hometown: Sydney
• Years in Japan: 8

Telling Sarah Liu that something is “impossible” is less a deterrent than an invitation to prove otherwise. She prefers to reframe it as “I’m possible,” a mindset that has helped shape her path as founder and managing director of TDC Global. Based in Sydney and Tokyo with operations across the Asia-Pacific region, the boutique consultancy on diversity, equity and inclusion supports companies in embedding these practices to drive long-term business or talent success.

Liu was something of a change-maker even as a child. At the age of 11, she became the catalyst for her family’s move from Taiwan to New Zealand, which her parents believed would be a better fit for their forthright daughter.

At her Taiwanese school, in an education system that emphasized following directives without question, she was considered a rebellious student who frequently challenged the status quo. “If you’re going to impose a rule on me, then I want it to make sense and I want to understand why — but such thinking wasn’t necessarily encouraged in that cultural context,” she said.

Liu relocated to Auckland with her mother and brother, while her airline pilot father joined the family at regular intervals. She credits the New Zealand school system, which encourages curiosity and questioning, with helping her develop the confidence that her opinions were valued.

She went on to major in psychology and media studies at the University of Auckland, earning the opportunity to study at the University of Tokyo for a year. “I was told at the school that without a Japanese major, I wouldn’t be able to get the scholarship, so I applied and got it anyway!” she said.

After graduation, Liu landed a role at a branding agency in Sydney. Within a few years, she was excelling in the field and enjoying her life. Yet as a young Asian woman, she was also confronted by a lack of role models in the corporate world at the time.

“There are always some people who will question your ambition. As if to say, ‘Oh, you’re already doing really well for yourself — you want more?’” she said of the subtle yet ever-present insinuation “to manage my expectations.”

Liu set about addressing the problem she was seeing in her own interactions. With the goal of helping organizations shift their corporate culture, she began running events as a passion project called The Dream Collective, giving herself 12 months to get things off the ground. When the business expanded by nearly 400% within that year, she quit her full-time job in 2014 and has never looked back.

TDC Global was launched in Australia in 2016, and Liu now divides her time between its main offices in Sydney and Tokyo. The idea of establishing a second base in Tokyo began with a request from two clients who asked whether her company could support their Japanese operations — something many firms might have declined, given the country’s high barriers to entry for new businesses.

Liu, however, saw it differently. Having developed a strong affinity with Japan during her year studying in Tokyo, she believed it was a place where her work could have a meaningful impact.

When it comes to DEI consulting, she says there are two ends of the spectrum in Japan. “You’ve got the global consulting firms who are also trying to tap into the DEI space but who are not subject-matter experts, or you’ve got true SMEs, like the university professors, who will struggle to commercialize.”

As a boutique agency, TDC Global combines global best practices with local knowledge and the agility of a startup, serving an array of multinational companies such as Japanese mega banks, global tech companies and FMCG/health science companies.

Values that have long shaped Japanese workplace culture, such as respect for seniority and a strong emphasis on maintaining harmony, may not reflect the increasingly diverse and globalized business environment. Liu suggests that an overreliance on social cohesion can sometimes limit open dialogue and necessary change.

She believes the focus should shift from preserving surface-level harmony to building genuine collaboration grounded in diverse perspectives, where respectful challenge is encouraged. “It’s actually often welcomed because people don’t get that enough in Japan, and C-suite leaders, in particular, really value this if you do it right.”

This is particularly urgent in the financial services sector, which Liu says is “undergoing one of the largest intergenerational wealth transfers in history.” Firms that have traditionally been male-dominated are increasingly being challenged to ensure their client-facing teams reflect the next generation of investors.

A common issue for TDC Global’s Japanese clients is a perceived lack of ambition among their female employees. In reality, many women do want to be promoted, but career development conversations may result in managers telling them they “aren’t ready yet.”

In response, TDC Global focuses on working with leadership teams, including through male-ally training programs, rather than simply offering women-only initiatives. Liu cites the example of one client where this approach led to a marked shift within just six months, with the proportion of women actively seeking promotion rising from 32% to over 70%.

While it is true that women have made strides in the workforce in Japan, she says it isn’t happening fast enough. “Time isn’t a change agent. If it were, we wouldn’t still be facing issues such as gender inequality, which has persisted for over a century.”

Incremental gains, such as promoting a few individuals at a time, are not sufficient to shift the broader landscape. According to Liu, progress requires both speed and scale, and real impact is only achieved when many people act together to create systemic transformation, benefiting all stakeholders.

Asked about her advice for young women just starting out in their careers, Liu said: “Start investing early. And also invest in yourself,” adding that TDC Global gained access to new avenues because she has approached everything as an opportunity to grow. She also urges women not to always take “no” for an answer. “Sometimes we say, ‘OK, that’s the end of the story.’ But often it isn’t — it’s just the beginning.”