Human Resource Management - Diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I)

Basic ideas and policies

Basic ideas and policies

To become a “Co-creative Chemical Company” aiming to “Change society through the power of chemistry,” the Resonac Group seeks to utilize the broad technological platform it has built to work hand in hand with customers and various other stakeholders to co-create solutions to social issues.

For the creation of such solutions, we deem it necessary to secure human resources with diverse skills, experience and demographic backgrounds and provide these personnel with working environments where they can demonstrate their respective abilities and generate ideas. We then need to adopt a range of these ideas and transform them into collective knowledge. To meet this requirement, the Resonac Group defines DE&I as follows and will work to enhance it as a management priority.

Diversity

We define diversity as the unique features of diverse^* personnel that we should value.

• * In terms of nationality, race, gender, age, disabilities, religion, other backgrounds, sexual orientation, skills, experiences and others

Equity

We define equity as the provision of an environment in which individuals are given equal opportunities to demonstrate their respective abilities.

Inclusion

We define inclusion as the acceptance of individuals’ unique features and the maximization of the value of these features in our organization.

Promotion system

The Culture Communication Department, established under the CHRO, is leading the implementation of a range of measures in cooperation with those in charge of DE&I at each of our sites and other Group companies, such as measures to nurture an inclusive corporate culture and to help diverse personnel to demonstrate their abilities and maintain a good work-life balance.

Education for the promotion of DE&I

Through training on various themes, we aim to help all employees understand the essential elements of DE&I and incorporate those elements into their daily activities.

Co-creative collaboration ability enhancement training held for executives

Resonac independently designed a co-creative collaboration ability enhancement training program in which participants deepen their knowledge and understanding of unconscious biases and psychological safety. We expect that executives and other employees will make practical use of what they have learned in such training to build an even more inclusive corporate culture.

Women’s empowerment

The Resonac Group aims to increase the percentage of women in managerial roles to 7% on a consolidated basis in Japan and to 13% on a consolidated basis globally by the end of 2025 and has included these in its KPIs. We will develop female candidates for leadership positions through talent management, which is designed to promote the development of future leaders.

• Performance data related to promotion of women's empowerment

Supporting employees in maintaining their work-life balance

For employees with diverse backgrounds and lifestyles to continue demonstrating their abilities we have established systems including the following: systems that are better than those mandated under the Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members of Japan; and flexible working time and telecommuting systems that contribute to flexible work styles. We have also held a campaign to encourage male employees to take childcare leave. Moreover, we provide employees with babysitter support services and a program (seminars) to support those taking maternity/childcare leave in returning to work. In addition, we have a reemployment (“welcome back”) system in place for former employees of our Group companies who wish to rejoin the Group.

• In July 2021, we introduced a “concierge service,” through which employees can search for and submit applications to commercially operated nursery schools as well as obtain information about childcare.
• We expressed our support for the project implemented by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to encourage more fathers to take childcare leave.
  https://ikufes.fqmagazine.jp/booth/ikukyureport/ (only in Japanese)
• We expressed our support for the project implemented by Sekisui House, Ltd. to encourage men to take childcare leave.
  https://www.sekisuihouse.co.jp/ikukyu/ (only in Japanese)

Employment of people with disabilities

We are proactively employing people with disabilities toward the goal of disability inclusion under the slogan, “We change unique personality into power.” In 2014, we established a model workplace for the employment of people with disabilities within the head office. Since then, we have continuously been working to provide employees with physical, intellectual, mental and developmental disorders jobs that are suitable for their individual character, including printing business cards and envelopes and removing data from PCs slated for disposal. By sharing the know-how across the Group, people with intellectual, mental and developmental disorders are now accepted as interns and employed at our sites and Group companies. We have also established a contact for consultation through which employees serving as “job coaches” support Resonac Group’s employees with disabilities and those working with them.

Joins “The Valuable 500”

1. 1. Under the slogan that “We change unique personality into power” which aims to promote inclusion of persons with disabilities, the Resonac Group will promote establishment of inclusive workplaces where each employee, whether with or without disabilities or medical conditions, can feel peace of mind and show what everybody can do. (DE&I: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)
2. 2. We will provide differently abled employees with environment and opportunities that enable them to show what they can do, career vision that fit to their personalities, and support to realize these.
3. 3. 3. We will promote employment of persons with disabilities (inclusion of persons with disabilities) with specific targets.

• ※ The Valuable 500 was launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos held in January 2019. This international initiative was launched to promote inclusion of persons with disabilities under an idea that “inclusive business creates inclusive society.” The Valuable 500 aims to encourage business leaders to make their own companies’ businesses inclusive ones in order to let persons with disabilities demonstrate their potential to add value to businesses, society and economy.

TOPICS Starting an in-house campaign named “Uniqueness Supporter 500”

After joining The Valuable 500, Resonac distributed copies of a brochure on the inclusion of people with disabilities to all employees and called for 500 or more employees to voluntarily support the idea of creating inclusive workplaces where people with disabilities or illness can feel safe psychologically and demonstrate their respective strengths. As a result, as of the end of September 2022, Showa Denko and Showa Denko Materials have a total of more than 7,300 Uniqueness Supporters, receiving original stickers distributed to help them constantly commit themselves to the inclusion of people with disabilities.

Employment of retired employees and support for employees’ career management

We reemploy retirees so that they can continue to contribute their long-accumulated skills and expertise to their respective workplaces. We also support older employees with measures such as holding a training seminar in which those in their 50s are encouraged to think about their own post-retirement plans.