Promoting Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

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• Basic Concept
• Targets and Results
• Management
• Initiatives to Promote Women’s Empowerment
• Creating an organization where diverse human resources can play active roles

Basic Concept

Roundtable Talk on Human Resource Strategy

Management

D&I Promotion Structure

In 2019, we launched the D&I project within the Human Resources & General Affairs HQ, with the aim of taking a cross-departmental approach while reflecting the voices of employees in D&I measures to be implemented to update the growing scope of the organization. Also, in order to step up our D&I initiatives, in April 2022 we established a dedicated organization tasked with handling D&I measures within the Human Resources Department. This organization was named the D&I Group and has become a leader in promoting D&I companywide.
In April 2024, the D&I Group was transferred from the Human Resources & General Affairs HQ to the Sustainability Management Promotion HQ. Moreover, the organization has been renamed from the D&I Group to the DE&I Group. And, as a department that plays a role in sustainability management, it will promote DE&I within the Sumitomo Rubber Group.

Targets and Results

Honors and Certifications from Outside Organizations

We have gradually started to receive recognition from outside organizations thanks to various DE&I-related measures and initiatives. In fiscal 2023, we received the D&I Award Best Workplace for Diversity & Inclusion and were certified as a Hyogo Kobe Women’s Empowerment Business under a joint program by Hyogo Prefecture and Kobe City. In addition, we attained a “Gold” rating on the PRIDE Index, which evaluates a company’s initiatives regarding sexual minorities, for the second time after receiving the rating in 2022. We will use the various recognition and certifications as indicators to further promote measures.

Initiatives to Promote Women’s Empowerment

Commitment to “Male Leaders Coalition for Empowerment of Women”

Top Management’s Commitment

Strong commitment by top management is important to advance DE&I, including the promotion of women’s empowerment. The Representative Directors participate in the “Male Leaders Coalition for Empowerment of Women” (Secretariat: the Cabinet Office), and communicate both internally and externally our determination to accelerate efforts to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Dialogue with Senior Management

Promoting women’s empowerment

We believe that an organization in which women can play active roles is what allows diverse human resources to thrive, regardless of gender or other attributes. We consider the promotion of women’s empowerment to be the first step toward DE&I and have been discussing and advancing relevant measures in this regard. There are still many issues to be resolved, ranging from visible issues such as the ratio of female managers to invisible issues such as gender role awareness and gender bias. We will address each issue with sincerity to create an organization where everyone can shine, not just women.

Mentoring System

We promote a mentoring system in which experienced employees listen to the career and day-to-day concerns of junior employees in other divisions to encourage self-reflection. These mentors are trained by outside professional mentors, which also contributes to leader development.

Creating a Women-Friendly Frontline Worksite

As a manufacturing company, it is important for us to create and shape manufacturing sites where women and other diverse human resources can work comfortably. In 2023, a project team with members from different factories led an initiative to address issues such as upgrading women's restrooms, locker rooms, and other welfare facilities and reducing on-site workload in order to improve the workplace.

Promoting Women’s Empowerment in Local Communities

Encouraging Male Employees to Play Greater Roles in Child Rearing

Creating an organization where diverse human resources can play active roles

Promoting Understanding of Unconscious Biases

Becoming aware of one’s own unconscious biases is an important part of DE&I promotion. In addition to providing unconscious bias training to all levels of employees on a continuous basis, we have established a Group-wide questionnaire to check and quantitatively monitor the effectiveness of the training throughout the Group. In 2024, we plan to expand unconscious bias training to employees on the manufacturing front lines in order to strengthen the foundation for accepting and promoting diversity.

LGBTQ+ Related Initiatives

Programs and Guidelines

• Formulated internal regulations regarding the registration of same-sex partners while making a portion of programs previously designed solely for employees with heterosexual spouses, including special leave for weddings or funerals, available to employees with same-sex partners
• Made it possible for those with same-sex partners to use Company-owned retreat facilities, become recipients of insurance claims paid under group insurance or otherwise benefit from a portion of employee benefit programs
• Began accommodating requests from transgender employees regarding their use of changing rooms and other facilities and arrangements in health checkups if requested by the individual
• Established an in-house counseling desk through which those seeking counsel can engage with individuals responsible for promoting diversity & inclusion (D&I) while instituting an external counseling desk run by external specialist firms

Activities Aimed at Facilitating Employee Understanding and Awareness

Proactively Recruiting People with Disabilities

In the Sumitomo Rubber Group, persons with disabilities are thriving in various divisions. We actively recruit such individuals in collaboration with relevant organizations, and have expanded their job placements beyond general office work to include, for example, light tasks in factories, depending on the suitability of the individual. We also strive to create an accessible work environment by adhering to government standards for people with disabilities. For example, we have installed dedicated restrooms and elevators, and considered the height of card readers.
As of fiscal 2023, 2.56% of our employees have disabilities, which means we are meeting the statutory requirement, but we will continue to build a supportive work environment and actively recruit individuals with disabilities.

Rehiring Employees Who Have Reached Retirement Age

In fiscal 1990, the Sumitomo Rubber Group launched a rehiring system for employees who have reached retirement age. In fiscal 2013, we also initiated the operation of a target management system and, in fiscal 2022, incorporated a job-based wage system to upgrade our human resources management system for these employees so that they are furnished with proper wages commensurate with their duties in line with clarified definitions of their responsibilities and expected achievements.

Initiatives Related to Foreign National Employees

Expansion of Various Work Systems to Support Diverse Work Styles

In response to recent changes in the social environment, we have introduced and expanded systems and frameworks to allow for diverse work styles. To help employees balance their work and personal lives, we are endeavoring to reduce overtime, increasing the number of days of paid leave, encouraging employees to take advantage of their leave entitlements, and providing support for balancing work with childcare and nursing care. One hundred percent of female employees who have given birth take childcare leave, and in 2023, 85% of eligible fathers took childcare leave (including under company-specific leave systems), a 15% increase from the previous year. In 2024, we are starting a trial childcare leave system to provide further encouragement for taking childcare leave. Assuming the trial proves a success, we aim to make this a full-fledged system.
Since becoming the first “Kurumin” certified company in the tire industry in 2009, in accordance with the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children, we have continued to support child-rearing initiatives. In 2020, we received the Three-Star “Eruboshi” certification from the Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare, which is conferred on business operators demonstrating excellence in initiatives to promote women’s empowerment. In March 2023, we were certified by Hyogo Prefecture and Kobe City as a “Hyogo Kobe Women’s Empowerment Business (Mimosa Company),” a status awarded to businesses that are active in promoting women’s empowerment and diverse work styles. We have also established an external consultation service for nursing care and have been expanding support in this area by, for example, holding a regular care seminar on a different topic every year.

Manuals Regarding How to Strike a Work-Life Balance

We have prepared various manuals regarding how to strike a work-life balance as part of efforts to support employees who confront difficulties in balancing work and changes arising from life events, including the need to engage in childcare or family nursing care. For employees engaged in childcare, we compiled a manual for such employees themselves, their spouses and family members while issuing a separate manual for their supervisors. Moreover, we have developed a similar manual for part-time employees or contract employees so that they can utilize various assistance programs with confidence. These manuals also feature explanations of our diverse programs designed to support employees in various stages, including pregnancy, birthing, childcare leave and post-leave reinstatement, as well as articles on measures undertaken at the workplace level, such as those related to performance evaluation and target management. Other articles included are columns and essays, including a number written by employees who are mothers or fathers to share their experience. We thus utilize these manuals to support both employees engaged in child rearing and their supervisors while raising their awareness.

Work-from-Home System

We made our work-from-home trial, which had taken root as a diverse work style, an official system in 2022. This has enabled employees to have more flexibility in the way they work.

Childcare Leave

Sumitomo Rubber Industries allows employees to take childcare leave until their child’s second birthday. Childcare leave can also be divided into separate periods. As part of initiatives to encourage male employees to take childcare leave, we have issued a manual designed to assist employees in their pursuit of a good balance between child rearing and work, while the department in charge of human resource management sends e-mails to employees whose spouses give birth to the child as well as to their supervisors to encourage the use of the childcare leave system.

Paid Leave System for Childcare

To provide an impetus for taking childcare leave, we have established a paid leave system that allows for five consecutive days of leave for childcare purposes. This is available to both men and women until their child turns one year old.

Flexible Use of the Shortened Working Hour System

We reviewed internal regulations on the shortening of working hours. This resulted in the revision of the regulations to enable employees to flexibly switch from working full-time to working shorter hours, or vice versa, making it possible for them to shift their workstyles more flexibly based on differing needs arising from their life stages.

Paid-Leave Rights Preservation System Designed to Support Employee Livelihood

Sumitomo Rubber Industries enables employees to utilize their accumulated paid-leave rights in hourly units for childcare, nursing care, hospital visits and other private undertakings.

Granting Paid Leave for Care-Giving for Sick Child in Hourly Units

We have granted paid leave to employees who engage in care-giving for sick children. In conjunction with the revision of relevant laws, we have made it possible for such employees to take paid leave in hourly units.

Temporary Leave to Accompany Spouse Overseas System

This system allows employees to take temporary leave when they accompany their spouses on overseas assignments, with the maximum of one year of leave granted per one destination. Moreover, when applicants are deemed to have justifiable reasons, this system enables them to extend the initial one-year period up to four times and thus take leave for a maximum five years.

Developing a Workplace Environment That Fosters Diversity

We are nurturing a corporate culture in which people from diverse backgrounds can thrive while endeavoring to achieve higher operational efficiency, which will, in turn, free more time for the pursuit of innovation. We will link these endeavors to support the happiness of all employees and enhance corporate value. We have also introduced relaxed dress codes for office workers. This decision was a part of ongoing initiatives under way since fiscal 2019 to ensure respect for the individual personalities of employees and create a workplace culture conducive to the creation of free ideas and autonomous thinking. We have also renovated a portion of our office spaces into location-free workspaces to invigorate workplace communications.

Facilitating the Relaxation of Dress Codes for Office Workers

Introduction of flexible-seating workspace

At some of our sites, we have introduced location-free workspace, with the aim of enhancing communication among employees and optimizing space usage. We have also installed private booths to allow for focused work. These moves demonstrate how we are striving to improve office environments.
Moving forward, we will continue to gradually enhance our office environments so that diverse employees can work more creatively and flexibly.

Strengthening of the Internal Dissemination of Information and Upgrading of the Information Search Aid Available to Employees