Promoting Diversity
Basic Policy
As the business environment undergoes continuous change and customer needs diversify, Toyota Tsusho respects and acknowledges differences such as gender, age, and nationality, based on a confidence that actively leveraging those differences will advantage the entire group. We promote diversity, equity and inclusion (D&I) as a management strategy. We are aiming to build a strong organization in which our diverse employees can demonstrate their rich uniqueness as strong individuals and evolve together by influencing each other. We reviewed existing job categories based on the details of work and introduced programs that allow all employees to select from among diverse career paths. In 2020, we also received Platinum Kurumin certification from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as a company that supports childcare, and we are working to enhance work-life balance by encouraging employees to take paid vacation leave and urging male employees to take childcare leave. We are also introducing reforms, such as work-life balance improvement by promoting the use of paid leave and childcare leave for men, flextime and telework, as well as on-site measures for the Ikiwaku Project (Organization Development), which reviews work practices, to shift toward becoming a flexible and highly productive organization, to foster an environment and corporate culture in which diverse personnel can work with passion, and raise individual awareness.
In addition to these efforts, the CEOs of each sales division set targets for diversity, equity & inclusion initiatives, reports on progress and results at the Executive Officers Meeting and the Board of Directors, and introduces systems that reflect assessments according to the development of human resources.
Toyota Tsusho's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
1. Definition
The Toyota Tsusho Group respects all manners of human diversity and seeks to actively leverage diversity to ensure that the group is able to address constantly changing business environments and diversifying customer needs in building a competitive advantage.
Diversity
A state in which human resources of diverse nationality, race, age, gender and other attributes (personality, values, etc.) exist.
Equity
Provide fair opportunities to accommodate different circumstances.
Inclusion
A stance that enables everyone to participate equally in an organization and be empowered to use their capabilities to the fullest, regardless of those varying attributes.
2. Four themes of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Toyota Tsusho has expanded its business together with a variety of partners including the merged Kasho Company, Ltd. and Tomen Corporation, group companies, and CFAO S.A. This domain spans the globe and a variety of fields and has roughly 64,000 group employees working globally. It is increasingly important that we flexibly respond to a further diversifying and more complex business environment and customer needs and respect diverse cultures, corporate cultures and values as we go about leveraging diversity to achieve sustainable growth and produce a wide range of ideas and synergies. With that in mind, we are now dealing with four themes on a priority basis.
- 1Expand opportunities for diverse human resources to thrive
- 2Foster a corporate culture that makes the most of diversity to create value
- 3Support achievement of both work-style improvements and a better work-life balance
- 4Change people's mindset
Toyota Tsusho operates in the Republic of South Africa; under its Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) program, the South African government encourages overseas companies to strengthen their partnerships with companies in which black South Africans own a stake.
- *B-BBEE seeks to promote the economic empowerment of black South Africans by scoring companies and organizations on their contributions to improving the economic position of black South Africans, and rating them from Level 1 (the best) to Level 8, or non-compliant.
Expanding opportunities for a diverse workforce
Toyota Tsusho is striving to expand the range of assignments and opportunities for a diverse group of employees. In Japan, we are taking initiatives to ensure that women are given ample opportunities, and overseas, we support the approach of IS0 26000, to maximize contributions to the sustainable development of regions and countries where we conduct business. We strive to achieve coexistence and mutual prosperity with local communities by developing human resources and providing stimulus to local society and economies through job creation and local procurement.
1. Promoting active roles for female employees
Under the D&I Declaration by top management in 2014, we have been implementing measures in four axes: (1) Human resource measures, (2) Human resource development, (3) Environmental improvement, and (4) Fostering company culture, with the advancement of women as one of our top priorities.
Action plan based on the Act on the Promotion of Female Participation and Career Advancement in the Workplace
By formulating an action plan and continuously working toward the achievement of that plan, each and every employee, including women, realizes a diverse work-life balance while maximizing their abilities. We will promote the creation of a work environment where we can influence each other and evolve as a team.
- Period of Action: April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2026
- Target
- 1We will accelerate efforts to support the advancement of women by expanding flexible work styles and support systems for balancing work and family life, supporting autonomous career development, and fostering a DE&I culture, with the aim of increasing the ratio of women in management positions to 10%.
- 2We will focus on creating an environment that enables diverse work styles regardless of gender roles, aiming for a 100% utilization rate of the childcare leave and leave system for childcare by male employees.
Female Manager Ratio
7.4% (As of April 2023)
Initiatives promoting the cultivation and active involvement of female leaders
Our Women's Mentoring Program (WMP) has been implemented on an ongoing basis for female employees since 2015 in order to nurture and expand the pool of next-generation female leadership candidates. Managers from other departments within the company and external women with management experience serve as mentors, promoting career awareness, expanding viewpoints, and helping employees to address issues.
We are also hiring more to further improve human resources who will become female leaders of the future.
Initiatives for Career Support
We have also introduced a variety of systems that respect the changes in employees' life stages and career perspectives, as described below. Many employees who have taken leave or resigned from their jobs and endeavored to improve themselves and advance their careers have returned to work for the company under these programs.
Leave of Absence System for Employees Whose Spouses Are Posted Overseas
When certain requirements are met, this system allows you to accompany your spouse when they transfer overseas by taking a leave of absence without retiring. This is meant to support employees' career development and to retain experienced human resources.
As of April 2023, a total of 19 individuals have taken leaves of absence.
Career Bridge System
When certain requirements are met, this reemployment system aims to support the continuation of employees' careers when they are forced to quit due to a change of residence resulting from marriage or their spouse's transfer, as well as securing talented personnel who have experience working at our company and have enthusiasm for improving themselves and working on advancing their careers.
As of April 2023, a total of 32 employees have been reemployed.
External evaluation regarding promotion of active roles for women
In recognition of our ongoing efforts in the promotion of active roles for women, we received "Eruboshi (Certification Stage 2)" certification in 2016, "Platinum Kurumin" certification in 2020, and were selected as a "Semi-Nadeshiko Brand 2022" in 2021.
- Platinum Kurumin
We completed the action plan formulated and submitted in accordance with the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children, and have continuously received "Kurumin" certification since 2007. We also certified received "Platinum Kurumin" certification from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare as a company that provides an even higher level of support in March 2020.
- Eruboshi Certification
In July 2016, we received "Eruboshi (Certification Stage 2)" certification from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare pursuant to the Act on Promotion of Women's Advancement as a company that meets certain standards and has excellent conditions regarding promotion of active roles by women.
- Nadeshiko Brands
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange jointly select companies that excel in promoting the active role of women in their respective industries for all listed companies. In March 2022, we were selected as a "Semi-Nadeshiko Brand 2022."
For every year, as of April 1
For every year, as of April 1
2. Global human resource development and advancement
Toyota Tsusho is cultivating human resources who can be active globally from a viewpoint of the key sustainability issue to realize our Vision, with the concept of "respecting human rights and nurturing and leveraging human resources to 'create people who contribute to a society'".
As part of our business strategy, with regards to candidate successors for extremely important posts in particular, our short- to medium-term nurturing plan through work assignments is deliberated on each year by our Global Human Resources Committee.
From the previous fiscal year, we have been working to globalize the organization and promote diverse human resources, including the appointment of two employees from overseas local subsidiaries as general managers at our head office.
In addition, a new webinar was held for past participants of the selective training program for human resources in Japan and overseas to help expand their global network and pass on the “Toyota Tsusho character" to future generations.
3. Creation of jobs in local communities
Toyota Kenya Academy
In 2014, Toyota Tsusho established the Toyota Kenya Academy in Nairobi, Kenya. The academy is a vocational and adult training center open to local community members.
Through the academy, we offer various technical training programs including automotive maintenance, construction, and agricultural machinery as well as leadership, utilizing support from the Government of Japan and domestic and overseas stakeholder organizations. More than 7,000 people have received training at the Academy to date, including youth and women.
Furthermore, we provide technical training to refugees who fled to Kenya from neighboring countries to promote their independence, in partnership with the United Nations organizations, such as UNHCR and UN WOMEN.
Creation of employment opportunities in India
Toyotsu Ambika Automotive Safety Components India Private Limited (TASI) manufactures airbags in the suburbs of the capital city Delhi in India*, which has a low female labor participation rate. The company is garnering attention for enabling the active involvement of female employees.
TASI has worked to create an environment where women can work with peace of mind by installing air-conditioning in its plants for employee health and safety, providing transportation buses and dorms exclusively for female employees, and enhancing its educational package including fundamental action in the workplace and overseas on-the-job training. The company has also worked to address the issues of employment opportunities for women and work disparities by building relationships based on trust through company tours for the families of employees and other measures.
As a result of these efforts, the company has created a workplace with 100% women production workers. TASI conducts on-site recruiting activities in the northeast and northern regions of India, which are impoverished areas, and to date has hired 71 employees from these regions of its total workforce of 200.
Through these initiatives for the active and regular employment of women, Toyota Tsusho will continue to support social advancement in developing countries by giving due consideration to human rights and creating healthy work environments.
* World Economic Forum, national ranking of Economic Participation and Opportunity for Women: India was ranked 142 out of 149 countries.
World Bank, labor force participation rate by women (2017 global standard value: approx. 49%), India: Approx. 27%; declining since peaking in 2005.
Fostering corporate awareness and culture
Organizational cultures are typically built around conventional personnel schemes, traditional work styles found to be successful in the past, and communication styles designed for giving instructions and orders. These cultures can sometimes stand in the way of creating new organizations and workplaces.
We are in an era where, to respond to rapid changes in the environment as well as diversity and uncertainty going forward, people with different experiences and backgrounds must share and understand each other's dreams and visions to produce results as an organization. For this reason, achieving DE&I is the key to the growth of the company.
To foster the awareness and culture necessary for DE&I, Toyota Tsusho has been implementing an initiative called Ikiwaku Project" since the fiscal year 2014. This project is carried out in small units - offices and groups - and the members themselves decide the theme and work together to continuously improve productivity of the organization. But as long as the following four rules are adhered to, anything goes. This is an activity that respects spontaneity, allowing various initiatives are born, such as initiatives for new workstyles and study sessions for thinking about new businesses.
(4 rules)
- Share "your ideal self"
- Everyone must share their opinions
- Accept different ideas and values
- Build consensus, cooperate, and co-create
Through this project, we aim to foster an awareness and culture in which employees work on things willingly and on their own initiative while accepting diversity of values.
From 2019, we will start expanding this activity beyond just one company to all Group companies with the goal of achieving DE&I across the Group.
Since 2020, in addition to visualizing the state of the organization through engagement surveys, we have held workshops and lectures to encourage enthusiasm and engagement for each employee.
Furthermore, we offer a Hybrid Communication Program (a training program for acquiring hybrid communication skills, such as coaching) for middle management, aiming to activate the initiative and best performance of each employee. To March 2022, approximately 200 employees had participated in the program.
The Advanced Hybrid Communication Program was established in 2021, providing opportunities to acquire skills at an even higher level.