Policy and Basic Concept

Amid intensifying global competition, ITOCHU Corporation believes that organizational diversity is essential if we are to provide direct answers to the diverse needs of the market and continuously create new business and added value.
ITOCHU Corporation respects human rights and prohibits all forms of discrimination, including that based on race, religion, age, gender and nationality. ITOCHU Corporation uses diversity seminars and organization manager training to publicize the tools available to employees and to raise awareness about the importance of communication. We do this so that they do not fall victim to power harassment* or sexual harassment (including unfairly disadvantaging, engaging in hateful speech against or otherwise harassing employees who are sexual minorities). Another reason is so that pregnant employees and those who are doing their best to balance work while raising children or providing nursing care at home can feel their contributions to the workplace are worthwhile.
With regard to employees facing the constraints imposed by child-rearing or caring for a family member at home, superiors encourage them to make good use of the tools provided by the company to strike an appropriate work-life balance, while the company makes it known that it is also important to review the work duties, responsibilities and work arrangements for the workplace as a whole. Additionally, the company makes thorough efforts to provide a workplace environment where discriminatory remarks about sexual orientation/gender identity and comments premised on subconscious gender stereotypes are not tolerated. Employees also have access to consultation services.

• Acts toward a co-worker in the same workplace that utilize the perpetrator's superior position or advantageous interpersonal relationships (or other aspects of the workplace), thereby causing psychological or physical distress, or degrading the workplace environment, in a way that goes beyond the appropriate bounds of work duties.

Targets

ITOCHU Corporation is working on the following targets that were set in line with our diversity policy.

Support for Diverse Talent

ITOCHU Corporation formulated a Plan for Promotion of Human Resource Diversification in December 2003 that furthered the diversification of our talent, entrenched that diversification and helped these employees succeed. We will continue to build an appealing company and corporate culture by providing an environment where each and every employee can exploit their unique traits to thrive and by working to strengthen our individual and organizational capabilities.

ITOCHU Corporation HR Diversity Efforts

Support for Female Employees

Our support for women gets the greatest amount of focus in our efforts to diversify human resources. By implementing the Plan for Promotion of Human Resource Diversification, ITOCHU Corporation has hired more women to meet our target, while we also provide programs to support work-life balance beyond the level required by law. At present, while these programs serve as a safety net, we provide attentive individual support that is tailored to each person's stage of life and career through Gen Ko Tsu Reform. Meanwhile, to create models of successful women and provide them with rewarding work—with our focus being on developing future managerial candidates—we conduct training that fosters career awareness among young career-track women and raise awareness among organization managers through their training programs. (See below for our action plan stipulating specific targets and efforts moving forward.)

Gen Ko Tsu Reform

Fostering Career Awareness Among Career-Track Women

Measures to Support Career-Track Women

(Unit: people)

Share of Women in Career-Track/Managerial/Executive Positions★
(as of April 1 for each respective year)

	Career-Track			Managerial			Executives & Directors
	Total	Women	Share	Total	Women	Share	Total	Women	Share
2016	3,490	307	8.8%	2,479	130	5.2%	43	1	2.3%
2017	3,531	323	9.1%	2,505	149	5.9%	44	2	4.5%
2018	3,539	337	9.5%	2,515	175	7.0%	45	2	4.4%

Balancing Work with Childcare and Nursing Care

ITOCHU Corporation goes above and beyond the requirements of the law to arrange programs available to both male and female employees that help them balance work with their childcare and nursing care obligations. This allows employees to continue making full use of their skills during their careers at the company, while resting assured they can handle stages of life where they must take care of children or elderly family members at home. Previously, few men took advantage of paternity leave, but in FYE 2016, we enlisted the managers of units where fathers work to help run a campaign that encouraged these men to take advantage of the program. In the following three years through FYE 2018, 168 male employees took paternity leave. Meanwhile, in FYE 2016 we trialed a telecommuting program for employees raising children or providing nursing care at home. This was followed in FYE 2017 by the official introduction of a telecommuting program which employees who meet certain conditions can take advantage of. Eligible employees include those with time constraints due to childcare or nursing care obligations, as well as those who face difficulty making the commute to work due to pregnancy, illness or other such reasons. As arranging for nursing care is becoming a public issue of growing importance, we have been holding nursing care seminars every year, while in FYE 2018 we introduced an online service that provides nursing care information and consultations.

Support Programs for Balancing Work with Childcare & Nursing Care

Support for Childcare

Support for Nursing Care

Use of Childcare & Nursing Care Programs

(Unit: people)

Use of Childcare & Nursing Care Programs★

		FYE 2016			FYE 2017			FYE 2018
		Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total
Childcare	Childcare leave	59	71	130	55	71	126	57	76	133
	Leave to nurse sick children	47	115	162	65	118	183	65	123	188
	Shorter working hours for childcare	0	73	73	0	76	76	0	79	79
	Special parental leave	5	34	39	13	33	46	12	36	48
	Ratio returning to work*	97%			82%			97%
Nursing Care	Nursing care leave	0	0	0	2	0	2	1	0	1
	Special nursing care leave	0	1	1	2	3	5	2	4	6
	Leave for nursing care	9	24	33	14	26	40	17	36	53
	Shorter working hours for nursing care	0	3	3	0	5	5	0	10	10
Family Support Leave		109	88	197	122	102	224	122	108	230

• The ratio returning to work after childcare leave is the number of employees returning to work after childcare leave during the current fiscal year as a percentage of the number of employees currently serving as of March 31, 2018.

ITOCHU Kids Day for Visiting Mom & Dad at Work

Since 2014, we have regularly invited employees' elementary-age children to ITOCHU Kids Day for Visiting Mom & Dad at Work. The children get business cards made especially for the event, which they exchange with employees at their parents' workplaces. They also attend a mock meeting in the executive meeting room and eat lunch in the employee cafeteria. These activities provide the children with a deeper understanding of the company where their parents work. The response from employees has been very positive for instilling an interest in what the children's parents do at their job and for sparking a desire to work at ITOCHU in the future. As we consider this an incredibly meaningful event for building family bonds and teaching children about ITOCHU, we plan to continue holding it.

Social Inclusion Support for Disabled Persons

To provide the handicapped possessing physical, mental or other disabilities with a workplace that is motivating and rewarding, we established ITOCHU Uneedus Co., Ltd., our first special subsidiary, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1987. As of March, 2018, ITOCHU Corporation's employment rate of disabled persons is 2.04%.

Efforts by ITOCHU Uneedus Co., Ltd.

ITOCHU Uneedus Co., Ltd. provides services including dry cleaning, photo and document printing, mail delivery, laundry and cleaning. The company's motto is about stringent quality control and friendly service. All dry-cleaning processes are performed by mixed teams of disabled and non-disabled persons. To expand business as well as to create a more welcoming workplace environment for staff dealing with an array of disabilities, in November 2015 the company relocated to new offices in Yokohama's Tsuzuki Ward with 140% more floor space and the latest equipment. Since marking our 30th year in business in 2017, we have continued striving to proactively support social inclusion for disabled persons and help create a society where they can experience the joy of making a contribution through work.

Support for Senior Citizen Employees' Success

ITOCHU Corporation has always proactively supported the success of senior citizens we employ. In response to Japan's falling birthrate and aging population, as well as to support success by our diverse workforce, we offer senior citizens an option other than retirement at the standard age of 60: the employment extension program. We have also provided a setting where senior citizens can continue their careers if they wish, thus applying their wealth of knowledge and experience beyond the standard retirement age. Furthermore, we hold life plan seminars for 58-year-old employees to assist with any plans for extending employment and to help them budget the next stage of life. We will do yet more to create an environment where senior citizens can continue performing motivating, rewarding work more than ever.

Accolades for ITOCHU Corporation

ITOCHU Corporation's efforts in "Creating Environments that Bring Out the Best in Employees" have won much praise.
In FYE 2018, ITOCHU Corporation was awarded the Excellence of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare in the "Family-friendly Companies" category for "Excellent Equal Opportunity / Work and Family-Life Balance Companies." The Tokyo Labor Bureau selected us as a "Best Practices Company" for our proactive efforts to reduce working hours.

Platinum Kurumin Authorization	New Diversity Management Selection 100	2017 award for Excellence from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare for "Excellent Equal Opportunity/Work and Family-Life Balance Companies" ("Family-friendly Companies" category)	Selected as Best Practices Company
Companies making excellent efforts to provide employees with support at work as well as with childcare receive approval to display the Platinum Kurumin Authorization mark. (Received in 2016 / Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)	A project for selecting excellent companies that provide diverse human resources with opportunities and an environment for exercising their potential. (Selected in March 2016 / Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)	A program recognizing companies that promote exemplary programs with an equal emphasis on work and childcare/nursing care. (Selected in November 2017 / Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)	As part of an annual campaign to reduce working hours, the Tokyo Labor Bureau selects one company from each of Japan's 47 prefectures as a "Best Practices Company" making a proactive effort to reduce long working hours. (Selected in November, 2017 / Tokyo Labor Bureau)

• Related data:Employee Status
  Share of Women in Career-Track/Managerial/Executive Positions
  Number of hires by gender