Diversity

Policy and Basic Concept

ITOCHU views diversifying consumer needs with a market-oriented approach. We believe accepting and utilizing diversity (D&I: diversity and inclusion) is essential to provide new value.
ITOCHU Corporation respects human rights and prohibits all forms of discrimination, including that based on race, gender, religion, nationality and age. We are creating an environment where employees do not fall victim to power harassment or sexual harassment (including unfairly disadvantaging or otherwise harassing employees who are sexual minorities) in the workplace and where we accept diverse values. This is an environment in which each of our employees is motivated to work and can demonstrate their abilities to the fullest through flexible work styles and individual support (E: equity). We use a diversity month organized by the Human Resources & General Affairs Division and organization manager training to raise awareness about the importance of diversity and publicization of support systems.

Additionally, we are establishing 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.

We are linking an environment where employees with diverse values can play an active role utilizing their unique qualities to growth of our employees, enhancement in our organizational capabilities and an expansion in our earnings power. We are aiming to achieve our corporate philosophy of “Sampo-yoshi” (good for the buyer, good for the seller and good for society) through such initiatives.

Targets and Action Plan

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Division Company SDGs Targets Impact Classification Issues to Address Business Area Commitment Specific Approach Performance Indicators
(Non-Consolidated)
Degree of Progress
Headquarters
Labor Practices Creating an environment that allows diverse human resources to exercise their potential Human resources affairs We will prohibit all types of discrimination, including those based on race, gender, religion, nationality and age, and respect human rights. We will accept diverse values and create an environment where each employee maximize their ability with flexible working style and other supports.
  • Continue fair and equitable recruitment and promotion.
  • Create a work environment in which employees accept and leverage diverse values.
  • In anticipation of an increase in dual-income couples, enhance support for balancing childcare, nursing care, fertility treatment and similar circumstances with work (including utilization of flexible working style).
  • Individual support according to the life stage and career of each individual.
  • Support for Seniors' Success (over age of 60).
  • Promote understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ and other sexual minority employees (e.g., employee education).
  • Give reasonable consideration to the work environment of employees with disabilities.
  • Achieve the following plans by the end of FYE 2024
    • (1) Female employees as a percentage of new employees: 25%
    • (2) Female employees as a percentage of workforce: 25%
    • (3) Female employees as a percentage of employees in managerial positions: 9%
    • (4) Percentage of male employees who take childcare leave: Over 50%
    • (5) Compliance to rate of the employment of whose with disabilities which designated by law
    • (1) to (4) are stipulated in the General Employer Action Plan under the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace
  • Progress of the Performance Indicators
    • (1) The percentage of female employees as a percentage of new employees: 32.1% in FYE 2023.
    • (2) The percentage of female employees as a percentage of workforce: 24.3% as of March 2023.
    • (3) The percentage of female employees in managerial positions: 8.6% as of March 2023.
    • (4) The percentage of male employees who take childcare leave: 52% in FYE 2023.
    • (5) The percentage of employment of those with disabilities over our entire group: 2.5% as of March 2023 (Includes ITOCHU Uneedus Co., Ltd. and ITOCHU Human Resources & General Affairs Services Inc.)
  • Introduced the following measures as a result of discussions at the Women's Participation Promotion Committee
    • (1) Broad options for work styles after childbirth and introduce a “childcare support allowance” (from October 2022)
    • (2) Evolution of work-style reforms, such as the introduction of a “morning-focused flexible time system” and “working from home” for all employees (from January 2023)
  • Introduced the “Health and Childcare Concierge”, an anonymous consultation desk by a midwife advisor that can be used by employees and their families, including those living overseas (from January 2023)

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

ITOCHU views diversifying consumer needs with a market-oriented approach. We believe accepting and utilizing diversity is essential to provide new value. We have been supporting the expansion, retention and active participation of diverse human resources, including women, since an early stage. We now provide individual support which grasps the site and individual circumstances in addition to uniform systems which support balancing of childcare and work.

We will continue to support the autonomous career formation of each individual employee. We will promote the building of a strict but rewarding corporate culture in which diverse values are respected and in which all our employees can demonstrate their abilities to the maximum.

We have held “Diversity Month” every December since FYE 2019 (called “Diversity Month” until FYE 2022). We provide a variety of information, training sessions and workshops for all employees to deepen understanding of diversity, equality and inclusion.

For more details, please refer to Support for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Transition of Our Human Resource Diversification Initiatives

Support for Female Employees

ITOCHU has expanded systems to further the diversification of its talent including female employees and to entrench that diversification with the Plan for Promotion of Human Resource Diversification. We have tackled initiatives such as morning-focused work, health management and measures to support working while undergoing cancer treatment since FYE 2011. This is based on work style reform to raise labor productivity by all employees working in good health with high motivation. Those initiatives have led to the formation of a working environment where all our employees can demonstrate their abilities not just employees with time constraints such as female employees.

Currently, the generation with an increased number of female hires has entered an important stage when those employees become candidates for managerial positions. We are providing meticulous individual support according to the life stage and career of each individual by utilizing systems which support a work-life balance beyond the level required by law as a safety net in anticipation of an increase in dual-income households. In addition, we are looking to contribute to the SDGs (e.g., gender equality) not only for our company but for Japan. We are doing this by fostering an internal culture in which diverse employees can be a success and by declaring our endorsement of measures to promote the success of women in the workplace by government agencies and economic bodies.

Moreover, we established the Women’s Advancement Committee in October 2021 as a voluntary advisory committee of the Board of Directors to accelerate the pace of our support for the success of female employees. An Outside Director serves as the chair of the committee. We have built a structure in which outside officers account for more than half of the total number of committee members with the Board of Directors supervising important measures. The committee is working together with the management to support the success of women. We will continue to move through the cycle of (1) hold discussions with sites, (2) hold discussions in the Women’s Advancement Committee and (3) report to the Board of Directors after grasping sites and individual circumstances in the future. We will then incorporate the results into effective measures.

Women’s Advancement Committee (As of the end of March 2023)

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Please refer to our action plan stipulating specific targets and initiatives moving forward.

Action Plan Based on the "Act of Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace" and the "Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children"(PDF:292KB)[PDF]

Measures to Support the Success of Female Employees

Support for LGBT and Other Sexual Minorities

We installed a multipurpose restroom on the internal meeting room floor in 2018. This can be used by everyone who visits our building as well as our employees. We also established a consulting desk exclusively for inquiries relating to LGBT and other sexual minorities in addition to our existing employee consulting desks in FYE 2021. This means we have set up a structure that allows employees to consult with experts anonymously about how to interact with colleagues and business partners in addition to handling inquiries from LGBT and other sexual minority employees.

Diverse Consulting Desks for a Work-Life Balance

We respect the diverse values of our employees and their families. We are creating an environment where all our employees can demonstrate their abilities with peace of mind.

Name Main Contents Overview
Concierge for health・childcare General Employees in Japan and abroad and their families can anonymously consult online with a counselor in charge (a nurse and a midwife certified as a public health nurse) who understands ITOCHU System about their mental and physical health and childcare concerns.
Fertility Treatment Support Program Fertility treatment Employees and their families can receive fertility treatment through coupons for affiliated gynecological clinics and videos promoting understanding.
Searching Nursery School Concierge Searching Nursery School Concierge Explains basic knowledge about how to search and select licensed nursery schools. Help to estimate the selection index for licensed nursery schools, lists neighboring nursery schools, and provides one-stop information.
Nursing Concierge Nursing A one-stop service and consultation service from temporary response to problem resolution by a our company specialist counselor. Specific problem resolution includes introduction of our company system, introduction and arrangement of care managers, introduction and arrangement of nursing homes, coordination and arrangement of nursing insurance applications, etc.
Consultation desk for LGBTQ LGBTQ Consult outside experts anonymously for concerns about sexual orientation and gender identity. Available to all parties.
Border - Less Medical Concierges Lifestyle Disease Each employee, whether domestic or foreign, is tutored by a public health nurse or nurse in close collaboration with a specialist in their particular lifestyle disease.

Working Together with Persons with Disabilities

To provide persons with 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. The employment rate for persons with disabilities in ITOCHU is 2.48% as of March 2023 (the statutory employment rate is 2.30%). We are promoting an expansion in the recruitment and range of work of persons with disabilities in anticipation of an increase in the statutory employment rate in the future.

Initiatives by ITOCHU Uneedus Co., Ltd.

ITOCHU Uneedus Co., Ltd. is involved in businesses such as dry cleaning, printing, document digitization, photograph services, mail collection and delivery, and laundry and cleaning with persons with and without disabilities coming together as one to support each other. To expand business as well as to create a more welcoming workplace environment for employees with disabilities, in November 2015 the company relocated to new offices in Yokohama's Tsuzuki Ward with the latest equipment in a universal design. The company is currently involved in business in four locations: its Aoyama Office, Hiyoshi Office and a dry-cleaning service store called Yotsuba Cleaning (Asahi-ku, Yokohama) in addition to its head office in Yokohama's Tsuzuki Ward. It will continue to proactively encourage social participation by people with disabilities and to provide value to society through its work with the aim of creating a work environment where it is possible to feel the joy of working in the future.

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Head office building of ITOCHU Uneedus Co., Ltd. (Tsuzuki-ku, Yokohama)
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Work in the cleaning department
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Work in the print service department

http://www.uneedus.co.jp/ (Japanese only)[Open in a new window]

Support for Seniors’ Success

ITOCHU employs all those who so desire under the Employment Extension System after they reach retirement age at 60 years old from the perspective of the decreasing birthrate and aging population in Japan and activity support for diverse personnel. This means we are developing an environment in which middle-aged and older employees can continue to work utilizing the wealth of knowledge and experience they possess even after they have reached the retirement age. We also hold training such as life planning seminars for employees at the age of 58 years old and future course selection briefings for employees. Therefore, we are supporting work styles and money plans after the extension of the employment of employees. Furthermore, we hold career design training for career-track employees who are 40 and 48 years old and for clerical employees who are 35 and 45 years old. Those employees take an inventory of their own career and skills and then visualize their experience and strengths. Upon that, we provide them with the opportunity to consider re-learning career skills(re-skilling) they will need in the future. We even have some employees who continue working with us after they reach the age of 65 years old. We will do yet more to create an environment where middle-aged and older employees can continue performing motivating and rewarding work. In addition, we have built a platform to support our former employees. We support the activities of our former employees even after they have left our company. This initiative includes providing opportunities for social contribution activities and volunteers, management staff of KIDS PARK operated by our company, and Japanese language instructors for our overseas national staff.

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Performance Data

Number of Hires by Gender and Adoption Rate for Mid-Career

Employee Status (as of March 31 for each respective year)

Share of Women in Career-track / Managerial / General Managerial / Executive Positions (as of March 31 for each Respective Year)

Gender Pay Gap (as of March 31, 2023)

Use of Childcare & Nursing Care Programs

Employment of Disabled Persons (as of March 1 for each Respective Year)

Accolades for ITOCHU Corporation

ITOCHU Corporation's initiatives in "Creating Environments that Bring Out the Best in Employees" have won much praise.

We won the Ministerial Award for Women Empowering Companies in FYE 2021. In FYE 2022, we were selected as a Nadeshiko Brand. This is an initiative run jointly by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

For more details, please refer to Evaluation by Society (Diversity).