Diversity, Equity ＆ Inclusion Sustainability

Diversity, Equity ＆ Inclusion

A key part of the Kurabo Group’s management strategy is to promote Diversity, Equity ＆ Inclusion（Below DE&I） so that all employees can take full advantage of their abilities and gain a sense of achievement as they do their jobs. We’re working to create a corporate culture that ensures all employees can live up to their potential.

Initiatives to raise awareness
Initiatives to promote a diverse workforce
Initiatives to promote work-life balance

Initiatives to Raise Awareness among Executives and Employees

We’re striving to change how all executives and employees think and act to help them better understand that building a workplace that empowers a diversity of human resources leads to innovation and new value.

1. Communicating the president’s message

Kurabo’s top management communicates the importance of DE&I to all employees.

2. Initiatives to eliminate unconscious bias

We believe that eliminating unconscious bias is an essential part of promoting DE&I, and we offer awareness-raising programs and training.

Distributing a pamphlet to raise awareness of unconscious bias to all executives and employees: We compiled a pamphlet designed to raise awareness of unconscious bias and distributed it to all employees.
Offering unconscious bias training to executives and managers: We offered a lecture on unconscious bias that attracted about 200 attendees, mostly executives and managers.
Offering unconscious bias training to employees: We offered online training in unconscious bias to employees (other than managers) that encouraged them to notice such bias and act to prevent it. About 500 employees took advantage of this training.

3. Raising awareness through our in-house magazine and other means

We’re working to raise awareness of DE&I through our in-house magazine, over the company intranet, and with posters.

4. IkuBoss* initiative

To accelerate our promotion of DE&I, we are encouraging all of our executives and managers to embrace the ideal of the “IkuBoss,” an approach that encourages subordinates to balance the demands of their jobs and personal lives.

We’re a member of the IkuBoss Corporate Alliance.
We joined the alliance in December 2019.

Offering IkuBoss training to executives and managers: We offered online IkuBoss training that looked at why the IkuBoss approach is so important to companies today and showed how to manage employees to maximize their diversity. About 200 attendees, mostly executives and managers, joined the training.

*IkuBoss supervisors think about how to help their subordinates balance the demands of work and personal life, generating organizational results while striving to enjoy their own professional and personal lives.

Initiatives to Promote a Diverse Workforce

By respecting and accepting diversity (for example in terms of gender, age, cultural background, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, workstyle, lifestyle, knowledge, experience, skills, and values), we are carrying out a variety of initiatives to promote active participation and employment so that all employees can live up to their full potential.
The Anti-Harassment Regulations also prohibit sexual harassment, harassment related to pregnancy, childbirth, child care, and nursing care, and power harassment (including excessive intrusion into private matters such as sexual orientation and gender identity).
In addition, we have established an in-house consultation desk, which allows employees to consult with the Human Resources Department regardless of they do so under their real name or anonymously.

1. Initiatives to promote gender equality

Formulating a voluntary action plan to promote female executives and managers

Reflecting its belief that DE&I are a key part of its management strategy so that all employees can find fulfillment in their work, Kurabo is working to create a corporate culture that ensures all employees live up to their potential by actively putting in place programs and a workplace environment that are conducive to that goal.
We promote gender equality as part of this effort by actively hiring and training women, increasing the number of female managers, and formulating and implementing an array of measures designed to support female employees’ professional development.

General employers action plan under the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace

Objectives: April 2021 to March 2025
Objective 1 Increase the percentage of female career-track employees to at least 13%.

Actively hiring women for career-track positions: We’ve been aggressively hiring women for career-track positions since 2014 and women are now working for Kurabo in numerous fields.

Women as percentage of new graduates hired as career-track employees

Earning certification as a City of Osaka Leading Company for Women’s Empowerment: We’ve earned certification as a Leading Company for Women’s Empowerment from the City of Osaka in recognition of our initiatives in this area.

Certified by Osaka Prefecture as a company promoting gender equality: Our efforts to promote active careers for both men and women have been recognized with certification by Osaka Prefecture.

2. Initiatives to ensure individuals with disabilities can live up to their potential

Actively hiring individuals with disabilities: We actively hire individuals with disabilities.
Take into consideration the work location and working hours: We take into consideration the work location and working hours depending on the characteristics and circumstances of the disability.

3. Initiatives to ensure individuals of all nationalities with a high level of skills and experience can live up to their potential

Actively hiring foreign nationals: We actively hire non-Japanese individuals. We also offer Japanese language courses (e-learning) so that people who speak other native languages can comfortably adjust to the Kurabo workplace.

4. LGBTQ+ initiatives

Implementation of LGBTQ + training: To promote understanding of LGBTQ + people, we hold training sessions for executives, managers, and all employees.

Offering training on the LGBTQ+ help center: We offered training for human resources employees to ensure that they could field requests for advice from employees and their colleagues concerning LGBTQ+ issues.

Certified as a City of Osaka LGBT Leading Company: We’ve earned certification as an LGBT Leading Company from the City of Osaka in recognition of our initiatives in this area.

Certification in the Pride Index: Our efforts to support inclusiveness for LGBTQ+ employees was recognized with a Gold award in the Pride Index 2023, which is run by the Japanese nonprofit group Work with Pride.

No gender on job application forms: On job application forms filled out by new graduates seeking career-track positions at Kurabo, we no longer have a gender check-box.

In-house rules on same-sex partners: Under its definition of “spouse” in the company’s in-house rules, Kurabo includes same-sex partners in a relationship akin to common-law marriage.

Distributing LGBTQ+ ally stickers: Employees who take LGBTQ-related training or study can receive an LGBTQ+ ally* sticker if they wish. This helps increase the number of people who are sympathetic to LGBTQ+ issues.
*An LGBTQ+ ally is someone who understands and supports LGBTQ+ people.

5. Initiatives to ensure older employees can live up to their potential

Offering a reemployment program: We created a continued employment program for interested retirement-age employees as a way to meet demand for diverse employment following retirement by offering stable work opportunities to motivated workers in keeping with the spirit of the Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons. The goal of this program is to enable older employees to make the most of their extensive knowledge, experience, and skills by contributing to Kurabo over the long term.

Initiatives to Promote Flexible, Diverse Workstyles, and Work-life Balance

We’re dedicated to creating a workplace environment that’s conducive to flexible, diverse workstyles so that all employees can improve their own work-life balance.

1. Initiatives for flexible workstyles

Reducing long working hours: We’re working to manage working hours in an appropriate manner using a time tracking system in order to reduce excessively long working hours.

Flex time system: At the Osaka Head Office, Tokyo Branch, and Technical Research Laboratory, we’ve introduced a flex time system that provides more leeway in employees’ working styles by allowing them to decide what time they start and finish work each day.

Encouraging employees to take paid time off: We encourage employees to take at least four consecutive days of paid time off, including through an awareness-raising campaign.

Offering “refresh holidays”: We’ve introduced a “refresh holiday” program that lets employees with 10, 20, or 30 years of continuous service take consecutive days off. We also offer monetary benefits to employees who have reached these milestones.
10 years of service: ¥100,000
20 years of service: ¥200,000
30 years of service: ¥300,000

Hourly paid time off system: We’ve introduced an hourly paid time off system that allows employees to take leave on an hourly basis. This gives them a more flexible way to work.

Handbook on various benefit programs: We compiled a handbook offering easy-to-understand explanations of various programs and procedures to make it easier for employees to take advantage of available benefits.

Managers/employees handbook: We’ve compiled a handbook for all managers and employees so that everyone knows what they should do regarding matters such as employee or spouse pregnancy, child birth, childcare, and work-life balance.

Telecommuting: We’ve given employees more flexible work options by introducing telecommuting so that they can work from their homes or other locations outside designated company workspaces.

Business casual: We’ve introduced a business casual dress code in which employees choose the clothes they feel are most appropriate for their jobs. This contributes to a workplace conducive to more vibrant communication and autonomous, free thinking.

2. Initiatives to help employees balance the demands of work and parenting

General employers action plan under the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children

Objectives: April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2025
Objective 1: Raise the baseline for the rate of utilization of parental leave during the period of time covered by the plan to the following:; ・Male employees: During the period of time covered by the plan, increase to at least 30% the rate of utilization of parental leave by male employees whose spouse has given birth, and increase the rate of utilization to at least 60% in combination with our company's unique leave system aimed at giving employees time off for childcare.; ・Female employees: Increase the rate of utilization of parental leave to at least 90%.
Objective 2: Increase the average number of annual paid time off days taken by each employee to at least 12.
Objective 3: Provide support for employees who are on parental leave or are engaged in childcare, so that they can improve their abilities or develop their career and thus continue to work and play an active role in our company.

Parental leave: Employees who have given birth or whose spouse has given birth are eligible to take parental leave until the child reaches one year of age. In special circumstances, this leave can be extended until the child reaches two years of age.
We support personal development training during time off so that these employees can return to work and continue their career with Kurabo.

Reduced working hours: Employees can reduce the number of hours they work per day until their child completes the third grade of elementary school.

Other leave programs: We offer a variety of leave programs related to childbirth and childcare, including child nursing care leave, morning sickness leave, and childbirth leave for spouses.

Staggered working hours: Employees can shift the time they start and finish work forward or backward until their child completes the third grade of elementary school.

Training for returning to work after childcare leave and balancing work and childcare: We continuously conduct training to support career development so that employees who are balancing childcare and work can continue to work and play an active role.

Received the Kurumin Certification: In recognition of our efforts, we received the “Kurumin Certification” from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

3. Initiatives to help employees balance the demands of work and nursing care

Family care leave: Each eligible employee is able to take family care leave for up to one year if they are responsible for offering nursing care to a family member.
We support personal development training during time off so that these employees can return to work and continue their career with Kurabo.

Reduced working hours: Employees can reduce the number of hours they work per day up to two times in 3 years.

Staggered working hours: Employees can shift the time they start and finish work forward or backward up to two times in three years.