4. Promoting Diversity
1997-
(1) Empowering a Diverse Workforce
- 2014
- Recognizing that employee diversity is essential for sustainable growth, DENSO established a specialized department to promote diversity. The primary focus areas were “gender, disability, age, and nationality.”
Japan's labor environment has long been characterized by a male-dominated homogeneity. However, in the 2013 “Japan Revitalization Strategy,” the government identified women's potential as the nation's greatest untapped resource and placed their empowerment at the core of its growth strategy.
In January 2014, DENSO established the “DP-Diversity Promotion Department.” DP stands for “DENSO Project,” a term used for project organizations focusing on intensive efforts over two years.
DENSO's perspective on diversity is that a workplace with diverse employees fosters new insights and teamwork, which are crucial for demonstrating collaboration and achieving sustainable growth. The company focused on the four key areas of “gender, disability, age, and nationality.”
- Deep DiveApproach to Promoting Diversity
- With the establishment of the DP-Diversity Promotion Department, DENSO elevated diversity promotion from being primarily a function of the HR department to a “company-wide management issue.” This shift aimed to expand opportunities for diverse talent across all departments.
The DP-Diversity Promotion Office believed that creating an environment where diverse talent could thrive and work enthusiastically would build trust with society and customers, which is essential for the sustainable growth of the company. Crucially, the promotion of diversity required continuous effort and improvement.
Based on this philosophy, the DP-Diversity Promotion Department extended its activities for an additional year before disbanding. However, its principles and initiatives were seamlessly handed over to the HR department and other relevant divisions, ensuring the continuity of its mission and actions.
For “promoting women's empowerment,” DENSO had already expanded childcare support measures. Therefore, the critical theme was “fostering women's career awareness.” At the time, the proportion of female managers at DENSO was low compared to Japan's manufacturing industry. The number of female general employees who could become managerial candidates was also low.
To address this, DENSO began by strengthening the recruitment of female general employees and supporting their career development. Specific measures included forming a female recruitment team to enhance new graduate recruitment, expanding mid-career recruitment, setting a goal to triple the number of female managers (to about 100), and supporting career development through consciousness reform among supervisors and employees.
The next step focused on promoting the activities of the vastly larger number of female regular and skilled workers. Specific measures included strengthening recruitment activities and expanding support during childcare periods.
Following the focus on women's empowerment, the DP-Diversity Promotion Office turned its attention to “people with disabilities.” At the time, the employment of people with intellectual and mental disabilities was not progressing well across society. From the perspective of addressing social issues, DENSO decided to prioritize this area.
In 2017, DENSO established “DENSO Blossom,” a special subsidiary for employing people with disabilities. The main tasks included internal mail collection and delivery, and floor cleaning. DENSO emphasized the aspect of “human resource development” for employees with disabilities, just as it did for non-disabled employees, focusing on their growth as corporate individuals.
For “age” and “nationality,” DENSO implemented various HR policies. For age, this included career support measures for employees in their 50s and a review of the post-retirement re-employment system. For nationality, the company introduced a new global HR system to promote the appointment of overseas talent to top positions and encourage their active participation.
Through these efforts, DENSO aimed to reinforce its management foundation and ensure sustainable growth by leveraging the diverse talents of its workforce.