In Vision 2025, our long-term business plan, we set a target of diversity promotion (diversity in our human resources) and are making efforts to create a culture where we can leverage the strengths of diverse human resources. Aiming to advance the company and strengthen its competitiveness in order to respond to a rapidly changing global market promptly, we have positioned the three following items as our mission in promoting diversity in our human resources:

In order to respond quickly to changes in the business environment surrounding the VUCA^* era, Yaskawa aims to evolve and enhance its competitiveness as a company that will continue to grow for the next 100 years, and is working to create a climate where the strengths of diverse human resources can be utilized, not only in the active participation of women, which is an issue in Japanese society.

The promotion of work-life balance through workstyle reform is key for promoting diversity and also, we position that balance as being indispensable for corporate development and are initiating it positively. We have created an environment in which we can increase productivity and achieve results by offering flexible working options regardless of location or time through the use of flexible working hours or taking accumulated holidays by unit of hours, as well as the use of the telework system, which was expanded throughout the company from fiscal 2021.

To support life events, we held a roundtable discussion with managers and worked to establish a system for those taking parental leave to prevent career losses (leaving work or slowdowns in career development) in childbirth and childcare. In addition, with the amendment of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act, we have created an environment in which it is easier than ever for both men and women who wish to take parental leave, such as the new system of childbirth leave for fathers.
* An acronym for Volatility Uncertainty Complexity Ambituity. A condition in which the future is unceratin and difficult to predict.

At Yaskawa Electric, as a technology-oriented manufacturer, there are many technical hires, and the ratio of female science students, which is the mother figure, is small, resulting in the low ratio of female employees. Diversity is a regular theme in Yaskawa’s monthly ES (Employee Satisfaction) survey, and the most recent survey results showed that while the percentage of female employees who want to pursue managerial positions has increased, there is still a gender gap in gender roles awareness among men and women, although there is an improvement trend. The results of these surveys are fed back to management and employees to visualize the current situation in Yaskawa, and the significance of Yaskawa’s efforts to promote gender diversity is also informed from the perspective of the external and internal environment.

Specific initiatives include a goal of doubling the ratio of female managers (non-consolidated) in fiscal 2025 compared to fiscal 2021, as one of the materialities in accordance with our Sustainability Policy. To achieve this goal, we are actively promoting the hiring of women, regardless of their expertise. We also provide training for the development of female managers, not only to improve their skills and change their minds, but also to improve the awareness and engagement of workplace managers who develop female employees.

Training for women’s career advancement

Since fiscal 2019, we have set up an action plan that takes into account issues, and we have worked to build a population by strengthening the recruitment of women and to increase their motivation for management positions. However, we decided to continue with the current action plan in fiscal 2022 because the plan was not achieved and because this is the final fiscal year of the mid-term plan. Going forward, we will identify the issues that have been addressed so far and develop an effective action plan for the new mid-term plan.

While OJL is the main training center, we are also actively engaged in expanding employees’ horizons and perspectives and building networks through external exchanges and collaboration projects with other companies.

We aim to create a workplace environment in which all employees with disabilities are able to grow their abilities and work together in harmony, respecting each other’s personalities and individuality, without being separated by the presence or absence of disabilities.

In 2020, a “Handbook for accepting employees with disabilities” was created to summarize the key points for smooth acceptance of employees with disabilities by the workplace, and is distributed internally through the “website for employment of persons with disabilities”.

As Yaskawa Group has bases all over the world, the percentage of employees with foreign nationality has been gradually increasing. Foreign employees now account for about half of our consolidated employees, and human resources of various nationalities are active in each base. In Yaskawa Group as a whole, women make up about 20% of employees and 10% of managers.

Employees by Region (As of February 28, 2023)

We believe that we need to have the right knowledge and understanding to ensure that false knowledge, understanding and assumptions do not harm LGBTQ parties or hinder their exercise of abilities.

As a first step, we conducted employee awareness surveys in fiscal 2018 and 2019, and 96% of respondents positively responded to a question asking if they understood that prejudice and incomprehensible behavior against LGBT are human rights issues.

In fiscal 2022, we conducted an “Unconscious Bias Check” for all employees to raise awareness about Unconscious Bias. We will continue our efforts to support the active participation of a wide range of diverse human resources.

Yaskawa Electric is proud to have built a work environment where the average age and average number of years in service are no different between male and female staff, and women are able to continue to work while raising children. However, female leaders are still few in number: 5 (general) managers and 45 assistant managers. We will continue to provide career support in line with the Action Plan for the Advancement of Women.