Diversity & Inclusion

A project was formed to help increase the ratio of women among new-graduate management track hires. Led by women employees who applied through the internal job posting system, the Alps Alpine Appeal to New Hires Project undertook recruiting activities to introduce the diverse careers of Alps Alpine employees and create opportunities for jobseekers to talk to employees directly.
To retain employees once they have joined us, we are working to enhance our various systems enabling employees to work in ways that suit their lifestyles.

As an employee-run initiative supporting career design, women employees regularly gather for career study sessions. These are opportunities to talk with more experienced employees in managerial positions and a wide range of departments and to consider their own careers. Such activities have led to more employees switching to the management track.
We have also trialed a mentoring program, Naname 1-on-1, allowing employees to consult with managers and engineers in other departments about their careers. The program is to be officially introduced in fiscal 2024.

Besides in-house training programs, we also make a point of having employees participate in training for women in management and leader development programs run by a non-profit organization*1. The aims are to encourage women to consider their careers and learn new job approaches and working styles through acquisition of knowledge about diversity and other trends and developments and by building networks with women in other companies. Employees are further motivated by having to report back to management after the training. Through interaction with outside parties, women will acquire leadership skills consistent with external expectations and develop into human resources who will lead Alps Alpine into the future.

We recognize that a change in mentality among men is needed to enable active participation in the workplace by diverse human resources. This is to accompany changes in the way women view their careers and greater motivation for women. Alps Alpine has participated in diversity management training for managers hosted by a non-profit organization^*1 since fiscal 2022. After the training, participating managers have come together to continue their learning. Such employee-led activities are on the rise as part of a team effort by management and employees to create better workplaces.

*1 J-Win (Japan Women’s Innovative Network) is an NPO that promotes and supports diversity management and women’s leadership development in Japanese companies.

A workshop on dialogue was held for women managers, specialists, and engineers, and some corporate officers, for the purpose of enabling women in managerial positions to empower one another through networking.
In the workshop, participants reviewed the topic of dialogue and communication and engaged in lively discussion about the kind of company they wished to create. Participants returned to their respective workplaces with observations made during the workshop, ready to invigorate the organization.

The HANA Project, an initiative led by women employees, encourages consideration of gender-specific health issues (gender differences) by organizing femtech events and communicating information through news bulletins. The aim is to advance development of workplaces where employees can talk openly about gender-specific health issues.

Alps Alpine encourages men to take parental leave, supporting the creation of workplaces where raising a child has no effect on a person’s career, regardless of gender.
Activities have included e-learning for all employees, talks on parenting from the head of the Human Resources Department, and get-togethers with employees with more experience as mothers and fathers. As a result, 52.1% of applicable male employees took parental leave in fiscal 2023. The average number of days of parental leave taken by those employees was 67 days. Our efforts to create environments facilitating the use of parental leave continue.

Yamanami Hoikuen opened on Furukawa R&D Center premises in 2019. The facility's purpose is to help parents balance work and parenting.

As an initiative promoting self-expression, some of our workplaces allow employees to come to work in casual attire. Not only is this an opportunity to learn about one another’s diversity, it helps to stimulate communication and foster a culture of working autonomously.

As an expression of Alps Alpine’s intentions to foster a corporate culture of respect for one another’s individuality, we created a rainbow logo, signifying solidarity with diverse characteristics, including LGBTQ+.

Alps Alpine started D&I Expo, a period for strengthening D&I education, in fiscal 2022. It was a time for raising awareness about the concept of diversity and inclusion and learning about the diverse sets of values represented inside the company.
In fiscal 2023, we held employee-organized lectures and study sessions on the topic “Thinking about inclusion.” These were opportunities to consider the kind of action we could implement as individuals.
Over the medium to long term, we will be carrying out educational activities with a view to building an organization that enjoys a high level of tolerance.

We endeavor to create comfortable work environments for foreign employees. This might involve ensuring that living environments reflect employees' religious identities, for example with the inclusion of prayer rooms; operating a dual supervisor system; and the holding of study sessions on "easy Japanese" for those accepting foreign employees into their departments and willing applicants.

In a D&I survey of employees in Japan conducted in fiscal 2022, around 50% of employees responded that they did not know whether LGBTQ+-related measures were necessary or not.
The company responded by creating opportunities to acquire knowledge about LGBTQ+, including publication of D&I newsletters, streaming of a short video summarizing the issues, and in-house study groups. We also hosted an online lecture by Fumino Sugiyama, co-chairperson of NPO Tokyo Rainbow Pride.
In fiscal 2023, Alps Alpine sponsored Tokyo Rainbow Pride (TRP) and extended eligibility for welfare programs to de facto partners and same-sex partners, as well as their children. We will continue acting in a way consistent with our aim to be an LGBTQ+-friendly company.