Securing of Human Asset Diversity and Equality of Opportunities

We support the Declaration on Action by a Group of Male Leaders Who Will Create a Society in Which Women Shine

On December 26, 2015, we of HORIBA announced our support for the "Declaration on Action by a Group of Male Leaders Who Will Create a Society in Which Women Shine" supported by the Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office. To motivate various types of women and help them demonstrate their maximum potential, we declare that we will:

1. Take action and send messages ourselves.
2. Disrupt the status quo.
3. Promote networking.

[External link] Declaration on Action by a Group of Male Leaders Who Will Create a Society in Which Women Shine supported by the Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office

Action plan in line with the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace

We have prepared an action plan in line with the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, which came into effect in April 2016.

* The Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace requires companies with more than 300 employees to set numerical goals for women's participation and advancement in the workplace, develop an action plan, notify employees of the said action plan, and make public announcements.

[External link] Database of Companies Promoting Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare

Since 2017, each participant outside the Headquarters area who is enrolled in the manager training program called Management School is paired with a mentor in a higher office position. This supports the career advancement of participants at operation bases inside and outside Japan who have limited opportunities for face-to-face network building compared to the many communication opportunities provided at the headquarters.

We hold a regular workshop for women who are in positions equivalent to section chief or assistant manager. At this workshop, a woman manager shares her career experience, and participants review their careers and develop action plans for the future. This workshop is designed to inspire female employees by the career stories of fellow women managers and to help them develop visions for their future careers.

We hold a seminar for female employees who are returning from one-year maternity leave. The objective is to support their shortened-hour work style and help them manage their careers while raising children. One of the seminar programs is a speech from a working mother who has nearly finished raising her children. She shares the work-family balance strategy she adopted while raising children and her career management experience.

From the time their children are still infants until the children reach about age 10, working fathers and mothers continue to face child-related worries about topics such as illness, community events, school events, afterschool lessons, and study methods. At HORIBA, many fathers and mothers do their best while working as shortened-hour employees. They meet at lunch time once every three months to exchange information, such as tips for more efficient housework and better family-work balance. These meetings also enable them to build a network with coworkers.

My current division is comprised of a wide variety of members, such as mid-career employees from completely different business fields, employees who work shortened hours to raise children, re-employed workers under contract, and young employees. I feel that HORIBA's corporate culture encourages all employees to get involved in their work in their own unique ways and to take on challenges to achieve goals. Every day at work, I feel that this corporate culture triggers new discoveries and causes employees to motivate each other, leading to the embodiment of the corporate motto "Omoshiro Okashiku."
(Male Assistant Manager in his 40s, Production Division)

The Accessibility Consortium of Enterprises (ACE) was established to reform corporate cultures and facilitate business growth by promoting employment of persons with disabilities. HORIBA is one of the member companies.

In the official commendations of role models from member companies at the Third ACE Forum, Junya Fujishige of the Production Technology Department at HORIBA, who has four disabled limbs, received the grand prize for the active role he played applying his CAD skills and taking a positive attitude toward his job.

I’m in charge for the Sales Department. Even though I am the only Muslim who is working at HORIBA, Ltd. Japan, the company has facilitated me with a prayer room for my daily five times prayers and has also given me time to attend the weekly Friday afternoon prayers at Kyoto Masjid. Whenever a special event is held, I am always provided Halal Food. HORIBA Acknowledges and respects cultural diversity, This makes working at HORIBA Joy and Fun.
(Male employee from Sri Lanka in his 20s, Sales Division)

HORIBA considers the growth of talented personnel and the attitude of taking on new challenges to be important. In order to develop the next generation of capable personnel, in accordance with our corporate philosophy “Open & Fair,” we actively support our employees with an environment that enables them to take on new challenges as they aspire to realize their dreams.

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Yuki Hayashi had participated as Japanese representative of women’s archery!

HORIBA COLLEGE offers training courses, in which the employees themselves are lecturers, designed to raise participants' levels of knowledge, skills and business literacy, and to support individual employees in building independent careers. From 2015, we began offering an e-Learning-based training program, and a total of more than 11,000 employees (including 5,100 by e-Learning) have participated in HORIBA COLLEGE. We are developing “global human assets,” i.e., personnel who are able to respond flexibly to changes in the business environment and strategy.

In keeping with the belief that the training center could create more values than a manufacturing plant, we opened a training center that we named Fun House in 1991. Since then, it has been used by many employees as a venue for various purposes such as HORIBA COLLEGE, training new recruits, global conferences that are attended by our management team of Group companies worldwide. In 2016, a total of 5,000 employees participated in 73 activities at FUN HOUSE. Spending time together apart from routine work in the office, FUN HOUSE encourages employees to proactively communicate with their colleagues.

About once a year, the Global Budget Meeting is held at Fun House and the Kyoto Headquarters to discuss strategies and budgets for each segment. Members of overseas group companies also attend this meeting. The meeting is held entirely in English, providing an opportunity for employees to develop their global skills.

Language skills are essential for human assets with global capabilities, and HORIBA provides language training while paying part of the fees. Training includes group lessons by instructors from famous English conversation schools, online lessons that can be long-term and one-on-one, and training programs for developing English-speaking facilitators. Since 2017, the company has encouraged employees to learn a second foreign language.

Division heads attend a training session to develop their management capabilities to properly handle employee diversity.
During this training, participants use the Communication Sheet, which is used in employee interviews every August, to thoroughly master case studies on how to carry out and understand interviews.

Unlike childrearing, any employee could become a caregiver. To this end, HORIBA regularly holds a nursing care seminar. In this seminar, participants learn the basics (such as where to start when a family member needs care), gain hands-on experience in assisting a care receiver without hurting themselves, and obtain information on desirable mindsets and costs. The company provides support for the psychological and physical preparations for nursing care and adjusts the work environment so that care-giving employees can continue working without worry.

To maintain psychological well-being for the company's diverse employees, those who are in managerial positions learn about the types of harassment and the definition of LGBT; they then deepen their knowledge through case studies. Each operational base and the Headquarters have a consultation desk to provide an environment that maintains employees' psychological well-being.