As a member of the global community, the Socionext Group is striving to fulfilling our corporate social responsibilities by creating a sustainable and prosperous society through human resource development and by fostering a corporate culture that recognizes people's individuality and their different attitudes and values, engaging with our many stakeholders (including customers, suppliers, employees, and local communities) on a basis of mutual respect.
Basic Philosophy Regarding Human Rights
In the CSR policies that constitute our group philosophy, the Socionext Group recognizes that it has an important duty to respect human rights and to maintain a good working environment.
Respect for human rights: We will respect the human rights of each and every employee and have no tolerance for discrimination or other such violations of human rights.
Maintain a good working environment: To foster the wellbeing of employees, we will create a healthy and pleasant working environment that respects individuality and treats people fairly.
At the Socionext Group, we respect the human rights of all stakeholders involved in the conduct of our business (including customers, suppliers, employees, and local communities) and will not treat people in ways that are discriminatory or violate their human rights, whether it be with regard to gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, beliefs, religion, social status, employment type, marital status, pregnancy, ancestry, sexual orientation or gender identification, physical features, health, disability, or other such attributes.
We will respect the human rights of everyone who works at the Socionext Group or in our supply chain. Along with eliminating harassment and providing a healthy and empowering workplace, we will comply with all labor laws covering matters such as working hours and minimum wage and never engage in forced labor, child labor, or slavery. We also support freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, and the right to privacy.
●Prohibition on discriminatory treatment of employees
The Socionext Group has established clear rules prohibiting the discriminatory treatment of existing or candidate employees on the basis of factors such as nationality, beliefs, gender, or social status.
Violations of these regulations are subject to disciplinary action in the Work Rules.
●Establishment of whistle-blowing system
The Socionext Group has established a human rights whistle-blowing system that employees can contact on matters relating to harassment, discriminatory treatment, or other violations of human rights.
The system provides for both internal reporting (to the Socionext Risk Compliance Committee Secretariat) and external reporting (to the Socionext Reporting Contact at TMI Associates). By providing these reporting channels, the system helps to prevent such violations from happening, or, if they do occur, enables them to be detected early and dealt with appropriately.
●Human rights education
The Socionext Group conducts human rights education to raise employee awareness and understanding of these issues. More extensive such education is planned for the future.
We hold human rights training, primarily for new recruits
Conducted human rights education (including harassment prevention and LGBTQ+ understanding) through e-learning for all employees (100% participation rate)
Basic Philosophy on Diversity and Inclusion
The Socionext Group strives to foster a corporate culture that is welcoming of people with different personalities, attitudes, and values and in which they are able to fulfil their potential. To achieve this, we recruit and appoint staff regardless of factors such as nationality, gender(gender identity), or age, and are working to create an environment in which a diverse range of people can thrive in their work.
Main Actions on Diversity and inclusion
| Diversity and inclusion systems and initiatives |
Flextime work system with no core-time Flexible telecommuting operations Curbing long overtime work Recruitment and support of global talent (e.g., hiring new graduates joining in October, global communication training programs, etc.) Review of post-retirement re-employment system Childcare leave system/shortened working-hour system for childcare Subsidy for babysitter fee Telecommuting program for nursing and caregiving Shorter working hours for treatment of illness or disease Leave of absence (child plans, nursing care, etc.) Accrued leave system (child-rearing, nursing care for the sick and elderly, etc.) Continued recruitment of people with disabilities and environmental improvements Operation of a massage room where employees with visual impairment offer massage services Routine in-house work substitution system for employees with mental disabilities Conduct a survey of environmental improvement for persons with disabilities and make improvement Promoting understanding of LGBTQ+ |
●Creating an Environment in which Women can thrive
We are promoting the creation of an environment in which women who balance work and family life can work comfortably, through such measures as a short-time work system, various leave and vacation systems, and a system to subsidize the cost of babysitting services. In order to diversify work styles, we are promoting the operation of a non-core flextime system and a telecommuting system, while prioritizing measures to reduce long hours of overtime work, and are promoting the creation of a healthy and comfortable workplace for diverse human resources, including women. In the future, we will work to reform the company's awareness and culture, such as by enhancing training for young and female employees and promoting the further active participation of female leaders and the participation of men in childcare. The actual results for the female manager ratio, gender wage gap, and rate of men taking childcare leave are as follows, and we aim to increase the ratio above the current level through these efforts.
[Ratio of female managers, gender pay gap, and percentage of male taking childcare leave]
| FY ended March 31, 2022 | FY ended March 31, 2023 | FY ended March 31, 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ratio of female managers | 2.4% | 2.3% | 2.6% |
| Gender pay gap (Regular) *Ratio of average annual wage of female to average annual wage of male |
72.0% | 72.6% | 72.5% |
| Male taking childcare leave | 14.8% | 15.8% | 57.1% |
●Creating the Right Environment
We are working to create an environment in which older employees to play an active role within the company, making the most of their experience, knowledge, and skills.
●Action on Hiring Disabled employees
Socionext is hiring more disabled employees and is working to create an environment in which people with many different types of disabilities can thrive. To expand opportunities for disabled employees, Socionext has also set up its Health keeper Program run by five staff with visual impairments that provides massages to employees and the Challenge Staff Program in which six staff with mental or developmental disabilities take on routine in-housework. As a result of these initiatives, the ratio of people with disabilities to all employees reached the statutory employment rate of 2.4% as of March 2024. The company intends to hire more disabled employees in the future and to provide them with steady and ongoing employment.
[Past External Presentations and Speeches]
| Event | Speech/Presentation Description | Date | Venue | Organizer | Speaker/ Presenter |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Symposium of Supporters of Persons with Disabilities | Spoke as a panelist representing companies in general in a panel discussion.
Presented the company's employment initiatives for people with disabilities in response to the panel discussion theme of "Eliminating barriers and creating a symbiotic society." |
2022.11.14(Mon.) | DENKI RENGO Hall | DENKI RENGO, Japanese Electrical Electronic & Information Union (JEIU) | Yuri Umekawa |
| 2 | Association of Organizations Relating to Employment of Persons with Disabilities | Spoke on the theme of "Employment will Change with Recognition and Understanding: What is Workability and Job Satisfaction?" with a case study of Socionext's employment of persons with disabilities. Also, attended a meetup of companies employing persons with disabilities as an advisor. | 2020.01.31(Fri.) | VIEW PORT KURE | Support Center of Works and Lives of Persons with Disabilities in Kure and Aki Area of Hiroshima Prefecture | Yuri Umekawa Naoko Ishida |
| 3 | The 27th Presentation of Studies and Practices for Rehabilitation of Working Persons with Disabilities | Presented the company's efforts in employing people with mental and developmental disabilities and their post-hiring opinions titled "Creating our first pay-raise system aimed at improving the work motivation of people with mental and developmental disabilities: Company initiatives and post-hiring opinions of the employed handicapped." | 2019.11.19(Tue.) | Tokyo Big Sight | Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities and Job Seekers | Koji Tokiwa Naoko Ishida |
●International Recruitment
International Recruitment The group operates group companies in several different countries and regions, including Asia, Europe, and North America, recruiting or appointing talented employees from these places and encouraging their participation. Likewise, approximately 44 employees in Japan are of overseas nationality, with the selection of both new recruits and mid-career year round hires being done without regard for nationality. We will also open a new development center in Bangalore, India in August 2023 to strengthen our engineering resources to support our global business expansion.
●Promoting understanding of LGBTQ+
The group aims to create an environment in which employees can perform their full potential regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. As part of these efforts, we believe it is important for each and every employee to properly understand about LGBTQ+ . We are working on the following initiatives and will continue to improve the system.
We will improve understanding of LGBTQ+ people through human rights education (e-learning) for all Socionext employees.
Establishment of an in-house counseling center for LGBTQ+
Employees and development of a multi-purpose toilet environment.
Basic Philosophy on Safety and Health
In order to maintain its ongoing growth, our group places top priority on the health and safety of both its employees and any other people involved in the operation of its business, ensuring that all employees can work in a safe and healthy manner and are able to make the most of their skills. As well as taking steps to prevent accidents and ensure a safe working environment so as to maintain a safe workplace with zero injuries, Socionext also has a variety of measures in place for maintaining and improving employee health.
Safety and Health Promotion Structure
We have established a team dedicated to supervising health initiatives and undertaking a variety of measures in which industrial doctors and nursing staff are employed to improve and manage employee health. The company also holds monthly committee meetings on health, safety, and disaster prevention at each workplace that are attended by industrial doctors, health and safety managers, regular employees, and labor union delegates. These committee meetings report on and debate issues and activities that relate to these matters, drawing on input from industrial doctors and health and safety managers. Topics include the conducting of health and stress checks and workplace inspections, measures for preventing infectious diseases such as COVID-19 or influenza, the prevantion of long working hours, and disaster prevention or mitigation measures, in order to promote continuous improvement.
Main Actions on Safety and Health
●Prevention of Workplace injury
The committees described above work to prevent injuries by reporting on monthly workplace inspections and incidents and by discussing how to prevent incidents from reoccurring. Only two (minor) workplace injury occurred in Japan during fiscal FY ended March 31, 2024.
●Safety and Health education
All employees receive safety and health education through e-learning (100% participation rate), and we are working to improve employee awareness and understanding of safety and health rules and systems. We will continue to further enhance education.
●Health and Stress checks
Medical examinations, women's health checks, and stress checks are conducted on a routine basis to monitor employee health, including the prevention and early detection of lifestyle diseases and other illness. The target for medical examinations in particular is to achieve 100% coverage, with almost all employees receiving such checks during the FY ended March 31, 2024. The results of stress checks are also being used for team-level analysis, combining this with advice and consultation from industrial doctors in an effort to reduce employee stress.
●Measures to Reduce smoking and Prevent passive smoking
Measures for cutting the smoking rate at company includes providing support to quit smoking. To encourage employee self-restraint on smoking during working hours, we also abolished indoor smoking rooms during fiscal FY ended March 31, 2022 in response to an employee opinion survey. This has achieved a gradual reduction in the percentage of smokers in our Japanese workforce to 13.8% in fiscal FY ended March 31, 2024 (3.3% decrease on fiscal FY ended March 31, 2019), with ongoing efforts planned to further reduce smoking.
●Prevention of COVID-19
With regard to the novel coronavirus, we promoted efforts to prevent the spread of the disease by thoroughly enforcing the standards of conduct for controlling the spread of the disease, establishing a work-from-home environment, and implementing workplace vaccinations. In the event of a new pandemic, we will put the health and safety of our employees and their families first, and work to ensure that business continuity and recovery activities are carried out promptly and appropriately.
Social Contribution Activities
In our relationships with all stakeholders, the Group values mutual respect, acceptance of diverse personalities, cultures, and values, and the ability to grow and coexist together with members of various communities through the creation of a sustainable society.
●Support for the activities of the F. Marinos Sports Club
F.Marinos Sports Club is actively engaged in social contribution activities such as clean-up activities, first-aid activities, diversity awareness activities, community activities such as reconstruction support, management of a soccer team for the mentally challenged, and implementation of soccer classes at special needs schools. They are also actively involved in academy activities such as coaching and training football for children, from infants to junior high school students. As a member of the local community, we sympathize with this activity and have been supporting it as a supporting member since February 2023. Together with the members of F. Marinos Sports Club, we will continue to contribute to the local community by fostering world-class athletes and supporting the development of better communities through sports.
●Participation in town beautification support programs
We actively participate in beautification activities in the areas of our business sites. As a member of the local community, we will contribute to the development of a community where people can live comfortably while communicating with local companies and residents.
●Support for The Family Giving Tree
While the Bay Area ranks as one of the wealthiest regions in the world, more than 800,000 Bay Area residents live below the poverty line, with 1 in 5 children living in poverty. Poverty robs children of their happiness and confidence, ultimately reducing their ability to grow and succeed. The Family Giving Tree serves more than 2 million children and individuals throughout the Bay Area and is active in philanthropy and volunteerism. Socionext America Inc. supports this great Bay Area nonprofit organization.
●Movember Fundraiser
Socionext America Inc. participated in Movember's efforts to raise awareness and health awareness of male-specific cancer. This is a unique fundraiser for growing beards and mustaches for the month of November. Donations raised through Movember go toward projects that address the most complex health issues facing men (mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, etc.). Through these fund-raising activities, the distance between employees has been reduced, and communication within the company has been stimulated.
●Support of an art exhibition in the art course of the upper secondary school in Dreieichschule
For many years, Socionext Europe GmbH has supported art exhibitions in the art courses of the upper secondary school in Dreieichschule, providing many students with opportunities to create acrylic and oil paintings. After the art exhibition, students' work is displayed in the offices of Socionext Europe GmbH, where all employees are inspired and healed by their original and creative work.
