Diversity

Diversity Promotion Committee

Basic policies

We positioned 2019 as the first year of diversity at G-TEKT and established the Diversity Promotion Committee to carry out activities across the organization that transcend departments. In addition to holding workshops on diversity and inclusion, we investigated other ways to promote diversity with employees who are working at our headquarters, offices, and plants in every region. These people now take part as committee members so that we can gather opinions from varied perspectives. Going forward, we will take concrete steps one at a time in conjunction with the initiatives that we take on both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementation system

Work-Life Balance

To encourage employees Company-wide to take paid leave, something that has been a challenge in the past, an annual plan that includes consecutive leave was formulated at the beginning of the fiscal year at the divisional level. The General Affairs Department manages the progress of the plan every month. As a result of interaction between the General Affairs Department and employees, the percentage of paid leave taken has increased from 47.9% in fiscal 2015 to 61.5% in fiscal 2019.
Going forward, G-TEKT will continue encouraging employees to take paid vacation by shortening operating hours through automation and operational improvements.

Changes in Workstyles, Both During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Considering the spread of the COVID-19, G-TEKT has taken immediate steps to prioritize the health and safety of employees and their families. At all production sites, we measure the body temperature of workers when they arrive, make sure everyone is wearing a mask or we provide one, and practice social distancing on site during daily operations. After the declaration of a state of emergency, employees started working from home, in principle, especially those working indirectly, using network connections, online conferencing, and other remote working methods.
Even after the state of emergency was lifted, we kept the number of people working indirectly in the office to under 50%. In addition, since working from home does not interfere with our operations, we now have faster decision-making and higher work efficiency after revising our decision-making methods and shifting to a paperless environment and online conferencing. Communication within departments has also improved.
Going forward, in our personnel system we will change from a time-managed, white-collar workstyle to a more performance-based framework where roles are more clearly defined. This will lead to greater productivity as well as boost employees’ abilities and their sense of achievement.

Gender Equality with No Barrier to Work and Roles

To use human resources effectively, regardless of gender, we first provided the opportunity for educating women to develop into leaders and to share information, with the aim of changing the awareness of both female employees and their bosses. New female managers do not have any role models in the company that they can follow, therefore they must think and act on their own and build their own careers with the support of their superiors. At the same time, introducing female managers provides a spark for male managers and colleagues, and has taken us one step closer to fostering a corporate culture where both men and women take on active roles. This includes a more multi-layered exchange of ideas and opinions during meetings.

Gender Equality in the Home

G-TEKT has established childcare leave, nursing care leave, reduced work hours, and a flextime system so that employees can continue to work regardless of life events, such as childbirth, childcare, and nursing care. In our newsletter, we have been encouraging male employees to take childcare leave, which was taken up by some employees in fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2019. The number of male employees taking paid leave for childcare and using the flextime system for dropping off and picking up their children at nurseries has been increasing. This demonstrates how our employees are becoming more aware of the need for gender equality in the home. This not only benefits G-TEKT, but also helps employees’ families achieve more equality in their private lives. We will continue activities to help reach this goal as a way to contribute to creating a sustainable society where household chores, childcare, and nursing care are not the sole responsibility of women, as these could hold back their career development.

Employing Disabled People

Since 2013, we have built a framework of cooperation with the regional support center and made proactive efforts to increase the employment of disabled people, as well as to increase the number of workplaces where they can thrive. In fiscal 2019, we shared information on the kind of responsibilities disabled people have at G-TEKT. This served to deepen understanding of disabled employees by showing that they can take on active roles and work according to their individual abilities, regardless of whether or not they have a disability.
Looking ahead, we will continue to create an environment where people with disabilities can work as valued members of our team, without pursuing the goal of just increasing their number. We will also provide the best support we can for their social advancement so they can lead proud and independent lives.

Active Roles for Senior Citizens

The number of senior citizens who have reached retirement age that are active in different roles at G-TEKT is increasing year by year. This number includes older employees working with younger employees at the same production site, those who train the next generation by transferring their abilities and technology, and those who use their skills on overseas business trips. With the aim of further boosting the motivation of reemployed workers who have an appetite for work, we revised our systems and regulations on procedures such as our bonus framework and the criteria for evaluating performance. At the same time, employees can choose to work shorter hours as well as full-time. This is part of an initiative to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable working.

External evaluation

Company Implementing Diverse Working Styles “Gold + (Plus)”

Company Declaring Promotion of Senior Employee Advancement

Childcare Supporting Company: “Kurumin” Certification