Promotion of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

We are making dedicated efforts to create a work environment where diversity is respected by formulating an organization in which people with different characteristics accept one another and are empowered to demonstrate their maximum potential.

In July 2013, Kyowa Kirin established the Diversity Promotion Group within its Human Resources Department with the aim of improving its systems and work environment.

DE&I Statement

We regard Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as the foundation of our organizational culture at Kyowa Kirin, acting as a critical enabler of creation and delivery of Life-changing values to all the patients around the world.

Our DE&I Statement

At Kyowa Kirin, we embrace and proactively promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace as an embodiment of our Core Values.

Commitment to Life:
Diversity, equity and inclusion in our teams enables us to reflect the people and communities we serve and be sensitive to their needs, putting patients at the heart of everything we do
Innovation:
We believe in diversity of thought where all employees are encouraged to share fresh new ideas, are listened to and empowered to deliver innovative solutions for patients around the world
Integrity:
We strive to create an environment where everyone has a sense of belonging and is free from any form of inequitable treatment
Teamwork/Wa:
We will build an inclusive culture that enables our employees to bring their whole, authentic selves to work, where we can grow together, feel valued and respected, and achieve our shared corporate Vision.
Commitment to Life Innovation Integrity Teamwork/Wa

Empowering Women

Given the ongoing decrease in working-age population as a result of declining birthrates and population aging, encouraging women to pursue broader career opportunities is deemed an urgent challenge and one of the growth strategies of the Japanese government. In an effort to respond to social expectations and enhance corporate competitiveness through employee diversification, the Kyowa Kirin Group is striving to empower its female employees.

Number of Female Managers/Ratio of Female Managers *1 Number of Female Managers(2016: 85persons,2017: 91persons,2018: 101persons,2019: 103persons,2020: 123persons) Ratio of Female Managers(2016: 7.1%,2017: 7.8%,2018: 8.9%,2019: 9.7%,2020: 11.2%,2025 Target: 18.0%)

As a global priority, we aim to ensure that there is strong representation by women leaders. We have set a numerical target of increasing the percentage of global women leaders from 29% at the end of FY2021 to 40% by 2030.
As of the end of December 2021, the proportion of women in management positions at Kyowa Kirin was 12.4%. By the end of 2025, we are aiming to increase this figure to 18% or more. To this end, every year since 2016, we have been offering training programs that prepare female employees for managerial positions as well as career education for young female employees. In addition, we also launched a new mentoring program for women in managerial positions in 2022.

For details on the Company's action plans and data related to empowering female employees, please see the database of corporations promoting women's participation and advancement in the workplace*2 compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

In recognition of its initiatives, Kyowa Kirin received the “Class 3 Eruboshi” accreditation from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare based on the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace in 2016. This evaluation has been maintained as of April 2022.

Class 3 Eruboshi accreditation

As part of our measures to respect diversity, we intend to further support women to take on a broader range of roles at the Company.

  1. *1:
    Kyowa Kirin refers to management level employees as "managerial staff."
  2. *2:

Supporting Work-Life Balance

Kyowa Kirin has formulated an action plan for childcare support to help conscientious employees of any lifestyle or gender demonstrate their maximum competence. We acquired Platina Kurumin mark certification from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for having met a set of standards as a company that supports employees with childcare. The Company has also acquired Tomonin logo certification in recognition of its efforts to support employees engaged in family nursing care.

Platina Kurumin mark certification(left) and Tomonin logo certification(right)

In our efforts to support employees with childcare and nursing care, we offer programs that exceed the statutory requirements. A consultation service is also in place to provide employees with meetings before and after they take a leave of absence as well as to send them useful information during their leave. We provide employees with support for a smooth return to work after taking childcare leave, and host a Back-to-Work Support Forum aimed at encouraging networking among employees who have become new parents at around the same time. In addition, we opened an in-house nursery school in the Mishima area in 2022, and are also preparing to set up another nursery in the Takasaki area in 2023.
For employees providing nursing care for their family, we offer information on support services through our intranet. In 2021, 67 employees availed themselves of the childcare leave system; 80 took advantage of the reduced-work-hour system for childcare; 2 employees utilized the nursing care leave system*1.

Furthermore, in addition to their annual paid holiday, employees are entitled to take up to 10 days of self-managed paid holiday around the time their spouse gives birth or when caring for a sick child, and up to two years of leave to accompany their transferred spouse. For medical representatives (MR; sales staff), we offer household formation support upon their marriage or the birth of a child so as to help them continue working while also leading a fulfilling personal life. Moreover, we also offer a work-from-home program, and also a discretionary work system*2 for researchers with the aim of enhancing productivity across the Company.

In February 2017, Kyowa Kirin joined the IkuBoss Alliance, a movement organized by an NPO to promote awareness among corporate managers. We also conducted diversity management training for superiors. Our aim is to build an organizational structure that aids the Company in boosting its operating performance while ensuring that both managers and their subordinates value work-life balance.

We will further invigorate our organization by encouraging employees to take advantage of the available systems and transforming their mindsets, thereby improving the work environment.

  1. *1:
    The number of employees who used each system from January to December 2020. (Data aggregated as of the end of December 2021)
  2. *2:
    Discretionary work system in the type of professional work: Prescribed by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and a public notice issued by the Health, Labour and Welfare Minister, some types of work, due to their nature, need to be left largely to the worker's discretion in terms of the means and methods of execution, allocation of time, etc. In such cases, the worker is assumed to have worked for hours typically necessary for that work, based on the agreement between labor and management.
    (Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Homepage)

Employment of Disabled People

In order to realize a society where people with disabilities and non-disabilities can work together, the Kyowa Kirin Group issued its Declaration of Employment of Disabled People*2 in January 2013. In 2016, a consultation service contact was established for disabled employees to help them resolve incidents of workplace discrimination and receive reasonable job assignments.

In March 2014, the Group was certified to use the exceptional counting method in calculating the rate of employment of disabled people. As of June 1, 2022, the Group employs 110 disabled persons*3, a figure that accounts for 2.45% of its workforce.

While our Group companies continue with their efforts to employ more disabled people, we are also upholding a policy to employ intellectually disabled people, mainly at Kyowa Kirin plus Co., Ltd., thereby working to expand job opportunities for people with special needs across the Group.

We joined the Accessibility Consortium of Enterprises (ACE) in March 2022 with the aim of pursuing further hiring of persons with disabilities.

Ratio of Workers With Disabilities*1 Kyowa Kirin Group(Japan) Statutory Requirement:2.2-2.3% 2017: 2.33%,2018: 2.45%,2019: 2.59%,2020: 2.45%,2021: 2.43%
  1. *1:
    Data are as of June each year and for the Kyowa Kirin Group (domestic).
  2. *2:
  3. *3:
    The number of disabled employees taking into account the degree of disability as prescribed under the Act on Promotion of Employment of Persons with Disabilities; the actual number of disabled employees is 78.

LGBTQ+

Kyowa Kirin is working to create workplaces that welcome people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, including people from the LGBTQ+ community. Initiatives in this regard include: (1) Revisions to the Employee Code of Conduct; (2) training sessions for senior executives and employees to improve their understanding and raise awareness; (3) revisions to human resource systems and policies so that same-sex partners are treated in the same manner as opposite-sex partners in legally recognized marriage; and (4) an employee hotline service to provide advice about sexual orientation and gender identity.

As a result of these efforts, Kyowa Kirin was awarded "Gold" in the "Pride Index* 2022," an index developed by the private association "Work with Pride," which evaluates the efforts of companies and organizations regarding LGBTQ+ and other sexual minorities.

  • *
    What is "PRIDE"?
    1. 1:
      Policy: Action Declaration
    2. 2:
      Representation: LGBTQ+ and Allies Network
    3. 3:
      Inspiration: Raising Awareness
    4. 4:
      Development: Human Resources Management Policies and Programs
    5. 5:
      Engagement/Empowerment: Social Responsibility and Public Relations

Recruitment of Employees of Foreign Nationality

In order to develop our business as a Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Company, we strive to recruit talent with diverse values and who are able to inspire others, regardless of nationality. To this end, we have been hiring new graduates mainly from Asia since 2013. In addition, we have a track record of hiring several foreign nationals through our mid-career recruitment initiative, which we have been expanding in recent years.