Sojitz Corporation (“Sojitz”) has been named a “Nadeshiko Brand 2019” company, a designation that recognizes Sojitz as a listed enterprise for its exceptional work to promote the success of women in the workplace. This year marks the third consecutive year that Sojitz has received the “Nadeshiko Brand” designation. The award recognizes Sojitz’s efforts to promote flexible working styles, through initiatives such as those encouraging male employees to take paternity leave. Sojitz recently became the first general trading company to join the “IkuBoss Corporate Alliance” program and vocalize the “IkuBoss” policies both inside and outside the company. Additionally, the company has eliminated core hours from its flextime system and is currently implementing trials of a new teleworking system.

【Nadeshiko Brand Logo】

“The Nadeshiko Brand is an initiative that METI and the TSE jointly inaugurated. In this initiative, METI and the TSE introduce certain TSE-listed enterprises that are outstanding in terms of encouraging the empowerment of women in the workplace as attractive stocks to investors who are concerned with improving corporate value in the mid-and long-term, thereby promoting investment in such enterprises and accelerating efforts to encourage women’s success in the workplace.” (Excerpted from the METI site)

At Sojitz, we consider our people to be our greatest asset, and the value we create is derived from strengthening the skills of our human resources. We aim to become a company where all employees can excel, including women. Our policy is to develop people who can create value on the global stage.

Sojitz has established an action plan to be achieved by the end of fiscal year 2020 that promotes women in the workplace by setting two targets: 1) increase the percentage of female new college graduates hired for career-track positions to 30%, and 2) double the number of female managers. Both targets are based on numbers as of March 2016. In order to achieve these goals, Sojitz is working to create a supportive environment for female employees as well as change employee mindsets to pave the way for further changes.

Going forward, Sojitz will continue to expand upon its initiatives to promote women’s careers and fully mobilize the strengths of a diverse workforce to “create value and prosperity” as stated in the Sojitz Group’s Corporate Statement.