One of the seven material issues the Sumitomo Rubber Group identified is “diverse human resources.” We consider promoting diversity and inclusion (D&I) essential factors in realizing a company that grows with colleagues with diverse personalities. Creating an organization and corporate culture where Diversity of individuals can fully demonstrate their strengths and play an active role will increase employee engagement and productivity, realizing our Vision.
Through our efforts to provide equal opportunities, we will strive to create a workplace environment where each individual’s diversity, regardless of attributes or background, is recognized and valued, leading to improved combined power of each team and, ultimately, enhanced corporate value.
In order to live up to the ideals of Our Philosophy, the Sumitomo Rubber Group is actively working to promote greater mutual respect among all of the diverse employees who make up our group.
The Sumitomo Rubber Group considers “uniting our diverse strengths and growing together” to be a key management challenge. With this in mind, we hereby declare the following.
＜Declaration on the Promotion of D&I＞
The Sumitomo Rubber Group respects and values the diverse attributes and ways of thinking of all employees. Accordingly, we will achieve the creation of workplaces that enable each individual to harness their full potential.
Employment status, situation of hiring, etc.
President and CEO, Representative Director
Satoru Yamamoto
In the concept of diversity and inclusion (D&I), empowering women is one of its starting points, and the end goal is to link employee growth to business growth by establishing a foundation for empowerment of a diverse range of human resources. President Satoru Yamamoto, Outside Director Mari Sonoda, and Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member Asli M. Colpan sat down to discuss the Company’s D&I vision, challenges, and initiatives (March 2024).
One of the issues that must be addressed to create an environment where diverse human resources can demonstrate their abilities is the correction of gender gaps. For example, women have had fewer career opportunities than men, and men have had less flexibility in their work styles than women. These and other gender gaps have arisen in social structure and corporate culture. The Group recognizes these gaps and promotes initiatives to realize a society where people can demonstrate their abilities regardless of gender.
Strong commitment by top management is essential to advance D&I, including promoting the participation and advancement of women in the workplace.
The Representative Director Satoru Yamamoto participates in the “Male Leaders Coalition for Empowerment of Women” (Secretariat: the Cabinet Office), and communicate both internally and externally our determination to accelerate efforts to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.
I want the Company to continue to create new values. To achieve this, I recognize that it is important for diverse human resources to utilize their strengths and play active roles in their own unique way. I am confident that promoting the participation of women in the workplace will definitely lead to the realization of our vision.
At our company, we believe that men’s participation in child-care plays an important role in promoting more diverse working styles for men, empowering women, and creating a workplace culture that is conducive to a diverse workforce.
・I will become an Iku-Boss myself.
・I will take the lead in improving work-life balance for my colleagues.
Creating a workplace where individuals can work with confidence and be in their own unique way is the foundation for promoting D&I. In addition to addressing gender gaps, we aim to become an organization that achieves sustainable growth by fostering an environment where employees from diverse backgrounds can demonstrate their full potential.
In 2022, a dedicated organization for promoting D&I was established within the Human Resources Department of the Human Resources & General Affairs Headquarters (HR&GA-HQ). This organization was named the D&I Group and has become a leader in promoting D&I companywide. In April 2024, the D&I Group was transferred from the HR&GA-HQ to the Sustainability Management Promotion Headquarters. As a department responsible for sustainability management, the group promotes D&I within the Sumitomo Rubber Group.
In 2025, we will establish a D&I Subcommittee as a company-wide organization under the Sustainability Promotion Committee. Each headquarters will participate, and management will monitor the status of D&I promotion throughout the company through the subcommittee.
To enable sustainable manufacturing that creates value for the future, we are advancing the “Future Factory for Better Workplaces” project to strengthen human capital at our manufacturing sites. This project operates under the Sustainability Promotion Committee, addressing common challenges across domestic factories through a company-wide, cross-functional approach involving not only factories but also headquarters HR and manufacturing departments. We are promoting initiatives from multiple perspectives to create a workplace where people with diverse backgrounds can work and thrive.
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Initiatives to Address Gender Gaps:
Creating an organization where diverse human resources can play active roles:
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Certifications
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“L-boshi” (third level) certification A system established by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to certify companies working to create an environment where women can play an active role |
Non-consolidated base | 2020〜 |
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Awarded “Best Workplace” in the D&I Award Japan’s most significant award recognizing companies committed to diversity and inclusion. |
Non-consolidated base | 2023〜 |
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PRIDE Index “Gold” certification An index that evaluates efforts to support LGBTQ and other sexual minorities. |
Non-consolidated base | 2023〜 |
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Certified as a “Hyogo Kobe Women’s Empowerment Business (Mimosa Company)” Hyogo Prefecture and Kobe City jointly certify companies in Hyogo Prefecture that are promoting the participation and advancement of women in the workplace |
Non-consolidated base | 2023〜 |
| Received “Hyogo Work-Life Balance Company Award” Companies and organizations implementing advanced initiatives to promote work-life balance receive awards |
Non-consolidated base | 2022〜 | |
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Acquired “Kurumin” mark Certified as a child-rearing support company by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare |
Dunlop Golf Club Corp | 2021〜 |
In March 2025, a department head who participated in the “Next-Generation Female Executive Development Program” in fiscal year 2023 was appointed as the company’s first female executive officer.This marks the first step in promoting decision-making informed by diverse experiences and perspectives. We will continue to further strengthen the development and appointment of female leaders. Aiming for a 12% female management ratio by 2030, we established a company-wide “D&I Committee” in 2025. We will evolve these initiatives into more effective and impactful efforts.
In 2024, we achieved a 100% rate of male employees taking childcare leave, thanks in part to the introduction of a paid leave system for childcare, which aims to promote the use of childcare leave (including the company’s leave system: a 15% increase from last year). We will continue to strive to create an environment where both men and women can easily balance work and childcare, and aim to be a company where diverse human resources can demonstrate their abilities.
The initiatives listed below are currently limited to our company alone and within Japan.
We conduct training sessions for executives and managers, including the President, featuring external experts and board members, to continuously update them on the latest D&I information. We also encourage them to link the insights gained from these sessions to their own roles and proactively apply them in daily management by incorporating them into departmental policies and management action declarations.
Regarding closing the gender gap, we held repeated frank and open discussions among Executive Officers and above. Based on our vision for D&I, we discussed continuous development for women, resetting KPIs for female managers, diverse work styles for men, and how management should monitor initiatives across departments.
To promote the development of female top management, we have participated as a corporate member in the “Kyoto University Women's Executive Leadership Program” since 2023. Each session selects and dispatches female department heads to hone the knowledge and skills necessary for management. This program advances their acquisition of management knowledge and perspective, as well as their career development, preparing them to become future decision-makers.
Our company still has a low proportion of female managers, necessitating enhanced development efforts. However, traditional standardized development programs and opportunities alone cannot flexibly accommodate employees with diverse circumstances, such as life events. Consequently, we believe this situation continues to hinder the full realization of individual potential and the cultivation of female talent capable of becoming leaders or managers.
In response, we are strengthening individualized development as a measure to support each employee's career formation. By aligning career development sheets created by the individual with development plans created by their supervisor, we are expanding opportunities for skill development and diverse experiences. Furthermore, through the introduction of a common format and the visualization of talent, we are creating opportunities for employees to gain broad experience across departments and expand their perspectives. This aims to deepen career development, strengthen management capabilities, maximize human capital, and increase the proportion of female managers.
As men's work styles have also diversified in recent years, we will strengthen individual development for all employees, regardless of gender, to create an environment where everyone can maximize their potential.
We provide a space where experienced senior employees (mentors) listen attentively to mentees, offering advice when needed while supporting them to solve problems and grow.
Since its introduction in 2022, approximately 100 pairs have participated, addressing a wide range of concerns including work challenges, career worries, and sometimes even personal matters, gaining opportunities to clarify their career vision.
While the program originated as a support initiative for women, it is now available to all employees regardless of gender.
Internal mentors are selected individuals who undergo mentoring and training by external professionals, creating an environment where mentees can consult with confidence. Additionally, serving as a mentor enhances mentors' skills in developing subordinates and their leadership abilities.
Ms. Sonoda, our female outside director, participated in a candid exchange of views on careers and life events. Lively discussions took place, creating a valuable and empowering opportunity for participants. (Held in 2024)
As a member company of Kyohokai*, we have participated in the “Connecting Day” exhibition (held annually in September by Toyota Motor Corporation) since 2024. This event showcases improvement activities led primarily by women responsible for practical operations.
Building on this participation, teams promoting women's advancement and D&I at our Shirakawa and Nagoya plants have been organizing corporate exchange meetings with Kyohokai member companies and participating in exchange events hosted by various companies since the same year.
We are deepening exchanges through organizing meetings with Kyohokai members and participating in events hosted by various companies.
Exchanges with women in operational and skilled roles at various companies revealed requests such as “improvements to break rooms and restrooms,” “creating work environments easier for women and older workers,” and “establishing accessible channels for consulting on concerns from a female perspective.”
These voices reflect common challenges for our company as well, making the exchange meetings valuable opportunities to learn from each other's initiatives.
We will continue to actively participate in corporate exchanges through Kyohokai, contributing to the advancement of D&I across society.
*Kyohokai is Toyota Motor Corporation’s official suppliers’ association, formed to promote cooperation, mutual development, and strategic alignment among Toyota’s key parts and body manufacturers. English translation by DUNLOP.
Since 2023, we have continuously hosted the “Kobe Manufacturing Companies Technical Women Networking Event,” centered around three manufacturing companies based in the Kobe area, similar to our own.
Through our ongoing information sharing on D&I activities, we identified a common need expressed by female engineers across these companies: a lack of information and networking opportunities to help them achieve a fulfilling work-life balance. This led to the joint creation of these networking events.
We provide an empowering space, difficult to achieve through individual company efforts, where participants interact with numerous role models and female employees. We share insights that help with balancing work and personal life, career autonomy, and career development.
Based in Hyogo and Kobe, home to many manufacturing companies, we contribute to advancing D&I in the local community through “co-creation” among manufacturing firms.
Scenes from the Technical Women's Exchange Meeting. Held seven times to date.
In recent years, men's work styles have become increasingly diverse, and taking paternity leave is becoming commonplace. We believe men's participation in childcare is essential for improving productivity and creating a workplace where diverse employees can thrive, and we are actively promoting the use of childcare leave. In 2024, we launched a paid leave system for childcare purposes, formally introducing it in 2025. Furthermore, through training programs for all levels, we are promoting an understanding of the relationship between male childcare leave, Diversity, and Inclusion (D&I), and productivity improvement, fostering a culture that makes it easier to take leave. Additionally, we feature “Iku-boss” (supportive managers) initiatives in our company newsletter, cultivating a corporate culture that values male involvement in childcare and diverse work styles.
We are prioritizing the enhancement of welfare facilities to ensure a safe and comfortable working environment across our manufacturing sites.
In particular, based on identified issues such as insufficient restroom facilities for female workers and safety concerns during night shifts, we have implemented renovations to improve both convenience and security.Going forward, we will continue planned, site-wide upgrades, including renovations of men’s restrooms.
In addition, employees are actively involved in improving break rooms by sharing ideas and working together to enhance layouts and other features. These improvements are designed to encourage everyday communication and make break time more comfortable and productive.
Through these initiatives, we are steadily enhancing day-to-day working conditions and creating spaces where employees can step away from their tasks, connect with one another, and return to work refreshed.
We are advancing improvements to reduce physical strain in tasks involving heavy lifting and other physically demanding work. By taking differences in physical strength and stature into account, we are creating working conditions that allow everyone—including female and senior employees—to perform their tasks safely and comfortably. In addition, female employees play an active role in identifying opportunities for improvement through workplace patrols and hands-on proposals. Their perspectives have helped improve work flows and the usability of equipment.
By continuously reflecting diverse viewpoints in these efforts, we are creating workplaces that support both ease of work and productivity.
To address site-specific challenges, we have established cross-departmental working groups at each factory. These groups work autonomously on initiatives closely related to improving day-to-day working conditions, including enhancing communication and upgrading welfare facilities such as break rooms. We regularly create opportunities for open dialogue to gather input from frontline employees and openly share challenges. This approach helps establish a cycle in which improvement efforts are driven by the frontline. When employees contribute ideas and are involved in making improvements, progress becomes visible in daily work. This visibility supports a greater sense of ownership and higher engagement across the workplace.
To create an environment in which global talent can work and develop with confidence, we have established a structured framework for accepting foreign technical trainees at our manufacturing sites. At the Shirakawa Factory, we primarily welcome trainees from our Group’s operations in Indonesia.
We have strengthened onboarding, training, and support systems, including consultation channels, to facilitate smooth adaptation in both daily life and the workplace. In addition, we provide training programs and opportunities for interaction that promote mutual understanding of cultural and social differences, fostering a workplace-wide support structure.
By creating an environment in which trainees can focus on developing their skills with confidence, these initiatives also enhance awareness of diversity among existing employees and contribute to the advancement of an inclusive workplace culture.
We believe that recognizing unconscious biases and consciously changing our actions leads to a more comfortable workplace and greater growth opportunities.
We conduct ongoing unconscious bias training for all employees and use company-wide survey results to improve training content and delivery methods.
Starting in 2024, we introduced training for manufacturing site employees. At the production level, unconscious biases can sometimes impact safety. Therefore, we conduct training using scenarios that could actually occur on the shop floor, emphasizing “awareness” and “discussion.” Eliminating small biases contributes to building an organization where mutual respect is fostered.
To create an environment where every individual can perform to their full potential and ensure everyone contributes as a productive member, it is crucial to evolve the management practices of executives and managers.
It is essential to practice inclusive managerial behavior—not only by considering diverse attributes and values, but also by re-examining one's own management style—to ensure everyone contributes fully and the organization achieves results. Based on this philosophy, our executives have taken the lead in issuing the “Inclusive Management Declaration.” This declaration signifies the commitment of managers to promote inclusion and create workplaces where everyone can perform to their full potential.
Our company participates in the Kyoto University Communication Design and D&I Consortium, established by the Kyoto University Graduate School of Management. This consortium promotes the development of communication design professionals through research groups and practical initiatives, aiming to realize a society that respects and leverages diversity.
Through participation in symposiums, we are advancing dialogue and knowledge sharing beyond corporate boundaries. We are committed to creating a workplace environment where all employees can leverage their strengths and contributing to the realization of a society where everyone can live authentically.
To eliminate discrimination based on sexuality in the workplace and create an environment where all employees can work as themselves, we are promoting the increase of Allies (people who understand and support LGBTQ+ people) through various initiatives that promote understanding and awareness among all employees.
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Regardless of the type of disability, individuals with disabilities work in various workplaces, and we support them in utilizing their abilities. We provide facilities such as barrier-free restrooms and employ job coaches to offer on-the-job support. Furthermore, each workplace has health management staff (occupational physicians and nurses) available, creating an environment where employees can easily consult about their physical and mental health.
※ Our group includes SRI Business Associates Co., Ltd., a subsidiary promoting the employment of people with disabilities.
Under the previous reemployment system, post-reemployment compensation was uniformly reduced. In April 2021, we introduced a role-based grading system for managerial positions. Following this, we implemented the role-based grading system for reemployed personnel starting in 2022. As a result, personnel continuing line management or leveraging their expertise are now receiving compensation comparable to their pre-retirement levels.
Furthermore, while expanding career vision training at key life milestones, we launched career vision training for employees in their 50s starting in 2024 and extended it to include indirect skilled workers, including those in factories. We will continue to support the further growth of our employees so they can maintain high motivation and thrive within the company and society well into their 50s, 60s, and beyond.
We launched the Foreign Employee Engagement Promotion Project and conducted a survey in 2019. Based on feedback from employees, we initiated initiatives such as Japanese language education and providing internal materials in English. We continue these efforts today, promoting the creation of a workplace environment where foreign employees can thrive.
In response to recent changes in the social environment, our company has introduced and expanded systems and mechanisms to accommodate diverse working styles.
We are promoting the hiring of foreign nationals, mid-career hires, the re-employment of retirees, the employment of people with disabilities, the promotion of local employees at overseas subsidiaries to management positions, and the conversion of non-regular employees to regular status. We are also diversifying hiring formats to enable individuals to utilize their abilities and facilitating course changes within our career-track personnel system, thereby fostering a diverse employment environment.
To promote a balanced approach to work and support work-life integration, we are reducing overtime hours and increasing both the number of paid leave days granted and their utilization. We also provide support for balancing work with childcare and eldercare responsibilities. Furthermore, as part of our efforts to foster a workplace culture that encourages free thinking and independent thought, we have implemented a casual dress code in the office and introduced a partially free-address seating system to enhance communication.
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We have established an internal information page dedicated to Diversity, and Inclusion (D&I), actively promoting information sharing and understanding within the company. To further strengthen D&I communication and facilitate the use of HR systems, we have implemented a chatbot on the internal intranet as an information search tool, continuously improving our information dissemination efforts. To promote the chatbot's usage, we created the information dissemination character “Chabo.” Chabo grows the more employees use the chatbot, fostering employee attachment and encouraging continued use and nurturing. Chabo also won the Grand Prize in the IC (Internal Communication) Character category at the “Internal Newsletter Awards 2021*.” Its recognition within the company as the character for D&I and HR communications has contributed to raising awareness of D&I and HR system-related information.
※ Hosted by Wis Works Inc.
