Diversity & Inclusion External Evaluation of Diversity

On June 26, 2017, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) granted the third stage of certification, which is the highest ranking for "Eruboshi," as a company with excellent efforts to promote the active participation of women.
In accordance with the Law Concerning the Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare certifies enterprises that have formulated and submitted action plans and that have implemented good practices.Certification consists of five evaluation items: recruitment, continue of employment, working hours, ratio of managers, and diverse career courses, which are evaluated in three levels according to the number of evaluation items that satisfy the criteria.
In 2021, we achieved a 20% ratio of female managers, and we have set a goal of achieving 30% in 2030. We are continuing efforts to improve the balance support system, promote the use of annual paid holidays, and reduce overtime work, including career training on the theme of women's success and lectures invited to experts.As a result, all of the evaluation items met the criteria, and thus received the third highest level of certification.

We were selected for the "Nadeshiko Brand 2022" designation, which is jointly promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, as a company that actively promotes the active participation of women in the workplace, including by improving the employment environment for women to continue working.
The "Nadeshiko Brand" refers to companies that are excellent in promoting the utilization of women in each industry type from among all listed companies as attractive brands for investors.In fiscal 2022, 50 Nadeshiko Brand companies and 15 Semi-Nadeshiko companies were selected, and we were selected as one of the "Semi-Nadeshiko" companies.

On December 21, 2015, we obtained "Platinum Kurumin" certification as an exceptional company based on the revised Law for Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation. Since then, we have been certified continuously.
This "Platinum Kurumin" certification was established in April 2015 by the revision of the law. It is a certification system that allows enterprises that have been certified as childcare support companies by the former Kurumin to receive a higher level of initiatives.
In addition to achieving the criteria for the percentage of employees taking childcare leave for both males and females, the Company has been actively improving the employment environment to achieve a balance between work and childcare. For example, the Company implemented various measures to promote the use of annual leave, including the introduction of an annual hourly leave system, extended the period of use of the shortened working hours system, and expanded the support leave system by expanding the number of reasons for taking the leave^※2.

• ※2
  Support leave is a system that allows employees to accumulate expired annual leave and take leave for childcare or nursing care.

We believe that diversity and inclusion is the basis of Human Resources management, and we are working to create a workplace where diverse Human Resources can work vigorously, regardless of gender, age, type of employment, new graduate and mid-career recruitment, disability, race, nationality, lifestyle, religion, sexual orientation and gender self-recognition.
Our senior executives communicate their attitudes toward LGBTQ and other issues both internally and externally. In addition, we have expanded the definition of marriage and spouse in our personnel and welfare systems. We also include "factual marriage" and "identical marriage."In-house training and programs on LGBTQ are also ongoing. In 2022, all employees, including directors, attend e-learning courses (100% attendance rate). Through videos and exercises, we are working to promote in-house comprehension.We have also provided opportunities for employees to express their opinions on sexual minorities by allowing them to dress freely when they work, without asking for a gender description at the time of recruitment.Other Expenses, I believe that we have won the "Silver" award this time, because we have been highly acclaimed for various initiatives such as the realization of Ally (Allies), which are the people who understand LGBTQ.
Going forward, we will further deepen our understanding of LGBTQ in order to realize the goal of creating a "Happinet Company and Society" as stated in one of Mid-Term Sustainable Management Plan's materiality. At the same time, we will strive to be a company and society in which each and every employee recognizes and respects each other's differences in personalities, traits, and values, and in which all employees have the opportunity to grow through their work, and in which diverse individuality can play an active role.

We believe that the active participation of women, which accounts for about half of our employees, is the driving force for the development of our business, and we have worked to create an environment in which women can continue to work and to provide education to foster a mindset for women's carriers.Mid-term Management Plan's strategy-reinforce organizational capabilities and incorporating diversity and inclusion measures-the Company's president and other management teams are actively involved to support the active participation of female employees.
Our ratio of woman managers is 23.0% (as of April 1, 2023), and we are aiming to increase the ratio of female managers to 25% by fiscal 2025 and 30% by fiscal 2030.
We believe that diversity and inclusion is the basis of Human Resources management, and we are working to create a workplace where diverse Human Resources can work vigorously, regardless of gender, age, type of employment, new graduate and mid-career recruitment, disability, race, nationality, lifestyle, religion, sexual orientation and gender self-recognition.