Pivoting Towards DE&I Where Everyone is a Vital Player
In October 2012, our CEO issued the “ºÚÁÏÍø Diversity Declaration” in which ºÚÁÏÍø pledged to promote diversity in order to adapt to a dramatically changing society and meet the diverse needs of patients. This declaration, shared throughout ºÚÁÏÍø globally, represents our vision of working towards our common goal - the realization of the hhc concept by promoting professional development through collective hard work, as well as fostering mutual acceptance and acknowledgement of the diverse values stemming from various individual backgrounds. We have launched a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) project in 2023 to respond to the continuously evolving social and market environments since the declaration was issued.
CEO Message Towards the Realization of DE&I
The CEO message towards the realization of DE&I was issued in December 2023. This message particularly emphasizes the importance of diversity in DE&I and defines the essence of diversity as not merely a meeting of various people, but as a cooperation based on common goals with mutual understanding of individual values. The message clarifies ºÚÁÏÍø’s direction towards its goals and communicates the importance of DE&I once again to all employees, stating that although it may start with a clash of different opinions and misunderstandings, overcoming these differences leads to great creativity and problem-solving capabilities, and that we aim to foster shared understanding within our organization that “being different is natural and normal”, and to instill this perspective at the individual level among all ºÚÁÏÍø employees.
Organizing a Global Workshop
As the next activity, ºÚÁÏÍø employees across the globe engaging in our initiatives towards DE&I organized a global workshop and discussed slogans and statements based on the CEO’s message that could serve as the “North Star”, or guiding principle, for future DE&I efforts. The meeting started with participants sharing information regarding initiatives and challenges at ºÚÁÏÍø Group companies around the world, based on which they discussed a future where DE&I is realized and what would be necessary to achieve it. The discussion affirmed ºÚÁÏÍø’s unique approach, in which the hhc concept should be positioned at the center of DE&I promotion since this concept is deeply rooted within ºÚÁÏÍø Group employees, transcending nationality, gender, and age.
Having clarified the relationship between the hhc concept and DE&I, based on the results of the workshop, the participants discussed the content of the core message that ºÚÁÏÍø should convey, leading to the creation of ºÚÁÏÍø’s global slogan and statement.
Moving Towards a Permeation and Implementation Phase
ºÚÁÏÍø is now entering a phase where we will embed our global slogan and statement as a core value shared with all employees globally, transforming this value into concrete actions and results. DE&I has no finish line or final form. Through continuous dialogue about the purpose and goal of DE&I both internally and externally, ºÚÁÏÍø will inspire each employee's actions and the creation of new value with DE&I, fostering the culture that underpins ºÚÁÏÍø.