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Human Resource Management

Diversity & Inclusion

ESPEC has identified “promoting diversity and respect for human rights” as one materiality (important issue). In the strategy for organizational development and human resource development in the Progressive Plan 2025 medium-term management plan, we are working to train women for management positions, and to promote the participation of a diverse range of human resources, including senior employees and foreign nationals.

Respecting Diversity and Creating a Pleasant Working Environment

Women's Advancement
Activities to Promote Women's Advancement

We are promoting women's advancement in the following ways.

  1. Strengthening activities to increase number of female employees in managerial and supervisory positions, and who have high levels of expertise.
  2. Ensuring female employees are able to work in a wide range of occupations.
  3. Promoting work-life balance throughout the company, and creating a pleasant work environment for all employees.

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  • We have abundant diversity, creativity and vitality
  • We offer employees a variety of work styles
  • We attract the best human resources as employees

Policies to Promote Women's Advancement

We are carrying out the following three policies to promote women's advancement.

  1. Striving to change the way female employees think about their work by offering career plan training to assist female employees in shaping their career and considering their prospects for further advancement, and running the female leadership development program.
  2. Enhancing and expanding programs that support the careers of female employees, including extending the shorter hours working program.
  3. Carrying out various initiatives to create a pleasant work environment, such as holding management seminars on the promotion of women's advancement and curbing overtime hours.

Plan of Action Based on the Promotion of Women's Advancement

Program period: 5 years from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2025

Objective 1: Ensure that women account for at least 30% of new graduate hires.

Initiative:Actively recruit new female graduates.

Objective 2: Ensure that the ratio of female managers is at least 10%.

Initiative:Discover and develop female employees who are candidates for management positions.

Objective 3: Set the average overtime per person to 15 hours (per month) or less.

Initiative:Reduce the average overtime hours and the overtime hours of employees who regularly work long hours.

Training of female employees

Since FY 2013, we have provided female leader development training. In recent years, some of the participants have reached managerial positions. As of April 1, 2024, the proportion of women in management positions was 9.5% (10.0% of General Manager level or higher positions). Additionally, the percentage of females among new graduates hired was 39.3%. In FY 2023, we implemented career design training for young female employees.

  • Percentage of women in regular recruitment: 30% or more
Main Initiatives
  • Female leadership development program
    The program teaches participants the skills and mindset required of leaders.
  • Career plan training
    The career plan training to assist young female employees in shaping their career.
  • Seminar on the promotion of women's advancement
    The seminar aimed to deepen the understanding of the importance of supporting the advancement of female employees, while also providing a forum for discussing current issues related to this area.

Career plan training

Female leadership development program

■Number of female executive officers／Female manager ratio／Percentage of females among new graduates hired (Non-consolidated)

Please scroll horizontally to look at table below.

  FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024
Number of female executive officers 1persons 2persons 2persons 2persons 2persons
Female manager ratio 4.7％ 4.7％ 6.0％ 7.0％ 9.5％
Percentage of female managers at the department manager and above - 10.7％ 10.7％ 9.4％ 10.0％
Percentage of females among new graduates hired 40.7％ 25.0％ 28.6％ 40.0％ 39.3％
  • * The number of female executives is current as of June 30, 2024 and includes outside and executive officers.
  • * The percentage of female managers and percentage of female recent graduates hired are current as of April 1, 2024.

Creating a Workplace Environment for Balancing Work and Childcare

Shorter working hours are available until the child completes the third grade of elementary school. We are also working to create a work environment where it is easy to work while raising children, such as by supporting telecommuting, super-flex hours, and distributing Cabinet Office babysitter discount vouchers.

■Result of utilizing childcare leave and shortened work hours(Non-Consolidated)

Please scroll horizontally to look at table below.

  FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023
Employees utilizing childcare leave 1 10 7 11 9
Ratio of employees taking childcare leave Female - 100% 100% 100% 100%
Male 7% 12.5% 30.8% 13.3% 52.9%
Employees utilizing shortened work hours 8 3 7 5 4

Action plan based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children

Plan period: Two years from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2026

(1) The percentage of employees taking childcare leave

During the period of the plan, increase the percentage of male employees taking childcare leave to 10% or more, and increase the percentage of female employees taking childcare leave to 100%.

(2) Create an environment and culture that enables career development

Create an environment and culture that enables career development while balancing work and childcare.

(3) Increasing the percentage of employees taking annual paid leave

Increase the percentage of employees taking annual paid leave to 65% or more on average across the company.

Ensuring Understanding Within the Company

Messages from the president that are posted regularly on the company website aim to ensure complete understanding within the company of matters such as the importance of promoting participation by female employees, as well as the related status, issues, and programs. The company newsletter educates employees through reports of training conducted to promote participation by female employees.

External Recognition

Description
FY 2024
  • Acquired "three-Star Certification" as a Leading Companies with Actively Participating Women in Osaka City Certification.
FY 2022
  • Participated in the “Declaration on Action by a Group of Male Leaders Who Will Create a Society in which Women Shine” of the Cabinet Office.
    （Representative Director and President Satoshi Arata）
FY 2021
  • Acquired certification as "Ikumen* Promotion Company" in Osaka City.
    *Men who actively take part in child rearing
FY 2019
  • Awarded the “Danjo Ikiiki Award of Excellence” at the Osaka Prefecture Danjo Ikiiki Business Commendation.
  • Awarded the Achievement Award at the 4th Osaka Sakuyahime Awards (Junko Nishitani).
FY 2018
  • Acquired the Osaka Prefecture Danjo Ikiiki Plus Certification.
  • Endorsed the Cabinet Office’s “Declaration on Action by a Group of Male Leaders Who Will Create a Society in which Women Shine”.
    (Representative Director and President Masaaki Ishida).
FY 2016
  • Acquired the highest level of “Eruboshi” certification (Level 3) as a company promoting participation by female employees.
  • Awarded the Achievement Award at the 1st Osaka Sakuyahime Awards (Junko Nishitani).
FY 2015
  • Acquired Kurumin certification as a company supporting child-raising.
  • Acquired "two-Star Certification" as a Leading Companies with Actively Participating Women in Osaka City Certification.

Employment and promotion of active participation of senior personnel, foreign national employees, and people with disabilities

Promoting the utilization of senior employees

In April 2022, we introduced a system for senior full-time employees (limited full-time employees). This eliminates the temporary employee system in which contracts were renewed annually, and allows continued employment from age 60 to 65, with the individual employee being able to choose their work style.

Recruitment of foreign national employees

Currently fifteen foreign national employees are working at our company (as of March 31, 2024). In addition, three foreign nationals were hired by regular recruitment and joined ESPEC on April 1, 2024, raising the percentage of foreign national employees to 10.0%. We will continue to actively recruit foreign national employees in the future.

Employment of Persons with Disabilities

Sixteen persons with disabilities are working for us (as of the end of March 2024). We will continue our efforts to hire persons with disabilities in positions suitable for their abilities and aptitudes, including improving the workplace environment and reviewing work duties.

■Employment Rate of Persons with Disabilities (Non-consolidated)
  FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023
Employment Rate of Persons with Disabilities 2.2% 2.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.4%
  • ※As of the end of March 2024

ESPEC Smile Farm: A farm for encouraging people with disabilities to work

In FY 2021, with the goal of contributing to the assurance of employment and economic independence for those with disabilities, we opened the ESPEC Smile Farm in the rental farm run by a certain company that supports employment for people with disabilities. Here, three staff members with disabilities work with one employee in change of managing the farm (total four people) to plant vegetables and the like. The crops they harvest are to be used in the employee cafeteria and otherwise distributed to employees, donated to cafeterias for local children, and otherwise put to good use.

Harvesting vegetables on the farm