Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We regard Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) as the foundation of our corporate culture at Kyowa Kirin. Without DE&I, we would not be able to create and deliver Life-changing value to patients around the world.
In 2021, we formulated Our DE&I Statement globally and disseminated it internally along with the CEO message.
In addition to the focus that we place on building an organization in which human resources with different characteristics can accept one another and make the most of their respective capabilities, we are working actively to put in place an environment that respects diversity.

Given the ongoing decrease in working-age population as a result of declining birthrates and population aging, encouraging women to pursue broader career opportunities is deemed an urgent challenge and one of the growth strategies of the Japanese government. In an effort to respond to social expectations and enhance corporate competitiveness through employee diversification, the Kyowa Kirin Group is striving to empower its female employees.
In recognition of its initiatives, Kyowa Kirin received the “Class 3 Eruboshi” accreditation from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare based on the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace in 2016. This evaluation has been maintained as of April 2023.

Kyowa Kirin has formulated an action plan for childcare support to help employees, who actively take on new challenges, demonstrate their maximum competence irrespective of lifestyle and gender. We acquired Platina Kurumin mark certification from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for having met a set of standards as a company that supports employees with childcare. The Company has also acquired Tomonin logo certification in recognition of its efforts to support employees engaged in family nursing care.

In January 2013, the Kyowa Kirin Group issued its Declaration of Employment of People with Disabilities^* and is working to realize a society in which people with and without disabilities can work together.

In an effort to promote the participation and advancement of women, Kyowa Kirin will continue to undertake a wide range of initiatives in support of women’s career development and balancing work and childcare. These initiatives include a mentoring program for women in management positions, roundtable discussion among female employees, career training sessions for young people, and the Back-to-Work Forum to assist employees returning to work after childcare leave.
In addition, we produced a video that showcases diverse female management role models.
Kyowa Kirin has also sent out messages from top management on International Women’s Day (March 8) both internally and externally since 2022 to promote the empowerment of women on a global scale.

In our efforts to support employees with childcare and nursing care, we offer programs that exceed the statutory requirements. A consultation service is also in place to provide employees with meetings before and after they take a leave of absence as well as to send them useful information during their leave. We provide employees with support for a smooth return to work after taking childcare leave. For example, we have hosted the Back-to-Work Support Forum each year since 2014. This forum is designed to achieve a number of objectives, including networking among employees who have become new parents at around the same time. In addition, we are supporting families raising children by opening an in-house nursery school in the Mishima area in 2022 and in the Takasaki area in 2023.
For employees providing nursing care for their family, we offer information on support services through our intranet. In 2023, 169 employees availed themselves of the childcare leave system; 0 employees utilized the nursing care leave system^*1.

Furthermore, in addition to their annual paid holiday, employees are entitled to take up to 10 days of self-managed paid holiday around the time their spouse gives birth or when caring for a sick child, and up to two years of leave to accompany their transferred spouse. For medical representatives (MR; sales staff), we offer household formation support upon their marriage or the birth of a child so as to help them continue working while also leading a fulfilling personal life. Moreover, we also offer a work-from-home program, flextime system, and also a discretionary work system^*2 for researchers with the aim of enhancing productivity across the Company.

In February 2017, Kyowa Kirin joined the IkuBoss Alliance, a movement organized by an NPO to promote awareness among corporate managers. We also conducted diversity management training for superiors. Our aim is to build an organizational structure that aids the Company in boosting its operating performance while ensuring that both managers and their subordinates value work-life balance.

We will further invigorate our organization by encouraging employees to take advantage of the available systems and transforming their mindsets, thereby improving the work environment.

Kyowa Kirin is working to create workplaces that welcome people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, including people from the LGBTQ+ community. Initiatives in this regard include: (1) Revisions to the Employee Code of Conduct; (2) training sessions for senior executives and employees to improve their understanding and raise awareness; (3) revisions to human resource systems and policies so that same-sex partners are treated in the same manner as opposite-sex partners in legally recognized marriage; and (4) an employee hotline service to provide advice about sexual orientation and gender identity.

As a result of these efforts, Kyowa Kirin was awarded "Gold" in the "Pride Index^* 2023," an index developed by the private association "Work with Pride," which evaluates the efforts of companies and organizations regarding LGBTQ+ and other sexual minorities.

In order to develop our business as a Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Company, we strive to recruit talent with diverse values and who are able to inspire others, regardless of nationality. To this end, we have been hiring new graduates mainly from Asia since 2013. In addition, we have a track record of hiring several foreign nationals through our mid-career recruitment initiative, which we have been expanding in recent years.