Sustainability | SocietyDiversity, Equity & Inclusion
Our Approach
The TDK Group comprises numerous Group companies operating globally. We believe that we can continue generating innovative creativity by establishing an environment in which employees with diverse backgrounds can display their skills. This is crucial for realizing corporate growth. In April 2020 the TDK Diversity & Inclusion Policy was established.
TDK – Diversity & Inclusion Policy
At TDK, we must have a diverse workforce to achieve our mission to contribute to industry and culture through creativity. Our broad range of products and solutions in electronics, energy, materials, and sensors are complex, pervasive and help make our daily lives better across the world that we share.
TDK's people imagine, design, develop, manufacture, and bring these products and solutions to life. We can achieve our mission because we welcome a global pool of cultures, disciplines, perspectives, languages, ideas, skills, and experiences.
Target of TDK Diversity & Inclusion Policy is to create as much value as possible for the company and the society out of such a unique global pool of human resources. We foster the talent of the people in the TDK Group by strengthening the links between them and by supporting a vivid exchange of thoughts and experiences.
As stated in our TDK Code of Conduct, we are committed to respect each employee’s individuality and shall establish reasonable and fair systems for human affairs and treatment of employees. The diversity of our employees - their cultures, nationalities, ages, genders, backgrounds, religions, beliefs, races, sexual orientations, disabilities, and characteristics - are a major driving force for our success.
To date:
- TDK was founded in Japan and its headquarters are located in Tokyo, Japan, yet a big majority of our employees are situated outside of Japan.
- TDK unites people from many different cultural origins, located in many countries.
- TDK has employees in all age groups.
- Woman represent a very important part of our workforce.
- Continually support programs to improve our ability to communicate and collaborate.
Diverse teams help embrace different ideas and opinions, listen to each other, encourage development and lead to quality products and solutions that we all enjoy. We are strongly committed to building diverse teams that include all people.
As of April 2020
Roles and Responsibilities
TDK is promoting activities according to the situation of each site or legal entity under the support of the Human Resources Function.
Since October 2020, the Diversity Promotion Department has been the department in charge of diversity-related issues and actions within the Japan Human Resources Division of the Human Resources HQ. Aiming for TDK to be a company that society needs and continues to have high hopes for, we strive to foster a culture in which employees worldwide respect one another and feel free to exchange opinions, regardless of gender, age, nationality, or ethnicity. Our first step in embracing diversity will be a renewed and serious effort to empower the women of Japan. To date, we have put in place a number of programs designed to make it easier for women to work. The remaining issue is to shift from merely facilitating work to offering women an active role. As a company, we will draw out the capabilities, values, and potential of our female employees, incorporate those assets in our business, and tie them to the growth of TDK.
Goal by 2035
As a milestone, we have decided to carry out activities by setting the percentage of female in managerial roles by 2035, which is the 100th anniversary of our founding.
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Goals and Achievements
| Fiscal 2023 Goals | Achievements |
|---|---|
| Conduct educational activities for managers in Japan to boost awareness of the significance of promoting diversity | In fiscal 2023, the workshop was offered to new and experienced managerial hires who had not yet participated in the workshop. 97% of those eligible participated. |
| Continue conducting measures from fiscal 2022 to prevent harassment | Held communication seminars on the prevention of harassment at all business sites in Japan. The seminars were for managers and some section chiefs with subordinates in fiscal 2023, and 95% of those eligible attended. |
| Conduct career development education for female employees | Held career development education for female section chiefs; dispatch to outside NPOs, conducting of a mentoring program and career development seminars for female employees. |
Future Activities
In fiscal 2023, TDK took many steps to promote widespread awareness of the significance of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, engaging in many efforts to change the mindset of managers and help prevent harassment with a focus on activities to promote women’s advancement.
Going forward, TDK will keep promoting women’s advancement and also carry out efforts to promote the active participation of minority personnel, such as people with disabilities and LGBTQ+ people. In April 2023 TDK formally expanded its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts beyond Japan and established a global Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Department consisting of members from China, Germany, the United States, and Japan. The newly established team will develop and implement a global DE&I strategy, while continuing the progress of the activities that preceded it in Japan.
| Fiscal 2024 Goals |
|---|
| Continue holding workshops for managers hired new or mid-career to boost awareness |
| Dispatch female section chiefs to external training organizations, conduct mentoring program, and hold career development seminars; also hold career development seminars for female employees |
| Deployment of vocational life consultants for persons with disabilities at our business sites throughout Japan for the retention of employees with disabilities |
Initiatives
The Active Participation of Employees with Disabilities
TDK has been actively employing people with disabilities for many years. However, due to Japan's falling birthrate, aging population, and population outflow from rural to urban areas, there has been a decline in the labor force in rural areas. A problem we are currently facing is a decline in job applicants in the Akita area, our major business location, and other business sites outside the Kanto area. To address this issue, in the fall of 2021 TDK introduced a work-at-home hiring program that utilizes the company’s experience with its own telecommuting system.
The work-at-home hiring program enables employees with disabilities in the Kanto area to receive instructions from supervisors and divisions located at a distance.
Our employees with disabilities work primarily in the main Electronic Components Business Company, but thanks to the work-at-home hiring program, their range has steadily been expanding to include accounting, product order management, product analysis assistance, marketing assistance, IT-related work, and many other areas.
Recently, we have been putting effort into hiring more people with mental disabilities. With an understanding of each individual’s disabilities and skills, we are able to provide an appropriate working environment, resulting in greater opportunities for an active work life.
We also focus on the retention of employees with disabilities. One initiative in this area, which we have begun to utilize at TDK’s headquarters, is the governmental work passport system for employees with disabilities. The work passport lists information on the nature of a person’s disabilities, skills, and other matters to consider, and is used to reliably pass on that information even if the supervisor changes, thereby contributing to employee retention.
We are also deploying vocational life consultants for persons with disabilities at all of our business sites in Japan who can provide consultation to employees with disabilities and others who work with them.
Efforts to Respect Human Rights and Equal Opportunity―Diversity Promotion Action Plan
TDK includes provisions regarding respect for human rights and prohibiting discrimination into the TDK Code of Conduct.
We implement specific initiatives on respecting human rights, equal opportunity, etc., including awareness-raising education for employees, and special counseling services including a telephone "help line." We have also established an array of systems designed to facilitate childcare and nursing care (childcare leave system, nursing care leave system, short-time work system, etc.).
As a result of creating environments that facilitate work and promote workstyles that maintain a good work-life balance, TDK was certified by the director of the Tokyo Labor Bureau as a Compliance General Business Operator pursuant to the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children and acquired the next-generation certification mark (commonly known as the Kurumin mark) in fiscal 2015.
Our plan is to continue to develop systems that are useful to our employees in their course of growth, and to implement new systems that are tailored to developing social trends as well as to the needs of our employees.
