Promoting Diversity

Toray Group is committed to promoting employee diversity to help build thriving workplaces where each individual's abilities can flourish.

Toray Industries, Inc. has long encouraged women in the workplace and implemented policies to support women to build fulfilling careers. The Company promoted its first female manager in 1958 and introduced employee provisions for taking parenting leave nearly 20 years before parenting leave became mandatory in Japan. In 2003, a woman became president of a Toray Group company. Then, in 2004, the Company launched the Advancement of Women Project. As of April 2024, women held 10.1% of unit manager or higher positions and 6.4% of section manager or higher positions. In June 2015, the Company welcomed its first female director (riji), a position that is equivalent in scope and level of responsibility to senior management. (One female director [riji] as of March 2024.) As of July 2024, two presidents of group companies outside Japan are women.
In March 2021, Toray Industries formulated and publicly released its five-year action plan (April 2021–March 2026) for increasing the retention rate of women employees and the ratio of women employees in management positions by promoting initiatives for individual skill development and career building.
The action plan sets out the following goals and initiatives.

Goals:

1. Increase the percentage of management positions held by women each year, with a specific initial target of raising this percentage from the 5.1% in fiscal 2020 to 6.5%
2. Achieve a 1:1 ratio of men and women employees continuously employed for each employment management category (among those who have been employed for ten years or less)

Initiatives:

(1) Use career path worksheets to enhance opportunities for discussion with supervisors and subordinates regarding careers and other topics and share content with directors in charge of each business and Personnel Department to follow up on status of implementation.

(2) Narrow the gap between the percentage of women selected for company-wide leadership training and the percentage of women in the target group for this training.

(3) Provide continuous training and other means of raising awareness of career development among women employees.

(4) Enhance systems to enable diverse work styles and create an even better environment for balancing work and life events.

(5) Conduct morale survey (measuring effectiveness of initiatives) to ascertain status of above initiatives, analyze results, and identify measures for improvement.

1. * As of April each year

Gender Pay Gap

Toray Industries calculates the difference in earnings between men and women according to the provisions of Japan’s Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace (Act No. 64, 2015).
For regular employees, there is not a major gap in the earnings of women compared to men in managerial and non-managerial positions. However, the overall gap between female and male compensation is due to the relatively lower proportion of female employees in managerial positions compared to male employees in these positions.

Gender Pay Gap (Female Earnings as a Percentage of Male Earnings)

Toray Group supports the voluntary initiatives of women in the workplace to create venues for communication about ways to resolve the issues and difficulties that they may face when trying to balance work and family life.
The outcomes of these communication events give the Group a glimpse into the current conditions facing women at work and their own opinions. Toray Group believes that resolving these issues one at a time will foster greater participation by women at work, and will steadily continue its efforts.

Holding Career Advancement Seminars for Women Serving as Managers and Occupational Specialists, and Discussion Meetings

In fiscal 2014, women serving as general managers at Toray Group developed and initiated a career advancement seminar for women serving as managers and occupational specialists, and it has now been held seven times as of fiscal 2022.
These seminars were developed and launched with the hope that they would help women learn about diverse career paths and leadership and the importance of forming personal networks and learning from one another, particularly now. Participants in past seminars have been encouraged by this chance to hear about the wide range of conditions in which women in management and occupational specialties work and to interact with diverse role models. Each of the seminars is attended by the president of Toray Industries and the senior vice president of the Human Resources Division who engage in dialogue with the participants.
In fiscal 2016, the second seminar was held in January, and subsequently the seminar participants organized discussion meetings for women at all of Toray Industries’ offices and plants in Japan to more broadly ascertain the views of women in non-management positions and younger workers at all plants. (In 2017, an additional discussion meeting was also held at the newly established Nasu Plant.)
The meetings offer an opportunity for women in workplaces of various ages and at various stages of life to talk honestly about balancing work and home life, sharing and educating each other about the challenges and issues they face. Men are also included in the conversations at some of these discussion meetings.
In fiscal 2017, follow-up meetings were held in 16 locations (plants), and women employees held group discussions on several themes chosen in the discussion meetings for women. In session one (information sharing), 1,039 employees participated, including 426 men, and 439 women participated in session two (group discussion). At session two (group discussion), a theme that fit the situation at each plant was chosen for discussion from among the themes compiled at the discussion meetings. Talking about a theme of interest to the participants allowed the discussion to go deeper, and issues that should be addressed at plants were identified. There have been several cases in which, based on the views obtained in the follow-up meetings, these discussions have led to improvements in the workplace environment or to facilities that enhanced working conditions for both men and women. In some cases, the discussions sparked the start of regular lunch meetings. These discussion meetings, led by women, have been held at all Toray offices and plants since fiscal 2019.
In fiscal 2021, an online discussion meeting was held for female G-Course employees in Toray Group. The facilitators were female managers and occupational specialists who are able to serve as role models. It was a valuable opportunity for many G-Course employees to share their work motivations, concerns, and issues, and to hear the opinions and stories of the facilitators and their peers from various generations and workplaces. Through past conferences, participants have identified issues such as the fact that female G-Course employees, who represent the future of the Company, are often burdened with anxiety about future career development.
In fiscal 2022, in order to respond to issues such as these, training was held not only for female managers and occupational specialists, but also for male managers and occupational specialists who have female subordinates. Through this training, male and female managers and specialists shared their viewpoints, deepened their understanding of the current situation, and decided to make their own action declarations aimed at resolving the issues concerned.
In fiscal 2023, to help alleviate the work-life balance concerns of female G-Course employees, an online discussion meeting was held featuring female managers and occupational specialists regarded as accessible role models. Videos were also made available online, including messages from the chairman and president, an overview of group efforts to promote women's empowerment, and an explanation of the purpose of discussion meetings for female employees.

Career Advancement Seminars for Women Serving as Managers and Occupational Specialists, and Discussion Meetings

Sharing Stories via the Company Intranet: Vibrant Employees Achieving Work-Life Balance

Intranet site: Vibrant Employees Achieving Work-Life Balance

The Company gives specific examples on its corporate intranet of employees who have given birth to and raised children, or provided caregiving for other family members, and how they did so while still working.
In 2016, experienced employees began sharing their work-life balance stories on this intranet site, providing younger individuals with ideas on how to enrich both their work and personal lives. A total of 39 stories have been shared, with three added in fiscal 2023.
By publishing not only examples of work-life balance achievement amid major life events, but also personal experiences relating to overseas posting and other career stages, the intranet site is helping employees of every age and gender to make their professional and personal lives more fulfilling.

Examples of Workplace Initiatives in fiscal 2023

Follow-up Discussion Meeting After the Women's Empowerment Course (Toray Industries, Inc. Ehime Plant)

Ehime Plant manager observing discussions by female employees

As follow-ups to the training session for female S-Course³ employees in 2022, a total of three discussion meetings were held in 2023, with a total of 33 women participating. In the meetings, participants reflected on what they had learned from the training. They also shared ideas they had put into practice and initiatives they had taken to improve their skills.

• 3 S-Course: A career path for manager, supervisor, or specialist candidates

Networking Event Held for Female Engineers (Toray Industries, Inc.)

Women’s networking session

In response to findings from an employee workplace survey, the Engineering Division of Toray Industries is promoting an initiative to ensure that no one feels alone. This reflects the fact that there are only four female Engineering Division employees at the Company's 13 plants. With few opportunities to share thoughts with those in similar situations, these women were at risk of feeling alone. After new female employees recently joined the Chiba Plant, a company-wide networking event was arranged for such employees. As one of the division’s “You Are Not Alone” initiatives, it was an effective way for these women to make new connections who can offer each other support whenever they face challenges.

Toray Group hires and employs persons with disabilities, from those with physical challenges to persons with intellectual and mental challenges. The Group is making workplace improvements to remove physical barriers for persons with handicaps as well as instituting safety measures. Additionally, the Group provides comprehensive training upon work placement and gathers feedback from persons with disabilities to make workplace improvements.
Further, in fiscal 2023, Toray Industries met Japan’s legally mandated employment rate of persons with disabilities, as did 59.4% of Toray Group companies in Japan. Group companies actively seek to hire persons with disabilities through public organizations and job placement agencies. However, some individual group companies do not meet the mandated legal requirement. Toray Industries and group companies will continue to work together to actively focus on this issue moving forward.

1. * As of June 1 each year

Re-employment System

As part of Toray Industries’ initiatives to encourage full utilization of skilled individuals over 60 years of age, in fiscal 2001 the Company introduced a re-employment system open to all of its unionized employees who wish to continue working. In principle, the Company re-employs all employees who reach 60 and would like to continue working to 65. In fiscal 2005, the scope of the re-employment system was expanded to include managers and occupational specialists.
In light of recent legal reforms and societal trends regarding the employment of seniors, in April 2024, the Company raised wage levels for its re-employed union members.

Career Advancement for Non-Japanese Employees

As Toray Industries becomes an increasingly global company, it is working to enable its non-Japanese employees to play more active roles.
Click here for more information on efforts for the full participation of non-Japanese employees.

Training for Vietnamese Technical Intern Trainees

With employees from Toray Industries (H.K.) Vietnam Company Limited serving as instructors, in fiscal 2023, training was provided to Vietnamese technical interns in their own language on the Toray Philosophy and compliance. The training was held in Japan at Toray Textiles, Inc., Sowa Textile Co., Ltd., Maruichi Fiber Co., Ltd., and Ogaki Fuso Spinning Co., Ltd.

Intern training at Sowa Textile Co., Ltd. (left) and Ogaki Fuso Spinning Co., Ltd. (right)

LGBTQ Issue Awareness

Since January 2017, Toray Group has offered an employee hotline specifically for LGBTQ issues. This is part of its efforts to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Moreover, the Group is working to promote employee awareness of LGBTQ issues by incorporating relevant content into human rights awareness courses and the pamphlets that are distributed during the Group’s annual human rights awareness campaign.

Seminar on Psychological Safety and Unconscious Bias (Toray Industries, Inc. Okazaki Plant)

Group discussion during the seminar

As part of Safety and Compliance Collaboration Activities, a seminar on psychological safety and unconscious bias was held at the Okazaki Plant. Attended by 41 employees, primarily in management positions, the seminar provided information on specific methods for increasing the psychological safety of team members and how to deal with unconscious bias in the workplace. The participants also deepened their understanding through individual exercises and group discussions.