Sumitomo Corporation Selected as a "Next Nadeshiko: Companies Supporting Dual-career and Co-parenting" for FY2023

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Masayuki Hyodo) has been selected as a "Next Nadeshiko: Companies Supporting Dual-career and Co-parenting" for FY2023, which acknowledges the company’s outstanding efforts in support of dual-career and co-parenting, for both female and male employees. The selection is jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

At Sumitomo Corporation, employees have diverse lifestyles, values, gender and nationalities, and in line with our ongoing commitment, we have greatly expanded our work style options to empower every employee to maximize their performance and success. We are also promoting "dual-career and co-parenting" as part of these efforts. To thrive in a rapidly evolving and diverse business landscape, Sumitomo Corporation has prioritized Diversity, Equity & Inclusion ("DE&I"), recognizing it as “the core enabler for value creation, innovation and competitiveness”, and is working to eliminate any possible barriers therein.

For example, we promote autonomous and flexible work styles for all employees through various initiatives, including the following:

• Super-flextime system without core hours
• Remote working
• Flexible dress code policy
• Balanced working environment (including reducing long working hours and promoting taking ample vacation)
• Subsidized health check-ups, including breast and cervical cancer screenings for younger employees,
• Provide dental check-ups at an in-house clinic
• Established counseling centers

Additionally, Sumitomo Corporation promotes initiatives to help all employees balance their career alongside childcare. This includes systems such as childcare leave and shorter working hours that go beyond legal stipulations, and we have made childcare facilities available for our employees. With regards to childcare leave, we do not pursue a simple increase in the rate of leave takers but aim to foster a workplace culture where individuals, regardless of gender, feel empowered to take childcare leave as needed, for as long as necessary. Through targeted awareness campaigns and individual check-ins with expectant fathers, in FY2022, the rate of male employees taking childcare leave was 67.3%, for an average of 60 days. Further, we have established a special support system for expatriate employees who are accompanied solely by their children, and a total of 18 employees have used this system to date.
In the realm of autonomous career development, alongside our existing periodic career interviews, we have expanded our internal recruitment system, provided reskilling opportunities, developed the Alumni System and unified career groups to offer further career options for our employees. Our employees are the driving force behind our company. At Sumitomo Corporation, we respect the individual career aspirations of our employees, providing support and opportunities for their professional growth and fulfillment.