Development of an Organization that Utilizes Diversity | Core Theme 2 | Sustainability

Each of MARUI GROUP's approximately 6,000 employees is different. We believe that innovation is assured when these employees are accepting of the differences in others and are able to unite with an eye toward social change and demand. We are therefore promoting diversity with regard to individual talents, gender, and age.

Three Themes for Promoting Diversity

MARUI GROUP seeks to ensure that every employee can exercise their individuality and feel enthusiastic toward their work. To this end, we are promoting diversity based on three themes.

1. Corporate culture in which the individuality of every employee is respected
- – Official Groupwide project teams
- – Initiatives led by Medium-Term Management Visionary Committee
- – Cross-Group profession change system
2. Systems and frameworks supporting the contributions of all employees
- – Work style reforms (reduction of overtime)
- – Work-life balance systems
3. Management reforms for utilizing diversity
- – Communication reforms
- – Opportunities for everyone to participate in management
- – Corporate culture facilitating self-growth

Innovation and Evolution of Diversity Promotion Initiatives

MARUI GROUP's diversity promotion initiatives began from the starting point of gender diversity. The number of employees involved has grown with each coming year since these initiatives were kicked off in 2013. As a result, these initiatives have continued to evolve through the gradual broadening of their scope, from only women to including men, from management to employees, and eventually to encompass a greater range of workplaces and finally the entire Group.

2013	– 2030 Committee	– Launch of 2030 Committee, predecessor to current committees that was named after the government target of increasing the ratio of female managers to 30% by 2020 – Initially consisted of five female managers – Additional two male managers joined in latter half of 2013
2014	– Diversity Subcommittee – Female Employee Empowerment Project Team	– Establishment of Diversity Subcommittee membered by six female managers and three male managers and Female Employee Empowerment Project Team comprising 15 employees joining via open application
2015	– Diversity Subcommittee – Diversity Project Team	– Project team renamed Diversity Project Team to remove "female employee" from name; members increased from 15 to 43 employees via open application
2016– 2017	– Diversity Subcommittee – Diversity Project Team	– Second Diversity Project Team launched in latter half of 2016 with 50 new members
2018	– Diversity Subcommittee – Diversity Project Team	– Third Diversity Project Team launched in latter half of 2017 with 54 members
2019	– Diversity & Inclusion Project Team	– Diversity Subcommittee and Diversity Project Team integrated to form Diversity & Inclusion Project Team and expand scope of activities
2020	– Diversity & Inclusion Project Team	– Second year of Diversity & Inclusion Project Team activities launched in early 2020 with 30 members
2021	– Gender Equality Project Team	– Launch in late 2021 with 43 members and the goal of fostering a corporate culture encouraging employees to reach their full potential regardless of their gender.
2022	– Gender Equality Project Team	– Started the second phase of the "Gender Equality Project Team" with 37 new members in late 2022

Approach toward Promoting Diversity

The promotion of diversity has been clearly identified as a management strategy in the Company's medium-term management plans since the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. Specific diversity promotion initiatives include MARUI GROUP's participation in A Group of Male Leaders Who will Create a Society in which Women Shine, a committee headed by the Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office of Japan. In addition, we distribute Diversity Books containing messages from senior management to all employees. The Company has also established the Diversity Subcommittee, which comprises representatives from management, and the Diversity Project Team, which is membered by employees from throughout the Group. With these two organizations in place, we are able to set directives, such as expanding grassroots activities for fostering diversity awareness within the Group, in a top-down manner, while simultaneously advancing bottom-up diversity promotion initiatives.

Top-Down Directives, Bottom-Up Initiatives

Top-down

– Identification of diversity promotion as a management strategy in the Company's medium-term management plans since the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015
– Participation of President Hiroshi Aoi in A Group of Male Leaders
Who will Create a Society in which Women Shine
(Cabinet Office) as a founding member

"Declaration on Action" by A Group of Male Leaders
Who will Create "A Society in which Women Shine."
(Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office)

– Distribution of Diversity Books containing messages from senior management to all employees

Diversity Book (Japanese only) PDF

Bottom-up

– Advancement of initiatives at workplaces spearheaded by Diversity Project Team members
– Support for projects from supervisors and Diversity Subcommittee members

Comprising representatives from management, the Diversity Subcommittee plays a role in supporting the Diversity Project Team. The members of this project team change with each fiscal year, resulting in an annual increase in the number of employees that have experienced membership. Moreover, the project team provides an opportunity for participants from differing backgrounds to learn of each other's individuality.

Another step was taken in the evolution of these initiatives with the launch of the Gender Equality Project Team in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. With the expressed goal of fostering a corporate culture encouraging employees to reach their full potential regardless of their gender, the Gender Equality Project Team is engaged in a crusade to eliminate preconceptions.

Activities of the Gender Equality Project Team

The official Groupwide Gender Equality Project Team was launched in April 2021. MARUI GROUP recognizes that empowering its female employees in the workplace requires the development of gender-equal work styles. Developing these work styles is a task that cannot be accomplished by women alone, but rather one that requires real change in the mindsets of their families and coworkers and of society as a whole.

This project team features a diverse membership of employees from a variety of workplaces and age groups. These individuals are engaged in self-propelled action for the purpose of achieving the project team’s expressed goal of fostering a corporate culture encouraging employees to reach their full potential regardless of their gender. Moreover, as is the case with other project teams, members are changed on an annual basis, which produces a new set of employees with increased knowledge and awareness each year and thereby contributes to the cultivation of a corporate culture that lends itself to business innovation.

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