DIVERSITY
The YKK Group strives to create work environments where everyone finds it easy to work.
Practicing Diversity Characteristic of YKK
"YKK is a Forest Organization."
These are the words of our founder, Tadao Yoshida.
In a forest, some trees are old and venerable, rich with experience and knowledge,
while some trees are young, scarcely more than saplings.
Our organization aims to be like a forest, with each individual growing onward and upward
in their own unique way.
Forest Management enables everyone to exercise his or her own strengths with individuality and to work skillfully without needing to be directed by others, all the while moving forward together.
While we are all employees, we are also all managers.
Based on this idea of Forest Management, the YKK Group has positioned the promotion of diversity as a priority management issue.
The effects of practicing diversity lead to the development of a corporate climate where all employees find it easy to work and can feel motivated and to the development of business and the Company. In accordance with the Personnel Principle of independence and coexistence, the YKK Group seeks to employ diverse human resources without regard for age, gender, nationality, disability, and so on, conducts educational programs relating to diversity, and implements measures that reflect the opinions of employees, taking into account regional characteristics and other factors.
Diversity Initiatives in North & Central America
Each employee of the YKK North & Central America Group performs his or her job enthusiastically and with pride, regardless of age, sex, or other personal attributes. The Group guarantees equal opportunity in employment and performs fair screening and hiring.
In conjunction with International Women's Day in March of each year, YKK Corporation of America conducts interviews of female employees and provides advice to working women. See the site below for details.
Diversity Initiatives in Japan
The YKK Group designs fair systems that are receptive to diverse working styles regardless of age, gender, educational background, or nationality in order to enable all employees to fully exhibit their capabilities and develop their careers over the long-term. In addition to building a system so that employees can work regardless of age as long as they can play the role required by the company, we emphasize human resource development and support for each employees' self-sufficiency, and try to improve the environment so that they can be successful. We also support workplace participation by women, encourage participation in childcare by men, support the employment of persons with disabilities, and take other measures.
Supporting Work-Life Balance
The YKK Group supports workplace participation by women and provides support to those individuals facing restrictions so that each employee can autonomously manage "work" and "life."
Many employees in Japan have used the childcare leave system regardless of gender. There are also systems that can be utilized after returning to work following childcare leave. Employees in Japan with a child in six grade or younger can choose staggered working hours. In addition, we can choose to work shorter hours, or take leave to nurse children. Our initiatives to support raising the next generation of children have been recognized by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), and we have acquired the right to use the MHLW's "next generation" certification logo ("Platinum Kurumin"). We also promote work from home, flextime to support for balancing work and Childcare/Family Care.
Employment of Persons with Disabilities
YKK Rokko Corporation, a special printing business subsidiary, is taking measures such as making completely barrier-free environments to create workplaces where persons with severe disabilities can work with confidence and is expanding the scope of work. The company also engages in active interaction with local communities such as visiting local facilities for disabled persons to gather information and sharing the facility information by posting it online and by other means.
Chosen for New Diversity Management Selection 100
YKK was chosen for the FY2017 New Diversity Management Selection 100 project sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Support for fostering female engineers and researchers through collaboration with academia
In collaboration with Kanazawa University and Toyama Prefectural University, YKK supports the fostering of female engineers who will be at the forefront of next-generation manufacturing.