Our History on Diversity
Focusing on women, the largest minority group at many companies, we established the Female Committee in 2014 to prevent female employees who wish to develop their careers from giving it up and quitting jobs due to being unable to balance work and family.
The Female Committee, comprised of female employees who volunteered from each department and led by female employees, has discovered issues faced by female employees and their requests and conducted gender-based awareness surveys and career improvement seminars to promote the enhancement of female employees' awareness.
However, life events, including marriage and births, are not just for women, and issues such as nursing, illnesses, and injuries may fall upon anyone. In addition, various other issues that hinder balancing life with work clearly exist. We are responding to issues inside and outside the company by expanding our scope from promoting the success of female employees to promoting diversity so that each and every employee, who are becoming more diverse, can achieve their full potential.
Policies on Diversity
I-NET's Corporate Charter states that "We maintain and improve our working environment, which enables respect for the diversity, personality and identity of the employees, and also enables them to exert their own abilities and vitality."
Based on this belief, I-NET aims to further develop the diverse businesses it has built up over the past 50 years, such as our Information Processing Services, which include the data center business and System Development Services, by implementing the following measures.
We will continue to promote diversity and inclusion to help customers and all other people enjoy life.
1. Strategically utilize the abilities and unique characteristics of diverse human resources regardless of gender, age, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, values, marital status, presence or absence of children, or work style.
2. Create a comfortable working environment by supporting the balancing of work with childcare, nursing care, infertility treatment, and other aspects of life.
Tomomichi Saeki
Representative Director, Executive President
New ideas emerge from diverse employees contributing their knowledge, experience, and sense of values in different fields, which lead to the new development of and improvements to products and services. I-NET strives to create an environment where our employees can achieve their full potential by utilizing their individuality, regardless of gender, age, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, sense of values, or work style.
I-NET will promote diversity based on the following policies.
1) Understanding and improving on requests and issues for the success of each and every employee
2) Developing culture for both management and employees to take an active part in the promotion of diversity
3) Initiatives to contribute to solve social issues by participating in activities to communicate with other companies, local communities, and governments
Diversity Promotion System
Diversity Promotion Office
In line with the diversity guidelines that we have put forward, we established a Diversity Promotion Office in October 2018 so that we can systematically and continuously address these issues, enabling a diverse body of employees to maximize their abilities. We strive to establish diversity measures, run the Diversity Committee, and meet customers’ diversifying needs.
Diversity Measures
i Dear Post
We have set up a suggestion box called “i Dear Post” in the employee groupware, which is directly linked to the President. It also collects employee opinions on diversity, and the Diversity Promotion Office is responsible for reception and operation, as well as liaison with individuals.
Diversity Training
- Job Level-Specific Diversity Seminars
Status reports, lectures, and group work on diversity are conducted for each job level, including the Chairman and President, as well as division managers, department heads, newly appointed managers, and new hires.
- Diversity Lectures for General Employees
We made training videos for all employees so that they understand the basic knowledge of diversity. All employees have watched the videos.
The video is posted on Groupware and can be viewed at any time.
- Declaration on Diversity
Each business division develops a Declaration on Conduct to which it aspires, and works on diversity management.
- Education
The Diversity Newsletter is posted to the employee groupware every month, providing information on how to communicate with diversity in mind, work–life balance tips, and other topics
- Diversity Committee
The Diversity Promotion Office is designated as the secretariat, and a wide range of members participate, regardless of gender, age, and position, including managers and employees from all business divisions. The members discuss issues that have come up internally to promote diversity, and carry out activities that lead to solutions.
Efforts to Develop Diverse Human Resource
Initiatives Encouraging the Active Participation of Women
At I-Net, we have positioned the promotion of women’s active participation as a management strategy for sustainable growth, and we are actively working to promote the advancement of women. Many new female employees join the company every year, with the ratio of female employees among new hires reaching approximately 40% for over a decade. We hold seminars for women and create a comfortable working environment as part of our efforts to enable women to continue working with peace of mind throughout their careers.
Planned Employment
Training for New Female Employees
We invite a lecturer from an external company to deliver a lecture on work style for women as part of training for new employees. We are also conducting training sessions in which we ask successful female employees to discuss their experience, intending to develop training programs that make our employees aware of vision to work in society for many years from early in their careers.
Training for Female Managers and Leaders
We periodically hold training sessions on management and career development for female managers, female leaders, and female employees who want to become leaders.
Women’s Wellness
To reduce barriers to women’s work and further empower them in the workplace, it is necessary to address women’s specific health issues.
Our benefit plan includes subsidies for gynecological cancer screenings, seminars on menstruation and menopause, and exercise programs.
Initiatives for the active engagement of global human resources
We conduct a variety of activities to help our international employees feel comfortable living and working in a foreign countrye.g., regular community activities for foreign nationals, introduction of the culture of each country to the organization to which they will be assigned before joining the company, and cross-organizational exchange events.
Initiatives for the active engagement of senior human resources
I-NET engages in various efforts to promote active participation by seniors.
Extending retirement age and continued employment
Although the retirement age for permanent employees is 60 years old, we guarantee employment for all employees until 65 years old.
Establishing an environment in which seniors can work at ease
We allow flexible work styles, such as shortened working hours and four-day work week, introducing working patterns considering the characteristics of the seniors.
Initiatives to increase the motivation of seniors
We hold career design training sessions for seniors when our employees are 50 years old and 58 years old. We conduct individual career interviews with employees who are 58 years old. We have also introduced a system in which career consultants at the Personnel Division can provide consultations and support.
LGBTQ Initiatives
At I-NET, we consider LGBTQ initiatives to constitute a key theme of our diversity promotion efforts, and we are working to raise awareness, improve environments, and build a stronger corporate culture.
Making systems more LGBTQ-friendly
We have introduced a partnership system in which the same-sex partner of an employee is considered a spouse for benefits and other purposes. Further, we have developed the LGBTQ Guidelines, which clearly outlines counseling services, health checks, and other support and policies.
Providing a consultation service
Our consultation service about matters pertaining to sexual orientation is available to employees, and we utilize our company intranet to ensure they are aware of this service.
Augmenting training programs
We provide employee training that covers basic LGBTQ knowledge and how to support LGBTQ employees.
In addition, a talk on sports and LGBTQ was held at an internal futsal tournament.
From left to right: Mx. Uchiyama and Mx. Shimoyamada, Rebolt Inc.
Facilitating diversity in hiring
New graduates may select “No response”“Others” in the field for gender on their application sheet.
Special training is also provided separately for hiring managers, who are the primary contact for hiring LGBTQ individuals.
Building a welcoming environment
We encourage employees to wear office casual attire, offering them the option to choose clothing that is not bound by traditional gender stereotypes.
Activities contributing to society
To further promote society’s understanding on LGBTQ, we regularly hold study sessions for companies belonging to the Kanagawa Information services industry Association to explain the significance of our initiatives and tips on how to approach the issue.
Activity to Promote Employment of Persons with Disables
We established I-NET DATA SERVICE CORP., a special subsidiary, on April 1, 2009, to provide support for the development of society in which people with disabilities can get jobs that fit their capabilities and aptitudes, and live autonomous lives just like people without disabilities.
The I-NET Group also periodically holds "liaison meetings" to solve issues to employ more people with disabilities and develop a comfortable environment for people with disabilities to work.
I-NET DATA SERVICE CORP. Website
Click here for the diversity recruitment page
Diverse ways of working
Support for balancing work with childcare, nursing care and medical treatment
I-NET encourages employees to take childcare leave regardless of gender, and the current return rate for female employees who have taken childcare leave is almost 100%.In addition, various systems have been adopted so employees can balance work and raising children. We follow the 2022 legal revision, we will further focus on promoting the acquisition of paternal childcare leave for men.
- Hospital visits during work hours for pregnant employees
- Introduction of a communication sheet to support return to work after childcare leave
- Maternity leave
- Spousal childbirth leave
- Childcare leave
- Shortened working hours for childcare and nursing care
- Staggered working hours
- Restrictions on overtime work
- Restrictions on late-night work
- Granting of nursing care leave (up to entering elementary school)
- Days designated for leaving work on time
- Implementation of working from home/telework
- Annual paid leave by the hour
- Memorial holiday
- Re-employment (job return) system
- Subsidy for babysitter fees
- Self-care leave system
- Establishment of a consultation service for support of work-life balance
Create the NEUVOLA Employee Guidebook for Balancing Work and Childcare
To further support employees in balancing work and childcare, the “Ease of Working for Women” booklet was redesigned to a new guidebook, “NEUVOLA Employee Guidebook for Balancing Work and Childcare,” which covers the mindsets of employees, their families, and supervisors, as well as I-NET support program.We aim to create an environment that encourages all employees to take childcare leave, with a 100% childcare leave take-up rate.
Member organizations
I-NET previously joined the Woman Act Kanagawa Prefecture Initiative, and has now registered with D＆I Kanagawa Members and participates in their activities.
*D＆I Kanagawa Members was established to promote diversity and inclusion (D＆I) initiatives throughout Kanagawa Prefecture that will lead to a society with gender equality and make it easier for all people to work.
D＆I Kanagawa Members Website
Certifications and qualifications
I-NET has acquired certifications and qualifications on diversity.
Create a Comfortable Working Environment
Telework
While prioritizing coming into the office, we also allow telework when appropriate, taking into account the nature of the work and the personal circumstances of the staff member.
Encouraging the use of paid holidays
We encourage staff to take at least 10 days of paid leave per year, in order to improve the quality of their work-life balance.
Side jobs
We have introduced a side job system with the aim of improving employees' own abilities, such as their initiative, creativity, ability to take on new technology and ambitions, and negotiation skills, through side jobs and concurrent businesses.
Office casual
We recommend casual office attire to respect the diversity of our employees.
This initiative is designed to allow employees to select attire that suits their particular work situation, based on their own desired gender expression (the representation of gender expressed through appearance, clothing or similar characteristics), rather than preconceived notions of what is masculine or feminine. Wearing comfortable clothing creates an environment that facilitates higher productivity and creative thinking, and also helps to ensure work safety, among other benefits.
Create a Comfortable Working Environment
Transition of Data
*1: Figures are as of April 1 of each fiscal year.
*2:For 2020, figures are as of the end of March.
After 2021, figures are as of the end of June.
*3:Include parental childcare leave.
