Promotion of Diversity & Inclusion by Shimizu Corporation

Policy on Promotion of Diversity & Inclusion

Shimizu works to promote diversity. Our goal is to effectively utilize the diverse range of individuality that exists among our employees and enable each employee to manifest his or her skills to the fullest extent.

  • Our employees possess a diverse range of values, views, and skills that originate from differences in gender, presence or absence of disabilities, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and other background influences. Shimizu aims to be a company that can fully and actively utilize this diverse range of skills and individual characteristics to the fullest extent.
  • Shimizu promotes work-life balance and creates a workplace that makes it easy to work.

Shimizu's goal is to respond to changes in the business environment, increase corporate value, and improve business results by promoting diversity.

Message from the President

The mission of the Shimizu Group is to provide value that exceeds the expectations of customers and thereby improve customer satisfaction. We will respect human rights, implement initiatives in workstyle reform, pursue diversity and inclusion, and co-exist harmoniously with local communities as the foundation for achieving our mission.
・・・
Shimizu actively pursues diversity and inclusion to contribute to increasing the happi- ness of everyone involved in the construction industry.

(Excerpt from the Fiscal 2021 Corporate Report)

Kazuyuki Inoue, President

Shimizu Corporation

Acquired Eruboshi Certification

We acquired the Level 2 Eruboshi (L-Star) in December 2018. The Eruboshi badge is awarded by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, based on the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace. It is awarded to companies that formulate and report an action plan and demonstrate excellence in implementing initiatives aimed at promoting the advancement of women.

Eruboshi Certification
Acquired certification badge
(2018)

Chosen for Inclusion in New Diversity Management Selection 100

Shimizu was chosen for inclusion in the 2017 “New Diversity Management Selection 100,” an honor conferred by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. This designation honors innovative initiatives by companies that link the promotion of diversity to business results.

Shimizu was one of the 31 companies selected this fiscal year.

diversity management selection

Chosen as a Nadeshiko Brand

Shimizu was chosen as a Nadeshiko Brand in 2017, an honor awarded to listed firms that are attractive to investors who focus on medium to long-term increases in corporate value by creating an outstanding environments for the advancement of women. It is an award presented jointly by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.

Shimizu was one of 47 companies who were awarded this distinction in 2017.

nadeshiko brand

Received the Silver Rating in the PRIDE Index

Shimizu received a Silver rating in the PRIDE Index 2023. We have received awards for six consecutive years, beginning with the first Bronze rating among general contractors in 2017, and then following Silver rating in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The voluntary organization, work with Pride, first created the PRIDE Index in 2016. The index evaluates corporate initiatives for LGBT and other sexual minorities.

In fiscal 2023, 397 companies and organizations including Shimizu received PRIDE Index.

the Silver Medal in the PRIDE Index

Main Measures to Promote Diversity

The main initiatives implemented by Shimizu thus far are listed below:

FY 2023
FY 2022
FY 2021
FY 2020
FY 2019
FY 2018

FY2023

Held Diversity Forum 2023

This content is in Japanese only

FY2022

Held Diversity Forum 2022

This content is in Japanese only

FY2021

Held Diversity Forum 2021

This content is in Japanese only

FY2020

“Encouraging Men to Take Childcare Leave” e-learning Video Released:

In December 2020, we released an e-learning video for all employees on encouraging men to take childcare leave.

This e-learning video consists of three sections: “Before taking childcare leave,” “During childcare leave,” and “After returning to work. ” The case studies in the video encourage viewers to consider different perspectives of men who have taken childcare leave, their managers, colleagues, and others. We aim to create an environment in which it is easy for men to take childcare leave.

Encouraging Men to Take Childcare Leave e-Learning Video Released

Provided e-learning on “Encouraging Men to Take Childcare Leave” for All Employees

In July 2020, Shimizu released an e-learning course for all employees on “Encouraging Men to Take Childcare Leave.” In this course, employees deepen their understanding of the childcare leave system and its history. The purpose of the course is to improve work-life balance and productivity by having participants think about how to spend their time during childcare leave and after returning to work. The e-learning course “Childcare Leave for Men” was released in July 2017 and there is now a higher awareness of childcare leave among employees, so Shimizu released the second course.
We will continue to follow progress on achieving a balance between work and childcare in the future and will strive to make Shimizu a company that makes it easy to work.

Provided e-learning on “Encouraging Men to Take Childcare Leave” for All Employees

FY2019

Held Diversity Forum 2019

Diversity Forum 2019 was held in Osaka on December 6, 2019 as the second such forum. The theme of this forum was “Reimagining ‘Diversity and Inclusion’” and it was attended by approximately 300 people.
The keynote address of Haruko Nozaki, Principle of HORIBA College at HORIBA, Ltd. was based on the theme of “Using individual characteristics and differences as strengths.” She spoke about initiatives in diversity at HORIBA, Ltd.
During the panel discussion in the latter half, Ms. Nozaki continued to serve as an advisor while the head of the Kansai Branch and three employees took the stage as panelists. They discussed the gaps among people of different generations, disabilities, nationalities, and genders, and considered what we can do to achieve diversity and inclusion.
Members of management also participated in the informal reception after the forum and participants engaged in lively interaction and exchanges of opinions with other participants.

Held Diversity Forum 2019

Multilingual Safety Signs

Shimizu provides multilingual safety signs and other types of signage in different languages for the people who work at job sites.
The signs, which have been translated into eight languages (Japanese, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Tagalog, Thai, Portuguese), can be downloaded from the Company Intranet. These signs are used to promote health and safety at job sites.

Multilingual Safety Signs

Established a Prayer Room

Shimizu established a prayer room in the head office in November 2019. An informational poster using pictograms is posted at the entrance. While we anticipate that it will be mainly be used by Muslims, it is not limited to a specific religion and may also be used for praying, meditation, etc.

Established a Prayer Room

Established All-gender Restrooms

In June 2019, Shimizu established all-gender restrooms on the first and second floor of the head office. These were established to create an environment that is easy for anyone to work in, regardless of their gender.

Established All-gender Restrooms

FY2018

Held Diversity Forum 2018

Diversity Forum 2018 was held at our head office on December 7, 2018. Around 250 employees participated in the forum. We changed the name of the Promoting the Advancement of Women Forum, which we have held every year since 2013, to Diversity Forum and expanded the eligible participants from women only to all employees.
The theme of the forum was Unconscious Bias. During the first half, Sook Ja Park, the representative of Appassionata, Inc. delivered a lecture. During the second half of the forum, five employees from Shimizu participated in a panel discussion on the unconscious biases they have held.

Held Diversity Forum 2018

Provided e-Learning on “Unconscious Bias” for All Employees

In September 2018, Shimizu released an e-learning course for all employees based on the theme of unconscious bias.
This course is designed to help employees learn to notice actions that tend to occur due to unconscious bias and think about how to address them. Approximately 7,000 people completed the course during fiscal year 2018.

Provided e-Learning on “Unconscious Bias” for All Employees

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