Untapping Potential: Second Case Studies

Jun 21

New toolkit shares how companies are expanding diversity activities

By C Bryan Jones

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) is highly active in advocating for women in business (WIB) through its annual WIB summits, collaboration with Japanese business and government, and white papers such as the Women in Business Toolkit Untapping Potential: Case Studies. Published in 2019, the survey provides examples of concrete business initiatives to increase the number of women in management and leadership roles in Japan.

Now, building on the first edition, the ACCJ WIB Committee has published an updated survey entitled Untapping Potential: Second Case Studies. The project was led by 2020 WIB Co-chairs Corinne Johnson and Jiana Leung, with 2019 Chair Ryann Thomas, and brought to publication by 2021 Co-chairs Nuala Connolly and Debbie Reilly.

Broader Focus

Whereas the first edition followed a detailed process to identify case studies from companies that have been recognized by the government or other organizations as promoting gender diversity in the workplace, the second edition takes a different approach by reaching out to ACCJ member companies about experiences that would be useful to share with other members.

In addition, _Untapping Potential: Second Case Studies_ highlights some of the more varied diversity-related activities in which many companies are now engaged. What began in most companies as a focus purely on gender diversity has become a much broader discussion, around diversity in general and workplace change that benefits all—including LGBTQ+ employees and employees with disabilities.

Nine Stories

To provide a comprehensive look at the overall workforce and the issues facing human resources departments, the toolkit is divided into four chapters:

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Workstyle Reform
Increase Male Support for Diversity Programs
Improve Human Resource Policies
Appreciation of Different Employee Perspectives

Across these four chapters, stories of reform, innovation, and success are shared by nine companies:

Gilead Sciences K.K.
Shimizu Corporation
Cisco Systems G.K.
Micron Memory Japan
FIL Investments (Japan) Limited
Sonoda & Kobayashi IP Law
EY Japan
Visa Worldwide (Japan) Co., Ltd.

These companies represent a cross section of industries and organizational sizes. Both multinational and Japanese companies are included, providing a range of examples of what companies in Japan are focusing on now, in terms of inclusion and gender diversity.

The nature of the initiatives differs depending on the company. Some are top-down, while others are grassroots-driven. Some are focused on key performance indicators and metrics, while others are more informal, prioritizing gender diversity or a broader definition of inclusion. And still others are focused on different stages of the employee experience, from recruitment to promotion.

Some companies are also collaborating with external institutions such as universities and Women20, one of the official G20 engagement groups that proposes policy recommendations related to women. Many more are leveraging new technologies to facilitate communication and flexibility.

Key Themes

The first chapter, “Workstyle Reform,” focuses on flexible work arrangements that help attract, develop, and retain employees from diverse backgrounds (Gilead Sciences), and a new office space that helps create an environment where both male and female employees can be more engaged, involved, productive, and in tune with the company’s global culture (Discovery Japan).

Increasing male support for diversity programs is the focus of Chapter 2, with a story from the construction industry where Shimizu is pioneering reform by putting in place policies, systems, and procedures to address the challenges that the industry faces and to counteract traditional mindsets.

In Chapter 3, Cisco shares how they are promoting a conscious culture and creating a workplace where employees of all backgrounds can be at their best. Micron Memory, meanwhile, shows how they initiated a plan to enhance their male-to-female ratio, hire and promote more females to senior positions, and increase recruitment of female college graduates. In addition, the company was looking to boost hiring of Millennials, non-Japanese, and employees with disabilities. Then FIL Investments, which has more female employees than male, talks about the steps they are taking to recruit female employees to senior positions, where men still outnumber women.

Appreciation for different employee perspectives is the theme of Chapter 4, and stories from Sonoda & Kobayashi IP Law, EY Japan, and Visa Worldwide highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion in today’s business operations. Sonoda & Kobayashi believes that employees who come from a homogenous background are more likely to reach the same conclusions and less likely to be creative and think outside the box. So they embraced a set of policies that would attract talent qualified in technology, law, and languages from a wide range of nationalities, genders, work locations, and work-time arrangements.

EY Japan shares with readers their external efforts to support female entrepreneurs and internal efforts to support female members and the company’s LGBTQ+ members, while Visa Worldwide shows how grassroots activity can bring about a more inclusive and diverse environment, fostering work–life balance, and making the office a safe and productive place in which to work.

Inspiration

In their introduction, Johnson, Leung, and Thomas say, “We hope that this second edition of the toolkit provides further food for thought as [ACCJ] members—and all companies operating in Japan—strive to improve the diversity and inclusion of their workforce.”

Indeed, the 32-page publication is filled with ideas and actionable steps that can help any company—large or small—create inclusive environments that embrace diversity and foster sustainable business practices that not only lead to greater success, but a better world for everyone, at work and at home.