SHIMADZU DE&I Week 2024
－Let's build up positive dialogue and respect－

Shimadzu Corporation has established SHIMADZU DE&I Week as an opportunity to think about diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) within the Shimadzu Group as a whole both in Japan and overseas.

Considering Diversity Day began in 2020, and was expanded to SHIMADZU DE&I Week in 2023. This time, in celebrating the fifth anniversary of this event, we implemented a variety of initiatives with the aim of considering and experiencing DE&I from a personal perspective, on the theme of "DE&I fostered by communication: Let's build up positive dialogue and respect."

 

Global Feast, an International Menu, Savoring the Home Countries’ Dishes of Shimadzu Employees

Dishes and desserts from the regions where employees from overseas countries working at Shimadzu Corporation were born were made available in the employee cafeteria for one week. This was a chance for employees to get to know and think about their various peers, while taking a break over lunchtime. This became a chance for any employee using the cafeteria to get a sense of DE&I Week.

Dishes from 15 countries and regions were presented, and comments included the following. "It gave me a real sense of just how many people from different countries are working at Shimadzu." "I want to learn about cultures and approaches, and deepen our mutual understanding."

It was covered by NHK Kyoto, and was introduced on TV program "Kyo-no-Hirudoki (Lunchtime in Kyoto)"

DE&I Workshop: Interesting Precisely Because of Differences! The Power of Communication to Draw Attention to a Diversity of Values

A workshop was held to consider DE&I, with the employees themselves participating in the discussion.

To begin, group discussions were held on questions with no clear-cut answer, through a card game called the "Crossroad Diversity Game." It was a hands-on opportunity to learn about and appreciate diverse approaches and values. In the latter half, through direct dialog with the director in charge of diversity management, employees discussed corporate issues, acceptance of diverse members, and the frank sharing of conflicting opinions on the assumption of mutual trust (healthy conflict). In doing so, they conversed about ways to promote DE&I, which is the aim of the Shimadzu Group, including the changes that result from promoting DE&I.

The participants noted that the process reaffirmed their sense that different opinions are to be expected. It also made them more keenly aware of the real importance of mutual respect.

LGBTQ + Allies Talk Session

This was one part of initiatives to strengthen the promotion of understanding about LGBTQ + individuals, aiming for a workplace environment in which everyone can work and act in accordance with their own nature.

In the on-line talk session, three people took to the podium, Akira Okubo, a transgender individual and representative of Akatsuki Project LLC, Okubo’s partner, and the partner’s mother. Rather than stopping simply with a basic explanation of the meaning of LGBTQ and "ally" (those offering understanding and support), they talked about their ideas about how best to act as families and individuals.

The participants shared the following impressions. "The stories I heard from the transgender individual and their family were quite valuable, and I realized that it is best to relate to the situation authentically." "I started to ask myself what it means to like and to love." "I thought it was wonderful when the mother of Okubo’s partner said that the couple will make great parents."

Senryu and Possibilities Art Project Exhibition

For the artwork and senryu poem (comic haiku), now a customary part of this event, we asked for entries on the theme of communication.

The aim of DE&I is to recognize differences, and to incorporate our strengths as individuals into our organizational power. To realize this stance, it is necessary to foster psychological safety to give people the confidence to express their own opinions and ideas. The theme of communication was selected against the backdrop of a recognition that a lack of communication is one of the factors that work against ensuring psychological safety.

Senryu poem selected by tallying votes from employees

The senryu that received the most votes suggests the image of an engineer announcing a newly developed product. A product announcement is a great opportunity for communication.

Possibilities Art Project by Artists with Disabilities

This time, the Possibilities Art Project^*1 was exhibited for the first time. Rather than simply learning about various disabilities and social issues related to the working environments of people with disabilities, this initiative aimed to promote communication between employees by exhibiting art, and to educate them about the importance of utilizing our strengths as individuals.

*1 Possibilities Art Project: This project was promoted with the cooperation of the Borderless Art Organization at Toppan Holdings Inc. The initiative constructs a business model that adds value to the works of artists with disabilities, by establishing both the independence of the disabled person and their economic business activities.

The first Possibilities Art Project exhibition at the Tokyo Office Building