Initiatives for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The Ajinomoto Group has evolved its approach from the concept of diversity and inclusion (D&I) to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). This message was issued by President Fujie through internal PR channels.

For the Group, equity is a concept similar to fairness, and means a company provides an environment that fits individual needs and circumstances and ensures that employees receive equal rights and opportunities. As a result, we aim to be a company where each of our employees works together in mutual respect irrespective of such concepts as gender, age, nationality, disability, and experience. This confluence of diverse individuals from inside and outside the organization creates mutual growth with the organization thanks to harnessing each diverse individual's strength, leading to the continuous creation of innovation for the future. With this, we will make steady progress toward its Purpose as set forth in the 2030 Roadmap.

Regarding the status of our diversity, by 2030, we aim to have diversity^*1 in 30% of our human resources at the leadership level^*2. In terms of women, the percentage of female managers by region is relatively low in Japan. Therefore, Ajinomoto Co., Inc. set a target to increase the percentage of female directors and line managers (organization heads and group managers) to 30%, respectively, by the end of fiscal 2030. At the same time, the company is taking measures like as the "AjiPanna Academy," to strengthen the pipeline of female human resources. As for skill diversity, Ajinomoto Co., Inc. is increasing the number of highly specialized career hires with expertise in new business startups.

The business benefits of this program are that it enables employees to provide products and services with new value that meet the needs of a diverse range of customers. The Ajinomoto Group is committed to responding to the ever-changing needs of consumers and society. To achieve this goal, we must avoid being bound by prior perspectives and conventions and promote diversity to respect the various viewpoints and ideas of employees, which arise from differences in gender, generation, nationality, background, and values. By accepting and evaluating the diverse ideas of diverse talent, we can provide products and services with new value that match diverse customer needs. It is therefore important for employees, especially female employees, to shape their own careers and leverage the experience gained while minimizing the time away from their careers due to life events (e.g., maternity leave) to ensure access to growth opportunities. In addition, as an effort to eliminate the age gap, we have implemented internal publicity of messages from male executives supporting male employees taking childcare leave. We also support the creation of an organizational culture that understands how different generations think about child-rearing and encourages involvement in housework and child-rearing regardless of gender.