Promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I)

At the Calbee Group, we aspire to be a company where people from diverse backgrounds can thrive regardless of sex, nationality, age, disability, values, or lifestyle. We believe that the optimization of human resources and organizational strengths acts as a driving force behind the company’s growth.
We have made the empowerment of women a top priority, and we ensure that promoting women’s empowerment leads to greater support for the diverse working styles and careers of future generations.
Furthermore, we encourage all employees to play an active role as a shared theme. We are aware that everyone has unconscious biases and believe that everyone should have equal opportunities based on equity. We aim for DE&I management that enables our diverse staff to harness their capabilities in their own unique way while producing results for the company and organization.

Main initiatives

Promotion Framework

The department specializing in diversity was established and began full-scale operations in 2010. Currently, the All Employees Participation Promotion Office is working on this together with the human resources staff at each business entity (including affiliates). In addition to implementing company-wide activity measures, we are also taking actions to solve problems and increase the level of penetration at each business entity.

Organization Framework

Promotion of Female Employee’s Activities

Women account for nearly half of Calbee’s entire workforce. Based on our conviction that the active participation of women accelerates the Calbee Group’s growth, we aim to increase the number of women in management roles to at least 30% by FY2030, so that female representation in the decision-making process would be proportional to the percentage of women in our workforce.
Under the leadership of top management, we are systematically and continuously promoting women’s advancement in the workplace, organizing a range of training programs and workshops, and striving to create a pleasant and rewarding workplace environment.

Percentage of women in management roles

Initiatives to support the active participation of women

Initiatives	Program description
Food manufacturers’ joint training program for female employees	A training program that allows participants to learn from other food manufacturers as role models to help them take a step forward toward their future career goals.
Female leader development program	A selective training program aimed at future leader candidates to help them keep a good life-work balance, develop a career mindset, and improve problem solving skills.
Seminar for returning to work after childcare leave	A seminar to help female employees to return to work with confidence after childcare leave and to learn the know-how of mentally balancing work commitments and childcare responsibilities through conversations with those who have been in the same situation.
Communications support in the pregnancy to preschool phase	To support female employees during the pregnancy to preschool phases, they are provided with a handbook that explains when and how to communicate with supervisors and junior staff so that they can take time off and smoothly transition back to work.

A booklet that supports your communication from pregnancy through your child’s early years

Promoting the active participation of diverse human resources

Turning differences in values into organizational strength

We believe it is important for employees to have chances to learn about the differences between their own values and experiences and those of others. That can make us a company of diverse employees who harness their abilities to drive the competitive strength of the company. During FY2020 we held an e-leaning session to give managers an opportunity to learn about unconscious bias. Dialogues in the everyday workplace are also deepening mutual understanding and accelerating inclusion.

Encouraging employment of people with disabilities

In 2007, we established the special subsidiary Calbee Eatalk Co., Ltd., with the aim of creating a company where all employees are able to play an active role regardless of the existence or absence of disabilities.
Calbee Eatalk is an employment office used by a large number of people with severe disabilities, whose main activity is the packaging of souvenir products. In 2018, the East Japan Office was opened with the aim of expanding the scale of this business. Calbee and Calbee Eatalk had a combined 2.62% employment rate of disabled people in the fiscal year ended March 2024.
As we leverage the expertise of this special subsidiary, all companies in the Group will be working together to promote the hiring of employees with disabilities while broadening the scope in which they can actively contribute.

LGBTQ initiatives

Human rights are respected in the Calbee Group and discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity are not accepted, as spelled out in the Calbee Group Human Rights Policy and the Calbee Group Code of Conduct. Accordingly, we are committed to working to foster a safe working environment for LGBTQ people and to provide opportunities for non-LGBTQ people to change their biases by receiving training or viewing videos. Our goal is to create a workplace and corporate culture where all employees, both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ people alike, can put their enthusiasm and energy into their work while being themselves.

Supporting the active participation of diverse human resources

Main programs	Details
Postpartum childcare leave	Employees can take up to 4 weeks off during the first 8 weeks after childbirth.
Childcare leave	Childcare leave can be used up to the day before the child’s second birthday.
Shortened working hours for childcare	The specified working hours per day are five hours or more, and working hours can be reduced in 30-minute increments (until child finishes third grade).
Parenting support leave	Employees can take 10 consecutive or separate days off (with pay) anytime from six weeks prior to the partner’s expected due date (or 14 weeks for multiple pregnancies) up to the day before the child’s second birthday.
Childcare leave for returning employees	Employees who have returned to work after giving birth can take five consecutive or separate days off (with pay) during the first year after returning to work.
Child nursing leave	Employees can take up to 10 days off per year in daily, half-day, or hourly increments (until the child finishes the third grade).
Nursing care leave	Can be used consecutively within one year for one person requiring nursing care for a period approved by the company.
Shortened working hours for nursing care	Specified working hours per day are six hours or more, and working hours can be reduced in 30-minute increments (up to two times in three years per person requiring nursing care).
Family nursing care leave	Up to 10 days per year, able to be used in half-day increments.
Fertility treatment cost subsidy program	Money given as part of the costs of fertility treatment for married couples.
One-time maternity and childcare payment	Given as part of maternity expenses, together with an additional payment
Thank-you-for-returning-to-work-early payment (Ex gratia payment for early return to work)	Given to employees who return to work within one year of childbirth to thank them for returning early and to show that the company looks forward to their active contribution.
Congratulatory payment for elementary school enrollment	Money given to congratulate employees on their child’s enrollment in elementary school
Financial aid for school costs (offered when parents go back to full-time work)	Financial aid to cover the educational costs of children when parents go back to full-time work
Cafeteria Plan subsidies (for childcare, family nursing care, and personal and professional development)	Subsidies aimed at encouraging employees to make efforts to develop their self-reliance and autonomy
Handbook for supporting a work-life balance	The electronic version of this handbook describes the work-life support program that Calbee has in place to offer support for employees through their life events and provides in-depth information about the program and Calbee’s approach to a work-life balance.

An electronic handbook that summarizes Calbee’s support scheme for balancing work and life events that can happen to anyone, as well as information and insights related to the scheme.