Promoting DE&I
Fostering a New Organizational Culture
The IHI Group set fiscal 2024 as the year to broadly launch DE&I efforts, and actively rolled out training programs and experiential content to spread awareness and understanding of DE&I among the Group’s employees. In addition, the Group held its first-ever company-wide meeting that brings together all of the IHI Group’s global business locations, enabling direct communication between management and employees. Through initiatives such as panel discussions, with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) participating, the Group disseminated the message of how important DE&I is to the IHI Group.
In fiscal 2025, the Group expanded its activities to embed and establish DE&I in daily operations. Focusing on creating workplaces where employees feel comfortable speaking up, which serves as a starting point for active participation by diverse human resources, the Group held lectures and dialogue sessions featuring external experts at production-sites. In companies that had undergone business integration, the Group promoted initiatives tailored to workplace realities and needs, such as conducting workshops to support the integration of organizational cultures. At the second company-wide meeting, the Group engaged in dialogue on the organizational culture that the IHI Group aspires to build for the future, with DE&I serving as its foundation.
Empowering Female Employees
The IHI Group is recruiting and developing female hires in key roles to promote to middle and top management while also defining various goals to build a workplace environment where they can actively participate.
Specifically, the Group is implementing the Career Transit Program, an innovative training program which integrates daily initiatives in the workplace such as cultivation and coaching by supervisors with targeted career development opportunities for female employees who are candidates for managerial positions, opportunities for dialogue with other female employees in senior roles, and provision of support by internal and external mentors.
Through these initiatives, the Group systematically fosters career awareness among candidates for managerial positions and supports their development, thereby creating a sustainable pipeline of female leaders.
Regarding wage disparities between male and female employees, these are due partly to the fact that the share of regular female employees who hold managerial positions is lower than the corresponding figure for men, as well as the relatively low proportion of female employees in senior management positions, and the fact that male employees tend to work longer hours (including overtime). Taking these factors into account, going forward the Group will continue to promote the creation of a workplace environment where women can thrive.
Empowering Employees from Abroad
The IHI Group is working to create an employee-friendly workplace environment where diverse human talent can fully realize their potential regardless of nationality or cultural background.
As part of these efforts, within Japan the Group provides Japanese language training for new employees from abroad before they commence their employment. Furthermore, upon assuming their roles, cross-cultural awareness training sessions and social events, for the purpose of networking among employees, are implemented. Employees from abroad also encounter problems unique to foreign nationals, so the Group has put in place consultation services and is also proceeding with measures to build an environment in which employees from overseas can work with peace of mind, for example by taking religious and cultural needs into account (e.g., through the provision of prayer rooms).
Empowering Local Employees Overseas
The IHI Group is working to accelerate its global expansion through the proactive recruitment of human resources with roots in the local community, while taking into account the unique labor market and practices of each country.
Furthermore, in terms of human resource development and allocation, the head office works together with each unit to support the implementation of measures established at each overseas production site and business division according to current conditions and needs.
In the future, the IHI Group will continue to drive the building of the foundations needed for human talent to play an active role throughout the Group, worldwide.
Empowering Employees with Disabilities
The IHI Group promotes the empowerment of employees with disabilities. As part of its recruitment activities, the Group builds relationships with local employment support organizations for people with disabilities, schools for the deaf, and others, linking them to its recruitment activity efforts.
In 1992, IHI established an organization at its head office specializing in helping employees with disabilities to maximize their potential. From 2018, IHI has been providing support tailored uniquely to each employee through specialized support staff, with assistance programs in place, covering work and general aspects of company life, thereby supporting the career development of each employee by providing an environment conducive to further growth and success. To date, a similar organization has been established at each of the Group’s sites in Yokohama, Akishima, and Soma to provide an opportunity for employees with disabilities to fulfill their potential.
In order to resolve problems faced by employees with disabilities while helping to implement better human resources measures and support Group companies, IHI has been a member of the Accessibility Consortium of Enterprises (ACE) since fiscal 2013, sharing its recruitment guidelines and employment case studies with other ACE member companies. These efforts to support the active participation of employees with disabilities and provide appropriate workplaces received recognition with the presenting to IHI of ACE Awards in the Individuals division and Environment-Building division in 2024.
Furthermore, in recognition of its efforts to foster an organizational culture embracing DE&I, create such workplaces, and support the success of each employee, IHI was selected as a fiscal 2024 Barrier-Free Mindset good practice company announced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Empowering People Over 60
The IHI Group promotes the continued active participation of employees who have already reached retirement age in many different ways. The Group has adopted a program whereby each employee can decide for themselves when to retire between the ages of 60 to 65. Many senior employees are also taking advantage of a program that enables promotion of employees over the age of 60, to encourage people to persevere regardless of age.
In April 2025, the Group abolished the framework whereby the salaries of employees over the age of 60 were reduced. It has also put in place systems to encourage active participation by employees who have already reached retirement age, including the adoption of a system which enables employees aged 60 or over to choose whether they want to switch to working a 4-day week, which embodies respect for diverse workstyles and the desire to encourage active participation by people across a wider age range.
Building an Inclusive Workplace Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity
The IHI Group is creating a working environment where LGBTQ+ employees can reach their full potential regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
To take just one example, the IHI Group actively engages in LGBTQ+ ally*1 activities. The Group believes that expanding the ally mindset of not denying the SOGI*2 identity of anyone, not judging, and not talking about people’s identity to others without their consent, help to realize a workplace environment where everyone can work comfortably. Striving to promote understanding among all of its employees in Japan, the Group has established an e-learning program and has made information available through the company intranet. As a result of these efforts, there are now over 3,000 people who have declared themselves allies.
In fiscal 2025, as part of initiatives for Pride Month (held annually in June) to deepen understanding of LGBTQ+ rights and DE&I, the Group provided banner sponsorship for Tokyo Pride 2025, and volunteer employees and their family members or partners took part in the Pride Parade. In November 2025, the Group held its fourth ally conference, which was co-hosted with Toshiba Corporation for the first time. The conference featured talks by LGBTQ+ individuals and ally employees, as well as discussions with online participants.
In terms of HR policies and employee benefits, the Group extends spousal-equivalent treatment to same-sex partners with respect to employee benefits and workplace policies, such as condolence and congratulatory payments and special leave, except where legal requirements preclude such treatment. In addition, IHI has enhanced its HR systems to support workforce management based, in principle, on employees’ chosen names and self-identified gender. IHI also has established mechanisms to receive and address consultations regarding SOGI-related harassment*3 through its harassment consultation channels, as well as a dedicated service that enables employees to seek support for LGBTQ+ matters anonymously. In September 2025, IHI established the LGBTQ+ Response Guidelines for Human Resources Personnel and has been rolling out training to human resources personnel.
- Ally: Allies refer to people who understand and support LGBTQ+. Anyone can be an ally, even if they do not identify as LGBTQ+.
- SOGI: Sexual orientation and gender identity
- SOGI-related harrassment: Harassment related to sexual orientation or gender identity
Promoting Diverse Workstyles
Systems for Realizing Diverse Workstyles
The IHI Group is working to create a workplace environment in which each employee can work comfortably while balancing work and personal life according to their individual lifestyles and values.
Systems for Realizing Diverse Workstyles
Balancing Work and Childcare
The IHI Group has put in place various support systems to help employees balance their work and childcare responsibilities. To spread awareness of these systems and encourage employees to make full use of them, three handbooks have been compiled and distributed, for employees taking childcare leave, male employees, and managers, respectively. The Group also implements annual training for employees returning to work after taking childcare leave, with separate programs provided for employees returning to work and their supervisors. It helps employees returning to work, their supervisors, and other interested employees to think about how work and personal responsibilities can be balanced after returning to work, and about related career development issues. In addition, the Group has established contact windows (including access to external experts) to provide support tailored to employees’ individual circumstances and needs, and it provides related employee welfare support, including subsidies for childcare equipment purchase and contracting with external service providers to help arrange babysitting services.
The Group also provides support for employees who wish to have children, by distributing leaflets to inform employees of the systems that they can use to access infertility treatment.
Support Systems Relating to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Childcare
Balancing Work and Care Provision
The IHI Group has put in place various support programs to help employees balance work and care provision. More specifically, the Group aims to make it possible for all employees to access information about care, by compiling handbooks that outline how to approach care provision and how to make effective use of the systems put in place to support balancing work and care responsibilities, which are distributed to new employees and other interested employees, as well as being made available on the Group’s intranet.
In addition, besides organizing seminars by external lecturers, the Group has also set up a contact window for the provision of consultation services by a specialist external organization, to provide support tailored to the circumstances and needs of each individual employee.
Support Systems Relating to Caregiving for a Family Member(s)
Balancing Work and Medical Treatment
The IHI Group provides appropriate work-related measures and consideration for treatment requirements, for those employees with health issues who need to undergo repeated, ongoing treatment. By putting in place a flextime system, provision for reduced working hours so as to be able to make regular visits to hospital, and a contact window to facilitate balancing the needs of work and treatment, the Group provides support to help employees stay healthy.
Support Systems Relating to Medical Treatment
Employee Benefits Programs
The IHI Group’s employee benefits programs provide a variety of options that employees can choose from to suit their individual lifestyles.
Employee Benefits Programs