IHI Holds a Variety of Events within the Group During DE&I Month
The IHI Group designated 2024 as the first year of its full-fledged diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) efforts, and it has been actively promoting DE&I ever since. Every December is DE&I Month, and during this month we conduct a range of initiatives to bring the concepts of DE&I closer to home for all of the IHI Group's employees. In 2024, we carried out several events and shared a wealth of information regarding DE&I, led by the theme "Let's Learn About, Discover, and Discuss DE&I!"
■Human Rights Day (December 10) Message from Hiroshi Ide, CEO
In a message to all of the employees of the IHI Group, CEO Hiroshi Ide said that "in respecting human rights, it is important to acknowledge each individual’s opinions and perspectives. We must create workplaces in which each and every employee feels safe in sharing their opinions, and they need to make a conscious effort to visit different places, exchange opinions with various people, and be open to new ideas so that they can constantly evolve."
■Online Seminar on Balancing Work and Nursing Care
An online seminar, open to all IHI Group employees, provided opportunities to gain a better understanding of the fundamentals of nursing care and to think about how to balance work with nursing care duties. The theme of the seminar, conducted by Instructor Hideo Matsui (Long-Term Care Support Specialist) of Benesse Senior Support Co., Ltd., was "Exploring Home Nursing Care and Facility Nursing Care through Actual Case Examples." The seminar was attended by roughly 150 employees, who deepened their understanding of nursing care and learned about how to make use of public assistance and the IHI Group's internal systems.
Reflecting on the seminar, participants stated that "it helped me realize that nursing care isn't something I need to handle all on my own," and "the information was very timely." It enabled participants to gain insights about their own specific situations.
■LGBTQ+ Allies Conference
An online LGBTQ+ Allies Conference was held for ally members of the IHI Group and attended by roughly 100 members. Ayumi Kurokawa, president of BAMIRI Inc., presented "Until the Day I Call You My Son," a short film that she directed. The film depicts a transgender man overcoming conflict with his father with the help of family members and his partner. It was released in November 2024, and this marked the first time it was shown in a company training event. Takayuki Goda, the transgender actor who played the lead role in the film, also attended the screening.
After the screening, Kurokawa gave a lecture on LGBTQ+ issues, followed by a discussion with Goda. The discussion served as a space where participants could learn more about the perspectives of LGBTQ+ people and think about what they can do as allies, with examples such as episodes from Goda's own life and incidents which could lead to people being outed.
One participant reflected, "It was a precious opportunity to be able to hear from those directly affected and I want to always remember what I learned," while another said, "I realize that care needs to be taken with the language you use, but the seminar impressed on me that the most important thing is understanding and support for members of the LGBTQ+ community."
Other events during DE&I Month included weekly "DE&I Letter" emails covering DE&I-related topics and "Unconscious Bias" e-learning for IHI Group employees working in Japan.
The IHI Group will continue its DE&I initiatives, establishing the concepts of DE&I within the Group's culture and cultivating an organizational culture in which each and every employee can live up to their full potential.