Interactive e-learning Program Held to Encourage Employees to See Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as Personally Relevant
From the end of fiscal 2024 and into fiscal 2025, the IHI Group conducted an interactive e-learning program on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) for approximately 20,000 Group employees. The program was designed not only to help employees understand DE&I as a matter of systems and knowledge, but also to encourage each individual to see it as personally relevant and translate that awareness into concrete action.
IHI recognizes that the backgrounds, experiences, and individuality of diverse human capital bring new perspectives and serve as a driving force for transformation. Positioning fiscal 2024 as the first year of DE&I, we have worked to promote understanding of DE&I through training, information sharing, and opportunities for dialogue. At the same time, we recognized that simply understanding the meaning and importance of the term does not necessarily lead to practice in the workplace or behavioral change. To address this issue, we jointly developed and implemented an interactive e-learning program with Cross Fields, a specified nonprofit corporation that connects companies with the front lines of social issues.
The program was designed to be completed in about one hour, with the aim of encouraging participants to reflect on the diverse individuality each person possesses and to consider the value that respecting individuality can bring to the workplace. It included a 360-degree video that allows participants to virtually experience the opening part of Dialogue in the Dark, an experiential program provided by Dialogue Japan Society, in which participants enjoy communication and various senses other than sight. It also incorporated a self-introduction exercise conducted with eyes closed, creating opportunities for participants to face individuality and differences through senses and forms of communication that differ from their everyday experience. In addition, interview videos with employees helped participants learn how others perceive DE&I and what issues they feel exist in the workplace. Through this content, the program was intended to give participants an opportunity to look at individuality and differences from a perspective different from their usual one and to deepen dialogue among participants.
In the post-program survey, approximately 60% of the more than 15,000 respondents said that they had gained the desire to promote DE&I, confirming a positive shift in awareness. Participants also commented, “I realized that I am also part of diversity,” “I felt the importance of being aware of and managing unconscious bias,” and “I gained a deeper understanding of how DE&I can lead to the enhancement of corporate value.” These comments suggest that participants have begun to connect DE&I with their own actions and with the creation of better workplaces.
The IHI Group will continue to promote mutual understanding through dialogue and foster an organizational culture in which everyone can take on the challenge of creating new value while making the most of who they are, and in which people support one another in taking on such challenges.