Workplaces Where Anyone Can Demonstrate Their Abilities

Respecting Human Rights, in Our Policies and Actions

My Jinken Declaration

President Nakai has proclaimed his own “My Jinken Declaration” based on Global Vision, as well as the “Sekisui House Group Human Rights Policy and our corporate philosophy.

The Sekisui House Group Human Rights Policy is our declaration to the world of the Group’s commitment to take action for and further promote the respect of human rights. The Human Rights Policy applies to all executive officers and employees in the Sekisui Group, and it underpins our initiatives that respect the human rights of all stakeholders involved in our business activities (customers, clients, employees, business partners, etc.).
The Sekisui House Group has endorsed the “My Jinken Declaration” project advocated by the Ministry of Justice in July 2021, and Yoshihiro Nakai, President, announced the declaration.

Corporate Ethics Guidelines

The essence of the Sekisui House Group’s fundamental Corporate Ethics Guidelines is to not engage in any kind of unreasonable discrimination.

5-1 Respect for Human Rights and Prohibition of Discrimination

Consistently strive to maintain a healthy workplace environment, respect the human rights of each person and do not act in any way that could lead to discrimination. Do not discriminate in hiring and treatment of employees. Furthermore, ensure that other persons are prevented from discriminatory behavior.

  1. Do not engage in any form of unreasonable discrimination based on birth, nationality, race, ethnicity, beliefs, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disabilities, preference, educational background, family and others.

  2. Do not engage in acts which violate human rights through violence, derision, slander, libel, forced labor through threats, bullying, or spread of rumors.

Enabling Employees with Disabilities to Take On Greater Roles at Work

Yukie Usuba, Mirairo Inc.

Diversity meet-and-greet events have been held since 2015 for employees with disabilities and their supervisors. Along with building cross-department networks, these events aim to foster relations where both sides can freely express themselves and talk with each other, and facilitate various improvements in each workplace. In 2022, a web-based meet-and-greet event for visually impaired employees (2nd meeting) was held in May. In the fall, Yukie Usuba (Mirairo Inc.), who is also a hearing impaired person, gave a lecture titled “How to Cope with Diversity—Don’t Try to Score a Perfect 100 from the Start,” which many Group employees participated via on-demand video streaming. In December, for the first time, a meet-and-greet event open to any employee in the Group who wished to participate, regardless of disability was held online and 174 people participated. In the first session, only people with disabilities participated and engaged in interactions by type of disability. In the second session, regardless of disability, discussions were held in rooms on the themes of “Let’s talk with recruiters,” “People who are learning or want to learn sign language,” “Let’s use Universal Talk (UD Talk),” and “Lecture by an external speaker: Characteristics of people with mental and developmental disabilities, and settlement and consideration in the workplace,” in addition to themes for each type of disability. The third session was used to share the contents of these dialogues. The content of these discussions will be used for future development.

In March 2022, “Realization of Universal Talk” won the second-place prize in the performance category in the SHIP Collective Communication and Innovation Awards Program.
Employees with hearing impairments were having difficulty obtaining information, as a result of the sudden spread of people wearing masks and holding web conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this project, we used the ZOOM web conferencing system along with the voice recognition application, UD Talk, so that participants with hearing impairments could acquire accurate information, and also created a manual for means of sending communications, and distributed it within the Company. This manual compiled results obtained through a process of trial and error by concerned employees and workplace colleagues at multiple bases. Going forward, we will strive to improve various environments through meet-and-greet events and other meetings, based on the participation of employees who themselves have disabilities. We have participated in the Accessibility Consortium of Enterprises (ACE) since its establishment in 2013. ACE was established for the purpose of “establishing an employment model for persons with disabilities that contributes to corporate growth, and disseminating the human resources required by companies to society.” As of September 2022, a total of 37 major companies have joined ACE. We are developing a variety of activities, including awards for activity models, intercompany collaboration activities, as well as career seminars and internships that invite school officials and students with disabilities.