In Japanese, ‘Nadeshiko’ is the name of a pink carnation; but it carries a metaphorical meaning that represents female energy, and in business, Nadeshiko stands for promoting women at work – an area where Japan has, perhaps, a less-than-ideal record historically.
To encourage companies to improve how they empower female employees, The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) select a small group of listed firms each year that they believe are “outstanding in terms of women’s empowerment in the workplace”.
The ultimate aim is to highlight these companies as attractive stocks to investors, especially international ones, who place an emphasis on improving corporate value by treating all employees equally.
The hope is that companies given this accolade will invest further in such initiatives and will therefore garner even more investor support, creating a virtuous circle.
This March, METI and the TSE announced the latest group of ‘Nadeshiko Brands’, based on comprehensive survey data, and ORIX was among the 23 companies chosen – its first ‘win’ since 2013 when the program was in its infancy.
This recognition did not come about by accident. ORIX’s HR Department consciously focuses not only on advancing women in the workplace, explains Yuko Ota, Deputy General Manager of the Group Human Resources Department, but on creating a work environment where employees with diverse backgrounds can thrive – very much in line with one of the tenets of ORIX’s Purpose & Culture to ‘find power in diversity’.
Working for women
The department has steadily and consistently developed systems and initiatives that balance ease of working with fulfillment at work. And for the past two years, there has been a cross-functional project team within HR dedicated to promoting women's advancement. This covers areas including compensation, transfers, recruitment and supporting consistent career development and runs horizontally across ORIX’s many business units.
“I'm glad that our long-term commitment, combined with deliberate, targeted initiatives, has been recognized with this Nadeshiko award,” says Yuko Nishida, Manager in the Group HR Department. “Everyone on the team is delighted.”
As part of the women’s advancement project, HR set a 30% target for female managers and directors across the Group by 2030 – and exceeded it by reaching 32% in March 2024*. Despite that achievement, however, there are still challenges in upper management positions, such as department heads and above.
To make more progress at senior levels, the strategy now focuses on shifting from improving systems so women could continue working longer to helping each individual pursue their own career – aided by monthly mentoring sessions and targeted leadership training.
And to help women balance work and family life, ORIX focuses both on ease of working and job satisfaction. Regarding parenting, it provides support that goes well beyond legal requirements, with pre-maternity leave interviews, seminars during childcare leave, and training six months after returning to work.
This training includes supervisors and helps to align expectations between employees and their managers. The one-day program, which has been running since 2021, includes career reviews and sessions with colleagues who juggle work and childcare. Meanwhile, supervisors gain insights into employee goals, which helps build cooperation.
Flexibility for all
In 2016, ORIX launched the “Workplace Reform Promotion Project” under the direct supervision of the CEO, aiming to enhance productivity for all employees. As part of this initiative the standard work hours changed from ending at 5:20pm to 5:00pm, to allow easier pick-ups from school or nursery, providing greater support for working parents. The project also led to the establishment of a special childcare leave system.
At the time, taking childcare leave—particularly among men—was not yet widely practiced across Japan. However, the introduction of this system encouraged more male employees at ORIX to participate in child-rearing. “ORIX designs systems that fit our unique culture,” says Ms. Ota. Further evidence of this is a standing working group of 200 employees that makes suggestions to HR which are then often implemented.
Meanwhile, all employees are offered an “Internal Internship Program” and a “Career Challenge Program” that support self-driven career development. Around 300 people have taken up an internal internship so far, and a further 100 have participated in the Career Challenge Program, using both to explore future career options. There is also an emphasis on flexibility, by letting employees choose their work time and location.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, ORIX had introduced initiatives to enhance flexibility in working hours, such as a “super flextime” system with no core hours and a paid leave system that allows employees to take leave in one-hour increments.
Since the pandemic, ORIX has also institutionalized flextime as well as remote work, to further improve flexibility and productivity, though the extent to which employees can use either or both depends on their role and the requirements of their team. The principle, Ms. Nishida notes, is to combine the elements of each system in a way that best suits each individual but also respects the team’s work.
Returning to the Nadeshiko theme, Ms. Ota says that creating a culture that advances women in the workplace is the natural result of building an environment where all employees can thrive. This, she concludes, is the job of HR and one that ORIX has consistently worked to achieve and will continue to pursue in the future.
* All key sustainability goals are subject to compliance with local law. For example, where diversity goals may be unlawful, the targets do not apply.
