Interview with Managers “Hinode Sangyo Co., Ltd.”

I want to believe in the potential of female employees and create an environment where I can challenge various jobs. (Director: Kaji Fujita)

Corporate introduction

Hinode Sangyo Co., Ltd. has been working on environmental issues through the sale of water treatment chemicals since 1976, and currently provides a wide range of services from drug manufacturing, research and development of new drugs, water quality analysis, and microbial research. In an industry where there are still few women, 4 out of 12 executives and employees are active. This time, we spoke at various seminars as the face of a company that is also a model company of the `` Telework Introduction Promotion Business '' in Kanagawa Prefecture, and Mr. Ka Fujita, who is also active in promoting women's advancement, talked about the attractiveness of women's employment and telework introduction. I told you.

Photos of Directors

Question 1. When did you start focusing on hiring women?

We have never been focusing on it since our founding 40 years ago, and we have been hiring female employees as office workers. In addition, in recent years, we have also been hiring technical staff, but it has not lasted very long. The cause is that the employment system looking ahead is not functioning well and that it is not possible to respond to each life stage, and that motivation is reduced. In particular, some female employees who join the company mid-career have had to change jobs due to changes in their life stages even though they were former professionals. It was important to employ a wide range of doors that could make use of our accumulated experience and experience. For this reason, in addition to establishing employment rules, we are currently assigned to departments close to past achievements and specialized fields. We also value moving forward together, rather than supporting women's employment. We do not mean that there are only four female employees, nor is it an industry that women themselves know in general. We are focusing on helping people understand that there are places where men and women can play an active role.

Question 2. Do you have any concerns about supporting female employees?

We have adopted double assignments with two-person duties. With double assignments, you can help each other during busy periods or sudden illness of your child. On the other hand, we have also introduced double-taskment, which is responsible for multiple specialized fields and responsibilities. The important thing is not to narrow down the potential of employees. You shouldn't increase your work too much, but I want you to continue to improve your ability to do various jobs. Usually, many people don't want to work for a small business. However, they will work for reasons such as marriage or childbirth. At that time, there are many people who give up their rewarding work. It is a huge loss for both the company and society. That's why we are working on a variety of jobs, rather than limiting the jobs they are in charge of, to help them find their job rewarding. Nowadays, there are many companies that appeal to women's empowerment by incorporating the number of female employees and the perspective of women, but it is not necessary to emphasize women even more. Especially now there is a trend section, but it doesn't make sense to end it with a trend.

Question 3. Is there any effect on management by creating a work environment in which women can play an active role?

Basically, I don't think there is a difference between men and women in all occupations, but it was effective in terms of improving work efficiency. Women are good at allocating time. If you have a plan, you will be able to use your spare time efficiently, such as preparing for the morning. I think it's probably because my perspective is broad and I don't stick to things, but in terms of new development, it's encouraging to think broadly and multifaceted about cleaning water rather than sticking to conventional water treatment business methods. In addition, for female employees who experienced giving birth for the first time two years ago, we applied for a subsidy for telework through the Women's Participation Promotion Project in Yokohama. I think this is probably the first in this business. This will not only deal with child care, but also the problem of nursing care for seniors. Last year, veteran female employees participated in a telework demonstration test in Kanagawa Prefecture. So what can you do and what can't do? What about security? I had you demonstrate everything. I believe that the establishment of work rules and telework rules will have a significant effect on future management.

Question 4. Please tell us about "Supporting Women's Participation" in the future.

The government has also set a goal of 30% female managers by 2020. We will continue to increase the number of female managers sustainably and aggressively as before. I want you to work not only as a person in charge, but also as a system such as work rules. Currently, we are trying cross-sectional meetings so that female employees can play an active role in every department, but we have not reached success because of the lack of time relationships and my management skills. If possible, we want you to realize projects across departments, challenge new things and gain experience, and aim to become diversity, not just support women's empowerment. In the ABE Initiative, an industrial human resource development training program for young people in Africa, we accepted nine internships at our company. Two of them are female trainees. Looking at the success of women in Africa, Japanese women are quite blessed. That's why I want to do my best. There are still many challenges, but I would like to realize a company where both foreigners and women can play an active role.

Voice of Female Employees

Kayoko Inoue (Joined in 2011)

Photos of female employees

In my previous job, I worked as a technical engineer in chemical analysis of river water, seawater, soil, etc. I felt very rewarding, but I retired after marriage. When I was looking for an office clerk at a company that is easy to get to from home, I met us. After joining the company, Director Fujita said, "It's a waste not to make use of your precious knowledge and skills," and he decided to work as a technical profession about one day a week in parallel with the clerical work. I was worried at first, but I'm very happy to be able to make use of my experience so far. It's more rewarding. In the third year, I was given my first child and took maternity and childcare leave. When I returned to work, I was able to return to work with peace of mind by presenting a work style of "zero overtime" based on personal interviews. Currently, I am studying qualifications to expand my range of work as a technical profession as well as clerical work. We are not a big company, so we can understand that our strength is required, and we will continue to work hard at home and study in the future.