Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Initiatives
Promoting the Active Participation of Women
Canon is committed to providing equal opportunities according to ability and fair treatment for all, irrespective of gender.
In Japan, in addition to formulating action plans and disclosing information as mandated by the Act on the Promotion of Female Participation and Career Advancement in the Workplace, we are conducting our own original initiatives. For example, at Canon Inc., we organize leadership training for women as part of efforts to develop female candidates for managerial positions. Using the theme of developing a new business proposal, the training provides an opportunity to develop leadership qualities. Since its launch in 2012, a cumulative total of 267 women have completed the training program. One tangible result of this initiative is that the ratio of female managers, a KPI of women’s participation in the company, has already reached 93% of the target we set for the end of 2025. We therefore aim to achieve this goal ahead of schedule. Going forward, we will look to step up the recruitment of female engineers and technicians and, in the future, aim to achieve parity between the ratio of female managers and the percentage of women overall in the company (16.9% at end-2023). We are also supportive of the Keidanren’s challenge of achieving 30% of female executives by 2030.*
Furthermore, we hold return-to-work seminars for employees returning from childcare leave and their supervisors, and provide mentoring by female managers. By hosting lectures and interviews with female executives and organizing events to share the experiences of female managers, we are creating opportunities that help raise awareness around working with purpose and balancing work with life events.
Group companies in Japan are promoting a range of initiatives to support career development for women, including roundtable discussions between presidents and female employees and surveys to gauge awareness, as well as networking events with female leadership candidates inside and outside the company, career advancement training, and career training for women who have returned from childcare leave.
Outside Japan as well, to coincide with International Women’s Day, since 2020 Group companies in the Middle East and Africa have begun the SHE RISE Program, an in-house campaign to encourage the active participation of women. Canon U.S.A. is also running a project called Women in Leadership Levels (WiLL) to support the participation of women through a variety of opportunities, including networking events, lectures, and mentoring. In addition, Canon Europe formulated a set of diversity and inclusion commitments, and is monitoring and reviewing these in the regions it oversees. The commitments include activities to raise awareness of diversity and recruitment of diverse personnel.
- * Raise the ratio of female executives to 30% or more by 2030
Comment from a Participant in Leadership Training for Women
I attended this training for about half a year in 2022, the tenth year of the program. It was a great experience to be able to have in-depth conversations about leadership with trainees my own age, at a time when I was in mid-career and was anxious about a lot of things. I learned that, even though the work we do and our work circumstances are different, we shared similar concerns and aspirations, and I had the valuable opportunity to think about what the essence of being a leader is. I feel like I gained greater perspective through the training. I was also able to make connections with colleagues from other divisions whom I don’t often get a chance to meet in the course of my normal work, giving me a supportive network that will help my work going forward.
Canon Inc.
Imaging Business Operations
External Recognition
Fukui Canon Materials and Fukushima Canon were granted Grade 3 Eruboshi certification for its outstanding efforts to empower women in the workplace, while Canon Marketing Japan and Canon IT Solutions were granted Grade 2 certification. The Eruboshi certification is granted by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare based on satisfying certain evaluation criteria.
Ratio of Female Employees (Data Summary)
Encouraging Men to Participate in Childcare
Canon is promoting initiatives to encourage men to participate in childcare, with the goal of realizing a society where men and women participate equally as parents.
At Canon Inc. and Group companies in Japan, we organize roundtable talks by, and publish interviews with men who have used childcare leave-related systems, and we hold seminars to introduce our childcare-related programs to male employees. These initiatives have proven effective: average childcare leave taken by male employees of Canon Inc. in 2023 was 71 days per year; moreover, the childcare leave participation rate for the same group was 65.8% in 2023, up from just 1.9% in 2011. As a result, Canon’s KPI to increase the childcare leave participation rate for male employees to at least 50% by 2025 was achieved ahead of target.
LGBTQ+ Inclusion
The Canon Group Code of Conduct emphasizes respect for the individual and prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation or gender identity. Our initiatives also cover sexual minorities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ+) persons. With the goal of eliminating all forms of discrimination from the workplace, training for managers includes education on preventing discrimination. In addition, we make use of various opportunities to educate employees, such as departmental staff meetings and compliance meetings. The Barrier-free Mindsets training program, which we provide for employees of Canon Inc. and Canon Group companies in Japan, features content relating to sexual minorities and aims to deepen understanding of related issues. The Barrier-free Mindsets program is an online training module that aims to help employees understand the problems and hurt created by barriers within society, along with the many issues experienced by those with disabilities or members of sexual minorities, plus related points to consider. Around 84% of employees of Canon Inc. and Canon Group companies in Japan received this training between 2019 and 2023.
Another provision to promote a barrier-free environment is gender-neutral washrooms. We also provide counseling and consultation services with a specialist counselor.
Utilizing the Abilities of Veteran Employees
Canon Inc. was among the pioneers of the post-retirement hiring system in Japan. In 1977, we became one of the first Japanese companies to adopt a mandatory retirement age of 60, to allow veteran employees to maximize the benefits of their extensive knowledge and experience. We further raised the retirement age to 65 in 2007. In addition, we have established a system that allows employees to work flexibly according to their stage in life, including shortened working hours. As of the end of 2023, 2,419 employees rehired after reaching retirement age were active in the Group, 82% of which were rehired under the post-retirement hiring system.
Proactive Support for the Participation of People with Disabilities in Society
Respecting the ideal of normalization*1, Canon proactively employs persons with disabilities at Canon Inc. and Canon Group companies in Japan.
The employment ratio at Canon Inc. for people with disabilities was 2.55% in 2023, exceeding the statutory minimum of 2.3%. Our recruitment processes also include workplace experience days and site tours to ensure all recruits can adapt quickly to life at work.
Moreover, we are doing our utmost to make workplaces more comfortable and accessible for people with disabilities by improving facilities, including providing greater barrier-free access. We are also working to expand the range and nature of jobs for people with disabilities.
Canon Wind*2 primarily hires people with intellectual disabilities. It maintains a high employee retention rate, with a payroll of 25 persons at the end of December 2023. Employees perform specific roles tailored to those with disabilities, while receiving lifestyle support services as well. With the help of our engineering divisions, we have created special jigs to enable employees to be a part of EOS-series camera production. By utilizing a rational approach and the cooperation of related departments, we are creating a work environment that enables disabled people to contribute in an efficient and reliable manner, thereby deriving more satisfaction from work. Canon Wind has been recognized as a progressive leader in this field, which included receiving an MHLW award for excellence in the employment of disabled persons in 2020.
Canon Inc. and Group companies in Japan have set up on-site hotlines after the 2016 amendment of the Promotion of Employment of Disabled Persons Law prohibiting discrimination and mandating reasonable consideration for people with disabilities. Canon’s measures to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities and ensure reasonable consideration at each site include providing individual consultations and personalized assistance or instruction during evacuation training drills and disaster preparedness training.
Since 2004, Canon Inc. and Canon Group companies in Japan have organized training courses and created e-learning modules to ensure workplaces are attentive to the needs of the hearing impaired. The training provides an accurate understanding of hearing impairments and introduces sign language to help promote smoother workflow. A total of 1,035 employees participated in this training up to and including 2023.
- *1 According to the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons adopted by the United Nations in 1982, society is made up of many different types of people and it is normal for people with and without disabilities to coexist in all settings. Therefore, we should create an environment in which all people can live and work together.
- *2 A subsidiary of Oita Canon formed in 2008 as a joint venture with the Social Welfare Corporation Gyoun Welfare Association with the aim of promoting employment for persons with intellectual disabilities.
Number and Percentage of Employees with Disabilities (Data Summary)
Support for Balancing Work and Nursing Care
Preventing the flow of people leaving their jobs to provide nursing care for family members has become an important social issue in Japan, which has a falling birthrate and an aging society. At Canon, we are taking steps to reduce the number of employees leaving work for nursing care by promoting activities to support them in balancing both priorities. Canon Inc. and Group companies in Japan hold nursing care seminars, conduct interviews with employees engaged in nursing care, and offer information on steps to take when a relative begins to need care and on nursing care-related systems, both public and internal.
Since 2020, we have been holding online nursing care seminars in cooperation with local authorities.
Number of Employees Taking Childcare and Nursing Care Leave (Data Summary)