Shiseido Signs Agreement with UN Women to Lead the Promotion of Gender Equality in Japan

Shiseido Company, Limited (“Shiseido”, “the Company”) has become the first Japanese company to sign an agreement with UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) to lead the promotion of gender equality in Japan where the gender gap is still pervasive (*1). The present agreement has been reached as both parties pursue the same cause: Shiseido actively supports women’s advancement while UN Women centers its efforts on gender equality and the empowerment of women worldwide.
Going forward, Shiseido will aim to realize a society where each and every individual can make their own life choices and fulfil their potential regardless of gender. To this end, the Company will launch gender education programs for the younger generation, promote the UN Women’s #HeForShe initiative (*2) inside and outside the Company, and support various other programs.

*1 Japan’s ranking in the Global Gender Gap Index 2016 by World Economic Forum: 111
*2 A solidarity campaign for gender equality spread by the UN Women globally since 2014 and grounded in the idea that all people, including men, need to stand together for a gender-equal society.

Shiseido’s Activities to Support Women’s Advancement

Aiming to “be a global winner with our heritage”, Shiseido commits to management focused on diversity, cognizant that true diversity gives new perspectives to business activities and drives world-leading innovations. As women account for 90% of Shiseido’s consumers and 80% of employees, women’s advancement is an area crucial to diversity and requiring utmost efforts, and the Company has been taking active steps to address it.
Since 1990, Shiseido has been ahead of legal regulations in augmenting and improving its policies to support employees who balance work with child-rearing or nursing care through various initiatives, such as introducing the corporate system of maternity/paternity leave, shortened working hours for parents, and an in-house nursery.
In 2010, Shiseido signed the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs, *3) and was internationally acclaimed for its efforts receiving the “1st WEPs Leadership Award” in 2013, an unprecedented example in the Japanese private sector. It has also been topping the overall ranking of Japanese companies for three straight years since 2014, namely the“100 Best Companies Where Women Play Active Part” ranking by “Nikkei Woman” and “Nikkei Womenomics Project”.
Aiming to be a leader in the promotion of gender equality, Shiseido realizes that the advancement of women cannot be stepped up unless men play active part, and intends to launch educational programs for the younger generation and other initiatives to raise awareness on gender equality.

*3 WEPs (Women’s Empowerment Principles) are a set of international guidelines encouraging enterprises to proactively put gender equality and empowerment of women at the core of their businesses in order to propel business operations, facilitate growth, and advance women's economic empowerment.

Shiseido’s Key Efforts to Lead Promotion of Gender Equality

1.Develop and launch an educational program on gender equality for the younger generation
Develop an educational program for the younger generation who will be shaping the Japanese society of the future, and launch it in partner universities and high schools to encourage students’ awareness of the ideal gender-equal Japan.

2.As a “HeForShe Advocate,” promote #HeForShe initiative inside and outside the Company
Assist in promoting and stepping up #HeForShe initiative by launching the HeForShe advocate page to engage employees as well as joint organization of events for the young together with UN Women, etc.
Similarly, create opportunities within the Company worldwide to revise attitudes towards gender roles that hinder women’s advancement through #HeForShe initiative, and promote respect of diversity to build a corporate environment that fosters innovation.

UN Women

UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

HeForShe

Created by UN Women, the HeForShe solidarity movement for gender equality provides a systematic approach and targeted platform where a global audience can engage and become change agents for the achievement of gender equality in our lifetime. HeForShe invites people around the world to stand together as equal partners to craft a shared vision of a gender equal world and implement specific, locally relevant solutions for the good of all of humanity.