Employment of Challenged People
The Sompo Holdings Group employs challenged people*1 throughout Japan and is focusing on creating inclusive work environments to stabilize their employment. As of April 1, 2021, Our Group's employment rate for challenged people is 2.42%.
Sompo Japan has a support system in place to create an inclusive workplace for challenged employees. For example, it provides a guidebook for managers and arranges disability consultants across the country who provide support to challenged employees.
*1“Challenged” is the language to refer to people with physical and mental disabilities arose in the US;
Originally intended to give a more positive tone than terms such as disabled or handicapped; with the Implication being that they are entitled to tackle challenges or given a chance called “challenges.”
● SOMPO Challenged Inc. to boost jobs for challenged people
Our Group is promoting the employment of challenged people aiming to provide them with stable opportunities to realize their talents and gain a sense of fulfillment through work and to harness their diversity in innovation that is essential to the growth of the Group. We established SOMPO Challenged in April 2018 as a certified special-purpose subsidiary* to further promote the stable employment of challenged people throughout the Group and to create an environment in which they can work with vitality. SOMPO Challenged plays a leading role in boosting jobs for challenged people in our Group.
*A company approved by the Japanese Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare as satisfying certain conditions stipulated in the Act on Employment Promotion, etc. of Persons with Disabilities , that gives special consideration to the employment of challenged people
Sompo Holdings Joins “The Valuable 500” to Promote Disability Inclusion
The Valuable 500 was founded in January 2019 by a social entrepreneur, Caroline Casey, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (Davos 2019). The Valuable 500 aims to encourage business leaders to achieve innovation so that challenged people can demonstrate their potential to add value to businesses, society and the economy. The Valuable 500 pursues support from 500 business leaders across the globe, who already have initiated disability inclusion efforts and those about to embark on such initiatives.
We joined this initiative and made the Group’s commitment to action.
Sompo Group Commitment
(1) Basic Policies
- We will position D&I as one of the essential business strategies for the growth of the Sompo Group. Using the slogan, “Diversity for Growth,” we will pour our energy into creating systems and a corporate culture to establish a rewarding workplace in which every employee can maximize their diverse strengths.
- We will continue to promote the employment of challenged people, with the aim of stably providing opportunities to realize their talents and gain a sense of fulfillment through work and creating new value as part of establishing diversity.
(2) Action and Commitment
Under the policies mentioned above, we will commit ourselves to the following actions:
- We will ensure and improve the accessibility of challenged people regarding the various services provided by the Sompo Group. At the same time, we aspire to provide the highest quality services that contribute to security, health, and wellbeing.
- Our management committees will set and promote the employment rate of challenged people.
- We will focus on creating a workplace where challenged people can play an active role. Each of our business teams will appoint a member who will assist employees with disabilities to provide necessary support suited for the level of disability.
- We aim at creating a workplace where employees of all fields, all levels, with various origins can work with no discrimination and maximize their abilities to the fullest extent. To this end, we will carry out D&I workshops, including understanding challenged people.
- We will proactively announce that the Sompo Group is driving the job creation for challenged people
Employees’ Efforts to Create an Inclusive Society
Ryu Inomata is an employee at Sompo Holdings‘s Human Resources Department, who has a congenital heart disease. In addition to his regular duties, he is involved in the promotion of Help Mark* as a Help Mark Director, a position first established by the prefecture. Furthermore, as a human rights lecturer for the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education, he gives talks to elementary and junior high schools on the realization of a society that accepts diversity.
*Mark that lets others know that the carrier has a disability that needs to be considered.
Help Mark
Ryu Inomata is involved in a variety of activities.
He has been visiting elementary, junior high, and high schools in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, to talk about diversity, coexistence and cooperation as a human rights lecturer for the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education (April 2019 to March 2022). He also manages a YouTube channel, Living With Heart -- Our Way to Live, to raise awareness of congenital heart disease and provide reference materials for fellow patients. In addition, he edits training videos for the NPO for Family and Baby’s website.
Going forward, we will continue to promote D&I by accepting and utilizing diversity to enhance the happiness and satisfaction of employees, and linking D&I to the sustainable growth of the Group to enhance our corporate value.