Diversity Promotion

Kioxia Group embeds respect for human rights and diversity in our Standards of Conduct and fosters a culture that enables a diverse range of employees to play active roles irrespective of race, religion, gender, nationality, disability, age, or sexual orientation.

We have designated the Executive Officer in charge of human resources at Kioxia Holdings Corporation as the executive responsible for promoting diversity. We have assigned overall responsibility for the promotion of diversity across the entire Group to Kioxia Corporation's Human Resources & Administration Division. Organization-wide strategies, policies and priority measures are formulated by the Taskforce for Diversity & Human Rights Due Diligence, part of the Sustainability Committee.

In FY2022, we focused on measures to promote employee career development and expand the employment of people with disabilities.

Kioxia Group seeks ways to enable all employees to fully demonstrate their strengths and play an active role at work, regardless of their gender.

To promote women’s participation in management, Kioxia Corporation has set a goal of doubling the number of female managers in FY2025 compared to FY2019. In addition, in the course of our recruitment activities, we aim to ensure that 45% or more of the graduates we recruit for administrative work, and 15% or more of those recruited for technical work, are female. These targets are also stipulated in our Action Plan Based on the Advancement of Measures to Support the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, and we are stepping up our efforts to achieve these.

Specifically, we are distributing a handbook to employees outlining how they can achieve a balance between work and family time; we are also holding seminars and study sessions for managers and executives coaching them on ways to foster a corporate culture in which diverse human resources can play active roles.

The Kioxia Group operates globally and employs people of many different nationalities.

With offices in 10 countries and regions, the Kioxia Group has 1,972 employees working at our overseas locations (excluding those temporarily dispatched from Kioxia Group in Japan). Kioxia Group in Japan employs 184 non-Japanese people from 15 countries and regions.⁴

In FY2019 Kioxia Corporation raised the retirement age from 60 to 65 with the aim of enabling our employees, regardless of their age, to continue to utilize the knowledge and experience they have spent many years cultivating. In FY2021, we abolished the system of mandatory retirement for managerial positions, whereby those in these positions had previously been relieved of their managerial duties upon reaching a certain age.

As of March 2023, the percentage of employees with disabilities at Kioxia Group in Japan was 2.37%.

Along with initiatives to achieve the statutory minimum employment rates of those with disabilities, we will endeavor to achieve society's goal of “social inclusion” by encouraging interaction among all employees, creating a comfortable and rewarding workplace and thereby boosting our business value.

Kioxia Corporation provides its employees with monthly sign-language lessons at the Kioxia Sign-Language Club. Employees with impaired hearing serve as instructors during these lessons, teaching sign language in order to facilitate smooth communication and providing information to promote understanding of those with hearing disabilities. The activities were suspended due to COVID-19 countermeasures. With the COVID-19 threat having been downgraded by Japanese government in May 2023, preparations are underway to re-start face-to-face meetings at each business site to complement online meetings.

Members of the Kioxia Sign Language Club took the lead in introducing a tool that displays conversation details in text form in real time on a laptop screen. This is a key measure to counter the difficulties experienced by those with hearing disabilities amid the spread of teleworking, the increased use of teleconferencing, and the widespread use of masks. The tool displays voice recognition results on a laptop screen; these can be projected onto a screen connected to a projector or shared during online meetings, helping to enable information distribution.

At our Kioxia Etoile Corporation, which aims to promote the employment and active participation of people with disabilities, we strive to create a comfortable workplace and encourage individual growth through daily communication and by understanding the characteristics of each employee.

The Kioxia Group conducted seminars and study sessions for executives and managers in FY2022 aimed at fostering a culture of promoting diversity and promoting understanding of this topic.

An external executive was invited to deliver a lecture for executive officers and managers from Kioxia Holdings Corporation and Kioxia Corporation on the topic of “Women’s Career Advancement and Its Impact on Management and Human Resource Strategies.” Approximately 300 participants attended—more than 80% of the target audience—and lively discussions took place.

Kioxia Corporation held a seminar for managers on the topic of "Communication Ensuring Psychological Safety," which was attended by approximately 300 persons. An external expert explained what is meant by psychological safety, a necessary element for creating an organization in which people with diverse identities can demonstrate their strengths and help generate innovation.

A third party expert was invited to deliver a lecture for Kioxia Group’s executives on the topic of “The Importance of Women’s Career Advancement as a Management Strategy.” After the lecture, a lively discussion took place on how women's career advancement could be further promoted across the Kioxia Group.

Kioxia Group constantly strives to enhance the work-life balance of our employees. Each employee is encouraged to undertake different working styles and work in ways that help improve their productivity.

We comply with the local laws of the countries and regions in which we operate with regard to working hours, and in Japan we monitor time spent at work and encourage employees to take their annual leave. We also have company doctors who provide advice to those who work long hours.

In Kioxia Corporation in FY2022, the average annual total working hours per employee was 2,070 and the average annual total of non-scheduled working hours was 390.

At Kioxia Corporation, we are taking steps to cut down on the number hours they work. Following a trial and based on the results of surveys, in FY2022 we officially introduced a work from home system. This initiative is creating opportunities for employees to reflect on how they communicate in the workplace and on the time they spend in a variety of working styles; it is also encouraging changes in our workplace culture and work ethics, and aims to improve efficiency and job satisfaction.

Kioxia Group helps employees balance their work and personal lives. Kioxia Group in Japan has implemented various measures over and above our legal obligations, and we continue to make these more adaptable and flexible. Under our Hourly-Unit Annual Leave system, when taking leave in excess of one hour, employees can take it on a quarter-hourly basis instead of hourly.

Cafeteria points provided through the Kioxia Health Insurance Association can be used to offset the cost of recreation facilities, fitness clubs, childcare and nursing care services, etc.

To help support employees after their retirement, we offer a defined-benefit Corporate Pension Plan. This complements the state pension provided under Japan's welfare pension insurance scheme. We have also introduced a defined contribution pension scheme aimed at broadening employees’ post-retirement options.

For performance data related to our diversity and human resource initiatives, please see below.