MIKI

Because it was a women-only gathering, there were various opinions about maternity/paternity leave and menstruation that only women could share. Even if you have not experienced these issues, you can participate in the conversation as if it will happen to you someday.

MIHO

In this age of gender equality, however, if we look at the reality, only women have menstrual periods and pregnancies, and the responsibility for taking care of children is biased toward women, so I think it was good to have a place where only working women could gather and talk about things frankly. Various opinions are exchanged, including those on the pros and cons.

HIROKO

I learned that even women have different ways of thinking. At first, I was worried that just having women in the group might make it hard to reach a consensus. But in reality, everyone worked together and finished things in our limited time.

NAO

I was sceptical when I joined the project. What would it mean to think about women-only rights and systems at a time when awareness of genderlessness and diversity is growing? However, the system we created from this meeting has become beneficial for all employees and is available to all genders.

MIKI

When discussing how to improve the paid leave utilisation rate at a meeting, we found that many people keep their paid leave for illness, nursing care, and childcare. In addition, some said, "I use my paid leave every time my child gets sick, so I can't use it for myself”.

SAYORI

We realised that promoting paid leave would be challenging if the company did not eliminate these concerns. So, we started considering the Sick Leave and Self-Care System. We were able to start a new leave program because the company cares about the health of its employees and their families.

HIROKO

Physical and mental rest is essential to achieving maximum performance at work. As someone raising children, I also find it necessary to spend time alone.

MIHO

I was anxious, wondering if there would still be a place for me at the company and whether I could balance work and childcare. Even male employees with children may need to realise the concerns and stresses of mothers returning to work.

MIWA

The “Welcome Back from Maternity Leave System” was created to help parents who were omitted from the local government support program and to reduce the stress on parents and employees due to sudden kids' problems after returning to work.

MIKI

Some supervisors were unaware of the maternity leave system, and some said they had to prepare materials. A supervisor with children may be able to provide support for pregnancy and childcare, but a supervisor who does not have children may be confused.

MIWA

So we shared with our members what we realistically felt when we were pregnant and returning from maternity leave and created the “Guide for Supervisors - Maternity and Childcare Leave -”. Once we put in place a system here, it would make it easier for younger employees and future parents. I was working with a sense of mission.

MIHO

The government and municipalities provide many support systems, including medical care, childcare, and nursing care. However, many people only have a chance to learn about them if they are involved and must be made aware of the support they can receive as workers.

NAO

I have become interested in and started researching the efforts of other companies. This meeting lets people learn about the systems and motivates employees to improve their working environment independently.

MIHO

If there is a place like the Empowering Women in the Workplace Conference where employees can discuss company systems from the bottom up, employees who participate will actively research and study the systems. I believe "creating opportunities for employees to learn" is a significant step toward reforming their work.

MIWA

SUN is an open company. Because each employee uses the welfare benefits and company systems, I was glad the users could get together and share their opinions. The systems are highly usable because they were created based on users' voices.

SAYORI

I agree with SUN's stance of "improving the working environment for employees and growing the company.” In addition to introducing the sick leave system, SUN is working on work-life balance and well-being from a global perspective. I think SUN's president can achieve this because he is flexible.