Winners of the Diversity Management Selection 100- 43 Enterprises were Selected for their Utilization of Various Human Resources for Creating New Value -

To overcome the deflation economy and achieve the growth strategy, it is necessary for Japan to provide various human resources, including women, foreign people, the elderly, and people with disabilities, with opportunities to exercise their potential as much as possible and to take part in value creation processes.

Diversity management is a strategy under which enterprises conduct management so as to create innovation and generate value, Note 1 by utilizing various human resources Note 2 and providing them with opportunities where they are able to exercise their potential as much as possible. In Diversity Management Selection 100, enterprises of various sizes and in various industries that proactively make efforts to carry out diversity management are recognized as having a management capability that contributes to Japan's economic growth. The project also aims to expand the base on which enterprises will promote diversity management by conveying such enterprises' efforts widely to the public as a best practice.

On March 22, 2013, METI selected 43 enterprises out of 160 or more applicants that utilize various human resources to carry out diversity management. METI has also selected 6 enterprises for their projects and programs contributing to awareness-raising or other activities to expand the base on which enterprises will promote diversity management, and recognized them for Diversity Promotion Project Commendation.

Note 1: Management whereby enterprises endeavor to create innovation that encourages the creation of value
This management approach encourages free thinking and the creation of new products and services by developing environments in which people are able to enjoy their jobs.

Note 2: Various human resources
Various human resources include variety in terms of gender, age, nationality, presence or absence of disabilities, as well as careers and lifestyles.

Diversity Management Selection 100

• See the following list of winners.(PDF:130KB) (in Japanese)

For details of the winners' efforts, see the following slides created by the winners

1-1(PDF:3,399KB) /(ZIP:3,225KB) (in Japanese)

1-2(PDF:3,744KB) /(ZIP:3,502KB) (in Japanese)

1-3(PDF:2,061KB) (in Japanese)

1-4(PDF:1,338KB) (in Japanese)

Examples of reasons for granting the awards

- The company created a working group to provide women with opportunities to exercise their potential, aiming to reflect women's needs in car designs based on the fact that 60% of the decision makers when people buy cars are women. The group joined the car development process, and has achieved a sustainable product innovation.

- The company utilized female employees' foreign language abilities and created a new business to sell products to overseas countries through the Internet. The business has contributed to increase sales overseas.

- The company has succeeded in developing new markets for Muslim people by utilizing non-Japanese employees.

- The company divided a traditional manufacturing process to create lanterns into several steps so that people with disabilities are able to craft the products. This division helped achieve the national-largest quantity of production in vinyl lanterns.

- The company created a group of middle- and senior-aged experts, and has dramatically improved an in-situ process across different industries, by utilizing the group's know-how of quality management.

Diversity Promotion Project Commendation

• See the following list of winners.(PDF:130KB) (in Japanese)

METI selected common elements found in winners' efforts, and organized them into basic ideas to drive diversity management to be successful. The ideas are compiled into the material titled "Toward value-creative diversity management," on the "Diversity Management Selection 100" page of the METI' website. We would be happy if you can make good use of it.

• Toward value-creative diversity management(PDF:481KB) (in Japanese)
• Diversity Management Selection 100 URL
  http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/economy/jinzai/diversity/kigyo100sen.html (in Japanese)

* METI is to create a collection of best practices in which documents distributed in the commendation ceremony held on March 22, 2013, and the details of the ceremony and the efforts of winners are complied. METI will provide the collection on the Diversity Management Selection 100 page of the METI website at a later day.

** METI also introduces METI's daily efforts to promote diversity management on the following Facebook page account, including businesses selected in the Diversity Management Selection 100 project:

• Promoting diversity: Human resource strategy in the era of globalization (in Japanese)

March 22, 2013

• Economic and Social Policy Office, Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau, METI
• The Secretariat: Japan Research Institute, Ltd.