Empowering Employees with Disabilities

Under the policy of “Striving for a society where people with and without disabilities work and live together, we create workplace environments for employees with disabilities that make life easier for them and foster a sense of pride in one’s work,” we regard disabilities as a type of diversity, endeavor to improve the working environment, and foster a culture where employees with disabilities can work with peace of mind, and make active efforts to employ employees with disabilities

We have assigned Vocational Life Consultants for Persons with Disabilities to worksites nationwide to conduct consultations for employees with disabilities. We inform employees with disabilities of Vocational Life Consultants for Persons with Disabilities annually, leading to building awareness of consultations and the comfortable atmosphere in which the consultations take place. Vocational Life Consultants for Persons with Disabilities hold regularly scheduled meetings to improve their skills as supporters and reinforce the support structure. In 2022, we held a meeting for the consultants who have workers with intellectual disabilities or psychological illnesses at their workplaces. We then exchanged views on problems of employment faced by people with disabilities in each workplace and solutions to the problems. We received feedback from the participants, indicating that the meeting was very helpful because they heard examples from other workplaces and took clues for better support. This will ultimately improve the quality of employee support.

We prepared an Employment Manual for People with Disabilities and a Communication Sheet, distributing them on our D&I portal site to promote mutual understanding among employees with disabilities and their colleagues. We also introduced UD Talk voice-recognition application as a tool to support communication with employees who have hearing impairments. In addition, we are continuing to introduce and apply voice recognition tools such as UD Talk and live captions for Microsoft Teams inside the company.

We periodically take measures to increase employees’ understanding of disabilities. In 2022, we created an awareness-raising video under the theme of “Tips for working with employees with disabilities” and released the video on the D&I portal site.

We assign each employee with a disability to a position which is most suitable for the individual, in accordance with the employee’s ability and aptitude. We also rotate them through different parts of the organization as needed to shape their career. When an employee with a disability is transferred to a different workplace, we always hold a study session with the employee’s new supervisors and colleagues. Especially when an employee with a hearing disability who requires special care in terms of communication is transferred, we explain to the employee’s new supervisors and colleagues that the ways in which someone with impaired hearing perceives things and the best method of communication differs from person to person, and emphasize the importance to conduct active dialogues with the employee.

The Wasa Welfare Factory was established in April 1993 as a place that supports financial and psychological independence as well as social participation. It provides work to people with disabilities along with lifestyle guidance and health management, in cooperation with medical institutions and under Wakayama City’s and Wakayama Prefecture’s guidance and subsidies. In 2020, we acquired it from Sumiya Social Welfare Corporation in Wakayama City, and are handling its operation as the Kao Wakayama Plant (Wasa Group, Production Division). Currently a total of 26 employees, including 21 with disabilities, fill smaller-sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner as well as an assortment of Kao travel sets.

Kao Peony has proactively employed people with severe disabilities, primarily persons with intellectual disabilities, since it was established in 2005. The Production Division provides setting and packaging operations for cosmetics and beauty care products. The Office Support Division, launched in 2017, takes care of administrative and clerical support operations that assist with some of the Kao Group’s business processes in Japan. As of January 2023, a total of 87 employees, including 65 employees with disabilities, work at Kao Peony.

Owing to a change in the business strategy and a fall in the number of inbound consumption, the Production Division has been suffering from a decline in the work of setting cosmetics. As such, the Production Division has started taking care of products it had not handled before toward improving the line operating rate. Cash out is controlled by accepting products that would otherwise be outsourced from plants, resulting in a financial contribution to the Kao Group. The Office Support Division is involved in a Nurturing the Next Generation program, which is provided to schools nationwide for free by the Business ESG Promotion Department. In creation of School materials for the Blind: Let’s Wash Your Hands, a hygiene practice program, the Office Support Division took on not only making gloves for a demonstration but also preparing and packaging message cards with Braille stickers for students and their parents. The division received many words of appreciation from the teachers at schools for the blind. The Office Support Division also held an online study tour for other companies and received positive feedback, indicating that the study tour was very helpful. Both divisions are looking for new business opportunities to expand employment of people with disabilities, and will continue to improve the environment in which people with disabilities can work with peace of mind.

Currently, people with disabilities account for 2.64% of the total workforce of the Kao Group in Japan, exceeding the statutory minimum rate (as of June 2022).