Diversity and Inclusion

Sumitomo Pharma actively promotes diversity and inclusion under the leadership of the executive officer in charge of human resources. Our employees have diverse attributes, including gender, age, career background (mid-career or new graduate hires), and nationality.
We believe it is important to provide opportunities for all employees to demonstrate their full capabilities and potential, regardless of these attributes. Specific ongoing actions include changes in managers' mindsets and institutional programs that encourage employees to choose diverse ways of working.

Supporting Women's Active Participation

Sumitomo Pharma promotes establishing a work environment where anyone can play an active role, irrespective of gender. We support employees in balancing work and parenting through systems such as shorter working hours for childcare, subsidies for the use of unlicensed daycare centers, and the MR area selection system, as well as other support systems. In addition, we encourage male employees to take childcare leave and take an active role in childcare in order to eliminate unconscious gender-related stereotypes and biases. This enables employees to balance work and parenting responsibilities regardless of gender and foster an organizational culture of mutual support. Through initiatives such as providing 10 days of paid childcare leave and holding seminars for male employees, we have maintained a 100% childcare leave utilization rate for both men and women since fiscal 2022.
Sumitomo Pharma has formulated a General Employer Action Plan as required under the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace. Under this plan, we have been actively implementing related initiatives. Since 2017, we have been continuously receiving the highest rating of "Eruboshi" (L Star: L stands for Lady, Labour and Lead) certification (three stars) as a company making excellent progress in implementing initiatives for the active involvement of female employees.

April 2026-March 2028 (currently being implemented)

Goal 1. Increase percentage of female managers to more than 20%
Goal 2. Ensure that at least 10 participants per year attend the selective leadership development program for women

Details of Specific Initiatives Set Out in the General Business Owner Action Plan (April 2026-March 2028)

Implement a selective leadership development program for women aimed at developing managerial talent
Conduct company-wide seminars aimed at fostering the mindset for career advancement and enhancing career awareness among female employees

We will continue working to create a workplace where all employees can exercise their full capabilities and potential, regardless of their workstyle, gender, and other attributes.

The Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace:
https://positive-ryouritsu.mhlw.go.jp/positivedb/planfile2/2026/202603191515440248717_1.pdf (in Japanese only)

Promoting Understanding of Sexual Diversity

We clearly state in our Declaration of Conduct (Guidelines for Daily Application) that we do not discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. We actively promote understanding of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and queer) among all employees.
In recent years, we have been holding LGBTQ training sessions for all employees, including officers and managers, to help them acquire proper understanding of LGBTQ issues. We also organize LGBTQ awareness workshops and seminars for employees and operate a consultation desk for anyone in need of assistance. Since April 2020, we have introduced a same-sex partnership system under which same-sex partners are treated as spouses in various programs, including housing and employee benefits such as condolence and congratulatory leave.

Promoting Active Participation of People with Disabilities

The Group actively works to employ people with disabilities in order to fulfill its corporate social responsibility and promote normalization^*1. "Cocowork Co. Ltd.", which was accredited as a special subsidiary, grows leafy vegetables using solar-powered hydroponics, to support the independence of people with mental disabilities. The harvested vegetables are not only shipped to supermarkets and restaurants, but also delivered as fresh vegetable sets to all employees in Japan as a birthday present from the Company, which have been well received from employees as well as their families, leading to better understanding of the Company's efforts to employ people with mental disabilities. Furthermore, our group's shared service subsidiary^*2, "SMP Business Partners," actively promotes the employment of people with intellectual disabilities while also engaging in vocational training for students from support schools.
Through the application of special subsidiaries to the group, our rate of employment of people with disabilities as of June 1, 2025, was 2.63%.

*1 Normalization: An approach to realizing a society in which people with disabilities live equally with those without disabilities
*2 Shared service: Support functions to consolidate and standardize common business units within group companies with the aim of achieving overall operational efficiency and improving quality across the entire group

For more information on trends in the employment rate of people with disabilities, please see “ESG Data Table.”

Developing Systems to Support Balancing Medical Treatment and Work

We have supported employees in focusing on their treatment with peace of mind through our leave-of-absence system when they find it difficult to continue working due to illness or injury. At the same time, with advances in medical care and the expansion of remote work systems, there has been an increasing number of cases where employees can balance treatment and work while managing their health conditions.
Accordingly, since April 2024, we have established systems to support the balance between medical treatment and work. These systems are designed to enable employees who face illness or injury, yet have the motivation and ability to work, to continue working in a fulfilling manner while receiving appropriate treatment. They also aim to ensure that employees do not miss opportunities for necessary medical care, including fertility treatment, or feel compelled to give up working due to treatment needs. In addition, we have set up consultation services for balancing treatment and work, providing support for individual concerns.

Promoting Understanding of Caregiving and Supporting the Balance Between Caregiving and Work

We recognize caregiving as a familiar life event that anyone may face in the future, and we are committed to creating an environment where employees can continue working with peace of mind while balancing work and caregiving responsibilities. In addition to establishing systems such as caregiving leave, family care leave, reduced working hours or workload adjustments, and flexible working arrangements including staggered working hours, we promote understanding of caregiving and enhance awareness through company-wide training programs and the provision of guidebooks for all employees. We will continue to work toward preventing employees from leaving their jobs due to caregiving responsibilities and supporting sustainable employment.

Childcare Support Programs

Extension of eligible period for reduced working hours and staggered working hours (October 2015)

We made it possible for employees with a child who has a physical or mental disability requiring a continuation of reduced working hours or staggered working hours to extend the period of applicability (until end of third year of elementary school → until end of third year of junior high school).

MR location selection system (April 2016)

For MRs who have married within the past two years or are raising children, we established a system that enables them to select their work location upon request.

Subsidies for use of non-registered childcare facilities (April 2018)

In order to support employees returning to work from maternity leave and childcare leave, the Company provides a certain amount of subsidies to employees who use non-registered childcare facilities when returning to work.

Introduction of ten days of paid childcare leave (April 2021)

We increased the number of days without salary and bonus deductions from five to ten days for employees who take childcare leave, irrespective of gender, thereby encouraging male employees to take childcare leave.

Extension of eligibility for childcare time (April 2021)

We made it possible for male employees to take childcare time until their child turns one in order to encourage men to participate in childcare.

Systems Related to Diverse Work Styles

Working from home system (June 2016, October 2017, October 2022)

In June 2016, we established a system enabling employees involved in childcare or nursing care to work from home up to five times a month. Moreover, in October 2017, we expanded the system to apply to all employees in principle. In October 2022, we further expanded the system to allow all employees to work from home up to twelve times a month. Rather than favoring either working in the office or working from home, we are promoting a hybrid work style that incorporates the advantages of both work styles while aiming to further improve productivity.

Staggered work hours system (April 2018, October 2022)

In April 2018, in order to improve productivity and work-life balance through work styles that are suited to the work situation, we established a system that allows employees to change their starting time within a range of up to two hours earlier or one hour later on a monthly basis. In October 2022, we further revised the system to make it more flexible by allowing changes on a daily basis and expanding it to allow employees to change their starting time within a range of two hours earlier or two hours later.

Revision of the discretionary labor system and introduction of our proprietary deemed working hours system (April 2022)

For employees who work under the discretionary labor system, we have abolished the previously established working hours (from 7:00 to 20:00) and revised them to allow for flexible work styles.
For those who work under the general working hours system, we have introduced our unique deemed working hours system and revised the previous system to allow them to finish their work before the regular finishing time without salary deduction on the condition that they can finish their work efficiently.

Systems to Support Balancing Medical Treatment and Work (April 2024)

Outpatient Leave

We have introduced an outpatient leave system that allows employees to take leave in units as short as 10 minutes, for up to five days per month (up to 50 days per year), in order to accommodate pre-scheduled medical appointments, examinations, and treatment-related side effects in accordance with treatment plans for illness, injury, or fertility treatment.

Reduced Working Hours / Workload Adjustment

We have introduced a system that allows employees to reduce their working hours by up to two hours per day or reduce their workload by 10% or 20%, depending on their treatment progress and physical condition.

Flexible Application of Remote Work System

We have introduced a system that temporarily allows employees to exceed the standard limit on remote work (12 days per month) in cases where they are unable to work on-site due to illness or treatment but are able to continue working remotely.

Key Caregiving-Related Systems

Caregiving Leave

Employees may take caregiving leave for up to one year and three months (458 days) per person requiring care.

Family Care Leave

Employees may take family care leave in units as short as 10 minutes, allowing for flexibility in responding to unexpected caregiving needs.

Use of Accumulated Special Leave

Employees may accumulate unused annual paid leave and use it for caregiving purposes.

Support for Flexible Working Arrangements

We support employees in balancing caregiving and work by offering flexible arrangements such as reduced working hours, workload adjustments, and staggered working hours.