Japan has a declining birthrate and an aging population, and the working-age population is decreasing year by year. In order to sustain corporate activities, it has become essential to utilize a diverse workforce, regardless of age or gender. The Group also employs people of a wide range of nationalities and backgrounds, which is essential from the perspective of expansion of global business domains, diversification of business operations, and innovation in digital technology. The Group places the highest priority on respect for the individual and aims to create a workplace where diverse human resources, regardless of gender, nationality, disability, or age, can contribute to the best of their abilities.

To learn more about how members of our diverse workforce are taking on new challenges, please read our “Shin-Etsu Challengers” series of employee interviews.

In order to promote women’s participation and advancement, the Group set a five-year goals in FY2016. From FY2021, we set new five-year goals and started to work on them.

We are working to create a workplace where people with or without disabilities can play an active role. Our employment rate of persons with disabilities was 2.35% as of March 2025. Although this is below the legally mandated level, we are continuously striving to improve it. At the head office, we are working to maximize employment opportunities by flexibly setting working hours and working locations according to the degree of disability and situation. At our plants, we are improving the environment from both a hardware perspective, such as facilities and equipment, and a software perspective, such as disaster drills, so that people with disabilities can work safely.

In April 2019, the company raised the retirement age from 60 to 65 after continuing discussions with the Shin-Etsu Chemical Labor Union. It is the first time that such a system was implemented at a major Japanese chemical company. We will also raise salaries and promote people based on personnel evaluation. By adjusting the employment environment after the age of 60, skilled workers at manufacturing sites will be able to pass on the technology and their experience to the next generation.