It is the diversity of individual Sanyo employees that helps create new value, and that serves as the driving force behind the growth of the company. Accordingly, Sanyo is working to address issues such as nationality diversity, creating opportunities for women, hiring persons with disabilities, and promoting locally hired human resources.

In order to further promote the role of women in the company, Sanyo has established a Positive Action Committee comprised of labor and management members, half of whom are female, both for labor and management. The committee actively discusses issues relating to the proper evaluation and treatment of men and women, and initiatives based on these discussions have steadily produced results. Women now have a greater role in many divisions, including planning, sales, and technology development.
In fiscal 2008, a Sanyo Women’s Forum was held, and about 100 female employees participated. After a keynote speech by a female speaker from outside the company, role-model conversation sessions were held between female Sanyo managers^*1 and regular female employees. The participants enjoyed lively discussions and shared their daily thoughts and concerns about issues such as managing work and family lives, as well as the relation between job satisfaction and advancement.

*1 Defined as a management position of section manager or higher.

Role-model conversation sessions

In order to create work environments that are rewarding and motivating for everyone, the Sanyo Group is striving to increase job opportunities for people with disabilities.
Currently, disabled employees are working at Sanyo sites across Japan where their abilities can be best developed, including two specially designated subsidiaries^*2. One is SANYO Heart Ecology Co., Ltd., which cultivates and operates a lease service for orchids and ornamental plants, while also creating and looking after flowerbeds, under the basic philosophy of blooming together in harmony. The other is Harima SANYO Industry Co., Ltd., which assembles electrical products such as high-performance massage devices and vacuum cleaners. The goal of this company is to enable persons with disabilities to share in our abundant environment.
The employment ratio^*3 for disabled persons in the Sanyo Group is 2.02% as of June 2009.

*2 These are subsidiaries that must satisfy certain conditions, including employing those with disabilities for at least 20% of the workforce. Under the Japanese Law for Employment Promotion, etc., of the Disabled, the employees in these subsidiaries can be included in the calculation of the disabled employee ratio for the parent company.

*3 This calculation includes SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. as a parent company, two specially designated subsidiaries, and 7 subsidiaries authorized for consolidation in the disabled persons employment calculation.

Along with the global expansion of its operations, Sanyo is carrying out local hiring at overseas sites in various fields including not just manufacturing, but also technology development, quality control, sales, and business planning.
Sanyo's objective is to realize optimal posting of human resources on a global scale, as well as business management that is more in touch with local conditions. This is being achieved through the strengthening of global management and the creation of systems for training, evaluation, and treatment of employees that are tailored for each country or region.