Empowering women and fostering a more inclusive workplace

Akira Shimada, President & Chief Executive Officer, NTT

 IWD 2025

We are delighted to celebrate International Women’s Day internationally again this year.

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is an important growth strategy for NTT Group, which aims to create new value and support a global sustainable society.

In this context, D&I is positioned as the foundation of the corporate culture necessary for the creation of new value, and one of these is the promotion of the active participation and advancement of women.

On International Women’s Day, I would like to introduce NTT Group's D&I activities in Japan and overseas over the past year, which have contributed to empowering women and fostering a more inclusive workplace.

First, in Japan, as part of efforts to empower female employees, we held a roundtable discussion led by female executives. Over 1,100 female employees from NTT Group subsidiaries in Japan participated in the event. The event sessions provided opportunities for dialogue and mentorship, strengthening the network of women across the organization. It is also important to provide support for working styles in order to promote the active participation of women.

To this end, we have further improved the flexibility of systems related to working styles that encourage employees to be active, including the "Remote Standard," which sets remote work as the default. We have also introduced greater flexibility in our work arrangements. The existing “super flex-time” system, which offers flexible working hours, was further expanded in July last year to allow employees to begin work as early as 5 a.m. This change has been particularly beneficial for employees balancing work with childcare.

Additionally, in July 2024, we established the Fertility Treatment Support Leave Program to strengthen support for balancing work and treatment.

Beyond workstyle reforms, NTT Group has introduced voluntary employee seminars on health and well-being, open to all employees regardless of gender. These initiatives aim to foster a workplace where employees can work in good health and with peace of mind.

As NTT Group operates globally, we are also driving D&I initiatives from a global perspective. We hold the NTT Group Sustainability Conference every year to commend outstanding initiatives by NTT Group companies in Japan and overseas for promoting sustainability management. This year, the conference received a record-high 149 submissions from 22 countries and regions, including initiatives related to well-being. Out of the 56 projects that passed the first round, we selected the Grand Prize, the Superior Prize, and the Employee Vote Award.

NTT Group remains committed to further strengthening its D&I initiatives worldwide, ensuring a more inclusive and supportive work environment for all employees.