International Women in Engineering Day 2024
At Renesas, we are dedicated to empowering women in STEM. June 23rd marked International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), a global celebration focused on recognizing the remarkable achievements and contributions of women in engineering.
“This day serves as a reminder of our commitment at Renesas to fostering an inclusive environment where all employees, regardless of gender, are empowered to thrive and deliver their best work. To all the women at Renesas, from breaking barriers to driving innovation, your dedication and expertise inspire us all.”
Julie Pope, SVP and CHRO
Pride Month 2024
Our dedication to diversity and inclusion is at the core of who we are. We believe that everyone deserves equal opportunities to contribute, grow, and succeed, irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. By embracing and celebrating our differences, we become stronger and more innovative as a team.
"I'm proud to celebrate Pride Month at Renesas. This month is about recognizing and honoring the LGBTQ+ community's history, achievements, and ongoing journey towards equality. As a company, we are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone feels safe, valued, respected and supported, regardless of their background, identity or differences."
Julie Pope, SVP and CHRO
Through fostering a culture of acceptance and understanding, employees can feel safe to be themselves at work. In celebration of Pride Month, we recently hosted fireside chats in both English and Japanese with Yuli Kim from Workplace Pride, on the importance of inclusion in the workplace and how we can best support the LGBTQ+ community.
International Women’s Day 2024
I believe diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) continue to be critical for our future success. While we still have a long way to go, I am encouraged by the stories from our Diversity Promotion Group members and our Women in Technology Employee Resource Group. I would like to personally thank those of you who are getting involved. You are making a difference.
To all of our employees, enjoy the events this month and continue to participate in making Renesas a great place to work for our diverse group of employees.
Hidetoshi Shibata
CEO
Today is International Women’s Day, an anniversary that honors the achievements of women around the world.
In 2024, we will focus on attracting more women to Renesas and developing our existing female talent. We continue our efforts to foster an inclusive workplace where all employees can make the best of their unique strengths and feel empowered to achieve their potential.
Julie Pope
CHRO
Fostering an inclusive workplace environment is essential to our success and it takes everyone’s commitment and support.
For this year’s International Women’s Day, we held the virtual leadership panel discussions. We invited our male allies to join -- the discussion on topics such as unconscious bias, empowering and promoting women in the workplace, and how we can create an inclusive environment where all employees can make the best of their unique strengths and achieve their potential. The panelists also discussed how we can support the younger generation to encourage more diversity in the semiconductor industry.
Diversity Awareness Month (October 2023)
At Renesas, we believe that diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) are indispensable foundations to propel ourselves for sustained growth and meet our customers’ unique needs in today’s fast-paced world.
In October we celebrated Diversity Awareness Month with our employees around the world, hosting three key events covering topics such as how to address and overcome unconscious biases and gender stereotypes in the workplace and physical and mental wellbeing in our professional and personal lives.
Together we will continue fostering a culture of DE&I and innovation across Renesas’ global network!
Pride Month 2023
“As we enter Pride Month, I would like to reflect on our commitment to fostering an inclusive environment for all employees. We perform our best when we feel accepted, respected, and included. To encourage a culture of inclusivity, I invite you to consider how you can contribute to making our workplace more inclusive. You may want to start from reflecting on your own unconscious biases and consider how they may or might have impacted your interactions with others.”
Julie Pope, CHRO
International Women’s Day 2023
“I believe diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) are critical to our success. When our teams reflect the diversity of our communities and customers, we are better equipped to serve their needs. During the time of increasing division and split, let’s showcase the beauty of DE&I by bringing forth greater creativity and innovation.”
Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO
“At Renesas we know that DE&I are key to our future. To that end we are committed to creating an environment in which everyone is valued, respected and given the right opportunities to succeed. In 2023, we will focus on attracting more women to Renesas through recruitment, engaging our diverse colleagues through development to achieve their potential and supporting our leaders so that they are able to provide the right support to their teams.”
Julie Pope, CHRO
Among the various topics discussed, the primary focus was on equity for career advancement, embracing diversity among individuals, and having equal access to mentorship and other resources needed for success.
Diversity Awareness Month 2022
At Renesas, diversity is the foundation of our culture. We embrace differences as our strengths and promote shared success.
For our Diversity Awareness Month celebration in October, we took the time to celebrate and educate one another on our differences to bring us together and make us stronger. We invited Bernadette Smith, Founder & CEO of Equality Institute, to discuss how to foster a truly inclusive workplace through allyship. During her keynote entitled, “Voices Carry, Inclusion Matters,” Bernadette addressed how our unconscious bias and assumptions lead to missed opportunities. This session helped us understand our own responsibilities and how we can apply the ARC (Ask, Respect, Connect) method to support each other in the workplace.
“What I believe is that a lot of us don't connect with people who are different than us because we're afraid of getting it wrong...[I use] a tool called the ARC method —Ask, Respect, Connect—to help you connect across differences.”
Bernadette Smith – Founder & CEO, Equality Institute
Pride Month (June 2022)
At Renesas, we know actions speak louder than words. In recognition of Pride Month 2022, we addressed the gender inclusivity and LGBTQ+ visibility in the workplace by hosting a special seminar for our global employees with a guest speaker – Yuli Kim, a workplace inclusion expert and the founder of Inclusion Sensei. Her insights and interactive discussions on the topic of “Building an Inclusive Workplace & Culture for All,” helped us deepen our understanding of challenges and changes within the LGBTQ+ community. We also took this opportunity to think about our roles and actions needed in creating an equitable workplace.
“Education is key to addressing LGBTQ+ inclusion at work. It is about psychological safety – that of your colleagues and yourself – and creating a sense of belonging, which I consider is a prerequisite for anyone to perform their best at work.”
Yuli Kim, Founder of Inclusion Sensei
International Women's Day (March 8, 2022)
“International Women’s Day is a positive reminder that diversity and our collective ingenuity fuel Renesas’ innovation engine. Diversity also unites us as one team.
We are building on the momentum for a more inclusive future.”
Toshi Shibata, CEO
At Renesas, we continue to celebrate DE&I milestones such as International Women’s Day. In 2022, we have launched a new employee resource group, Women in Technology, to further empower our global employees with more professional development and peer networking opportunities.
Celebrating Diversity Awareness Month, October 2021
Diversity is the essence of what makes all of us unique and stronger as a team. As October is Global Diversity Awareness Month, we took this opportunity to celebrate our diversity at Renesas through open dialogue. We have hosted a full line of interactive and informative programs for the entire month of October – a keynote by Selena LaCroix, our outside director, regional roundtable sessions, diversity training, an international food month event and employee interviews/blog articles by authors with diverse backgrounds from around the globe.
Diversity Awareness Month (October 2021)
Starting today on October 1, 2021, we will be hosting a series of events and activities at our offices around the world to celebrate Diversity Awareness Month throughout the month of October. The goal of Diversity Awareness Month is to pause from our busy daily schedules and take time to reflect on what it means to be a diverse organization. This includes learning about each other and different viewpoints, and actively engaging in conversation with our colleagues about the value of diversity.
The Diversity Promotion Group (DPG ) was kicked off earlier this year to spearhead Renesas’ diversity efforts. A full line of interactive and informative programs are planned by the leaders and members of the DPG in cooperation with HR. Among the planned programs is a speech by Selena LaCroix, our outside director. Other programs include regional roundtable sessions, diversity training, and employee interviews/blog articles by authors with diverse backgrounds from around the globe.
The diverse and inclusive organization that I envision is an environment where employees feel safe and are fully engaged in their work without any adversities based on their gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.
I will make it my priority to foster an environment where each person can stand on the same platform, is treated fairly (Equity), and can demonstrate their full potential. Until now, we have used the term Diversity & Inclusion (D&I). Going forward, I will actively engage in diversity activities with the DPG with “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I)” in mind.
I hope that Diversity Awareness Month will give you an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of DE&I in the workplace, promote our understanding about each other and discuss about what makes each of us unique. Let's make Renesas an even more diverse and safe workplace by taking an active part in these exciting events and activities!
Toshi Shibata, CEO
Pride Month (June 2021)
June is Pride Month around the world. Pride Month is a month to raise awareness of the rights and the culture of the LGBTQ+ community. I want to take this opportunity as the CEO of Renesas to send a message to you, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.
At Renesas, we are strengthening our initiatives to promote Diversity & Inclusion. Protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ is part of this commitment. I believe that by affirming diversity including sexual orientation and sexual identity, we can create a work environment where everyone can be themselves. This allows for the peace of mind for all employees. Also, by stating that you are an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, you can help create an environment that doesn’t reject members of the LGBTQ+ community and accept diversity.
To express our respect towards the LGBTQ+ community, we have already implemented some initiatives. For example, at the end of April 2021, we have revised the Human Rights policy in the company Code of Conduct. It now states that employees should not be discriminated against based on “sexual orientation” and “sexual identity”. In addition, we have pledged to the Business for Marriage Equality (BME), a campaign to boost marriage equality in Japan through the support of businesses, as of June 1, 2021.
Let’s create a work environment that is comfortable to work in that we can be proud of.
Toshi Shibata, CEO
International Women’s Day (March 8, 2021)
March 8 is International Women’s Day. At Renesas, we have about 5,000 talented and passionate women of various backgrounds working around the world. On this important day, I want to celebrate the achievements of all our female colleagues who collectively make us better every day.
In 2020, Renesas joined the Global Semiconductor Alliance (“GSA”), whose goal is to build a global eco-system for the semiconductor industry. As part of our commitment, I signed the GSA’s Women's Leadership Initiative pledge to signify our full commitment to recruiting, retaining and helping advance the careers of women in the semiconductor industry. To achieve this, we strive to create an environment for all women at Renesas Group to work, lead and excel in their careers.
It is also imperative to respect and understand each other as individuals and the rights of one another, regardless of gender, ethnic background, sexual orientation, religious background or disability. These are core values highlighted in our Code of Conduct. In today’s rapidly changing environment, a diverse workplace is crucial to drive innovation and add value to our business. To accomplish this and create a more inclusive culture, we need to openly discuss and promote diversity in the workplace.
Toshi Shibata, CEO
Back to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
