As it observes International Women’s Month, Panasonic, the global technology leader, is taking a pledge to break the bias to uphold a positive, healthy, respectful, and discrimination-free work culture following its business philosophy of “People before Products”.
With this year’s International Women’s Day theme ‘Break the Bias’, the brand imagines a gender-equal world free of bias and stereotypes, where difference is valued and celebrated. “Focusing on the positives of diversity and inclusion, we created, diverse teams that are free and comfortable to express ideas and voice even when they do not agree with the status quo,” says Sonet Ruthven, Head of Department, Human Resources and General Affairs, Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa FZE.
In the Middle East and Africa region, wherein a vast number of employees are from different nationalities with a big number of females amongst them; Panasonic has started to unlock the power of inclusivity and has witnessed immense advantages. The brand has increased female participation in management with three women in leadership roles, while significantly strengthening the number of female employees in its regional team.
“In line with IWD 2022 theme #BreakTheBias, we as a brand imagine a gender-equal world, free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination, where people thrive even with their differences to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. We value and celebrate differences. Together we can forge women’s equality. We believe diversity naturally generates creativity and innovation in the workplace. Thus, we are committed to building and maintaining a workforce as diverse as the communities we serve,” Sonet added.
Globally, Panasonic’s Diversity and Inclusion efforts provide career-advancement seminars for women leaders, creating opportunities for women to encounter role models’ values and views on working, as well as further strengthening the management capabilities. Besides, the brand puts a special emphasis to offer work-life balance to its employees, especially women.
As part of Panasonic’s global efforts to create an environment that enables everyone to play an active role, the company is implementing initiatives to support a good work-life balance for employees. Panasonic offers a flexible work-hour system that does not designate mandatory “core hours” when all employees must be present and allows a non-consecutive total of two years of leave following a child’s start at elementary school. The brand is among a few companies that offer a child planning leave – a system of fertility leaves.
Panasonic has also established a Diversity Promotion Month held in July every year, hosting forums and creating opportunities in the workplace for discussions on the theme of diversity. Creating “A Better Workstyle” with a focus on supporting voluntary changes among employees, and encouraging an equal opportunity and diverse environment is at the core of the brand’s regional and global human resources policies.
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