SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Inc. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Etsuko Tsugihara, hereinafter referred to as “the Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received the “Grand Prize” in the business operator category of the “Tokyo Metropolitan Government Award for Promoting Women’s Advancement in Reiwa 5” sponsored by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

The “Tokyo Metropolitan Government Award for Promoting Women’s Advancement” is presented to companies and organizations that are working to promote women’s advancement in order to realize a society in which women can choose diverse ways of life. This time, our group’s unique welfare programs to support diverse lifestyles, such as “egg freezing cost subsidies” and “AMH test cost subsidies,” as well as enlightenment activities aimed at solving women’s physical, mental, and social issues, were highly evaluated, leading to the award.

In the future, we aim to create an organization that leads DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) that can serve as a role model both domestically and internationally. By fostering a corporate culture that understands diverse perspectives such as age, race, and nationality, in addition to gender, we aim to create an environment where each member, including women, with different life stages and lifestyles, can realize their own way of life and work.

■Main Initiatives of SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP in “Promoting Women’s Advancement”

Our company is one of the few listed companies in Japan with a female president and CEO, and more than 60% of the members working in the group are women, making the活躍 of female members indispensable. Therefore, in order to create an environment where members, including female members, can work comfortably, we established our own welfare program, “32 Systems,” in 2011. As a result of expanding opportunities for活躍, the current ratio of female managers at our company is 44.7% (including leaders), and the ratio of female directors is 50%, which is significantly higher than the average for Japanese companies.

In addition, our company has been focusing on “social action” since its founding. In recent years, we have been actively working to influence public opinion in order to realize a better society, such as establishing the “Social Good Promotion Office” and establishing “Good and Company Inc.” to take on social issue resolution projects using the power of communication. In particular, we believe that it is our mission to address the issue of “women’s advancement,” in which Japan is currently lagging behind the rest of the world, and to take the lead in promoting women’s advancement throughout Japanese society, and we are implementing and promoting numerous initiatives both internally and externally.

[Initiatives for the organization]

Welfare Program “32 Systems”
Based on the slogan “Let’s Have Fun!”, this unique welfare program was established in 2011 to enable members to have fulfilling ways of working and living. It consists of systems that incorporate our company’s unique characteristics, such as “Heartbreak Leave,” “Aim for A Body System,” and “Partnership System.” Among these, the “Dear WOMAN System” was established with the aim of supporting women’s wellness, and has been updated in line with the trends of the times.

Main Updates to the “Dear WOMAN System”
July 2015: Introduced “egg freezing cost subsidies” for the first time among private companies in Japan.
April 2022: Added “AMH test* cost subsidies.”
July 2022: Added “semen test cost subsidies.”

These systems are not intended to encourage pregnancy or childbirth, but are designed to provide female members with an opportunity to think about their own bodies and life plans as one of the options for living a fulfilling life.

*”AMH test” (anti-Müllerian hormone test: a blood test that reflects the ovarian reserve [an estimate of the number of follicles remaining in the ovary])

[Initiatives to engage society]

Project ‘W society’ to address women’s physical, mental, and social issues
In this project promoted by our group company, Good and Company Inc., we are conducting a wide range of activities under the slogan “Changing society, the future of women” so that each woman can live “better” with a variety of life plan options. We are holding free online seminars for working women and companies, regional specialized events in collaboration with government and local authorities, and enlightenment campaigns for general women in line with International Women’s Day.

■About the “Tokyo Metropolitan Government Award for Promoting Women’s Advancement”

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government presents the “Tokyo Metropolitan Government Award for Promoting Women’s Advancement” to companies, organizations, and individuals that are working to promote women’s advancement in order to realize a society in which all women can choose diverse ways of life according to their motivation and ability.

■ Comments from Etsuko Tsugihara, President and Representative Director of SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Inc.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for receiving the “Tokyo Metropolitan Government Award for Promoting Women’s Advancement.”

We are very honored that our efforts for women have been highly evaluated this time, but in fact, many of the measures were born from my own great reflection.

I founded the company in 1985, the very year the Equal Employment Opportunity Law for Men and Women was established, and I was still a student at the time. Since then, I have been desperately managing the company. In my 30s, I experienced childbirth twice, but I worked until the day of delivery and returned to work without taking any postpartum leave, devoting myself to my work with enthusiasm.

This was because I wanted to avoid my work being hindered by reasons unique to women, and because I had the selfish belief that my hard work would surely energize the company’s female employees.

And that was my big mistake.

It was actually the women themselves who felt a wall when they saw me like that.

“I can’t be like the president. I don’t want to be,” and female members continued to leave the company when they reached the age of marriage and childbirth. Although I had intended to work hard as a female manager, I ended up being far from a role model for women.

Based on this reflection, we have since introduced various measures to make the company one where women can truly活躍. Our company’s welfare programs, which are often praised as unique, were all created by our employees. Amidst various changes in society, we will continue to update them together with our employees in order to realize活躍 that is suitable for each individual’s lifestyle and career plan. And, as a responsibility for receiving this prestigious award, we will strive to not only improve the well-being of women in our own company, but also to become an entity that can lead society so as to contribute to the improvement of women’s well-being throughout Japanese society.