Ehime University Diversity Promotion Statement

　The world is now facing a time of great change. The spread of infectious diseases, frequent large-scale natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, and Japan’s declining population due to a declining birthrate and aging population are among the many difficult issues that must be resolved for sustainable development. It is precisely in times like these that it is important to take a “diversity” perspective, in which diverse human resources and organizations work together to solve problems, in order to realize a society in which “no one is left behind. Organizations with diverse human resources can respond flexibly and quickly to the ever-changing social environment. Moreover, if each member of the organization is able to demonstrate their individual abilities in each situation, they themselves will feel a sense of accomplishment, and the performance of the organization as a whole will improve dramatically. Ehime University’s philosophy is to create “a university that moves the region and connects with the world with its shining individuality.” To this end, we aim to develop an understanding and environment for diversity and inclusion (acceptance and utilization) of a global standard.

　The recent Corona disaster has made us aware once again that we are not only residents of the region but also members of the world. It has also made us aware of the need to mobilize the strengths of all people and respond flexibly to an increasingly diverse society and rapidly changing environment. In the future, we will need to search for a “new way of life” that goes back and forth between learning and work due to the declining birthrate, increasing life expectancy, and diversifying ways of working. Therefore, universities, as “hubs of knowledge in the region,” are required to have a variety of functions more than ever before. In order to meet expectations for such diversity of functions, it is necessary for members, each of whom has unique knowledge, ability to think and act, to respect each other’s differences and work together.

　Ehime University provides a place where people can respect and collaborate with each other regardless of gender, age, nationality, disability, sexual orientation/identification, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, etc., in order to guarantee human rights for all people and create a better new society for future generations. We aim to be a center of knowledge to solve problems. To this end, we declare that we will further promote diversity through a variety of initiatives, and that we will be a university where each and every one of our members can shine with their individuality and demonstrate their abilities.

July 19, 2021
Hiroshige Nishina, President, Ehime University

Diversity Promotion Initiatives, etc.

Ehime University will set numerical targets for the promotion of diversity as a challenging initiative for the 4th Mid-term Goals and Mid-term Plan, and will make every effort to achieve them.

Ehime University’s 6th Action Plan for Supporting the Development of the Next Generation and 3rd Action Plan for the Promotion of Women’s Activities

Plan period: April 1, 2022 – March 31, 2025
Goal 1] Increase the percentage of female faculty to about 24%.
Goal 2] Increase the percentage of women in management positions to about 23%.
Target 3] Increase the number of male employees taking childcare leave to approximately 30%.

Ongoing efforts, etc.

Examples of Ongoing Efforts

(1) Career Support Program for Young Researchers
(2) Researcher Career Support Program (support for researchers whose research activities are interfered with due to various reasons such as treatment for illness or injury, nursing care, etc.)
(3) Dual Career Support Project and Married Couple Employment Support Project
(4) Overseas Cross-Appointment Support Business
(5) Childcare support business
(6) Support for work-life balance (operation of daycare centers and childcare for school children)
(7) Substitution measures during long-term maternity leave
(8) Improve the rate of male employees taking maternity leave
(9) Next generation career support ( Science Himeko semi-regular activities)
(10) Active employment of persons with disabilities

Initiatives for 2021-2023 (2021-2023)

In 2021, Ehime University began actively recruiting young faculty members and female faculty members through the “Ehime University President’s Strategy: Positive Action Project for Young Faculty Members”.
In addition, the following efforts are being made to further promote diversity. Each department and organization has prepared individual diversity promotion plans and is actively working on them.

• Actively recruit young faculty members, female faculty members, and non-Japanese faculty members
• Increase the ratio of female faculty members in upper level positions (lecturers and above)
• Hold round-table conferences with the heads of departments, etc., female faculty members, foreign faculty members, female students, graduate students, and international students, and strive to manage departments incorporating diverse opinions.
• Conduct training, workshops, lectures, etc. for faculty and staff to promote diversity
• Conducting classes, seminars, etc. to raise awareness for students
• Campus environment for international students with diverse values
• Activities to Support Rekejo College Preparation
• Conducting exchange programs to promote understanding and awareness of people with disabilities

Diversity Promotion Structure

The Diversity Promotion Division was established in April 2012 (Heisei 24) with the aim of respecting the diverse personalities and values of employees and enabling them to maximize their abilities, thereby contributing to improving the overall potential of each organization of Ehime University and the University.
In April 2021, a new system was established to enable the university’s executive office and departments to share information and consult with each other in order to further promote diversity. In addition to appointing the President as the Director of the Diversity Promotion Division and the Vice President for Diversity as the Vice Director, a Diversity Promotion Council was established, which consists of members of the University Executive Office, deans of faculties and graduate schools, and others.

Campus organizations related to diversity promotion

Women’s Future Development Center

In 2007, Ehime University established the Gender Equality Promotion Committee, which made a “Declaration” and “Proposals” to promote gender equality at Ehime University, and began full-scale promotion of gender equality at the University under the slogan “Toward a University and Society Where Each Individual Shines”. In response to these recommendations, action plans for promoting gender equality were formulated for each department in FY2008, and annual plans based on the recommendations were formulated in the 2nd Mid-Term Goals and Mid-Term Plan starting in FY2010, to promote gender equality throughout the university.

Furthermore, in FY2010, the Center was selected for the “Fostering Models to Support Female Researchers” project funded by the Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and in July 2010, the Center for the Future Development of Women was established as the implementing body of the project. Under this project, based on the “Ehime University Female Researcher Development Plan,” we have been working to develop an environment for female researchers to play an active role by providing career support, childcare support, and awareness-raising to female researchers, as well as to foster the next generation of female researchers by supporting career paths for female students and science career choices for female junior and senior high school students. The following is a summary of the results of the study.

In April 2013, the Center for the Future Development of Women and the Office of Gender Equality were merged into the Diversity Promotion Division to continue working on the development of an environment for the promotion of gender equality, career support for women, regional cooperation, and information dissemination, to create an environment where both men and women can work comfortably and to foster excellent female researchers on a sustainable basis. We are working to create a framework for this purpose.

Office of Employment Promotion for Persons with Disabilities

In September 2007, the University established the “Working Group to Study the Employment of Rehired Employees and Persons with Disabilities” under the Office of the President to study measures to promote the active and systematic employment of persons with disabilities, and to create a comfortable working environment for them. In April 2009, the Environmental Improvement Office, which is in charge of cleaning Ehime University’s campus, was established and began employing mentally challenged persons. The Human Resources Division has also established a university-wide acceptance system by coordinating the employment posts of fixed-term administrative contract employees in each department, with the Human Resources Division acting as the coordinator, and through Hello Work, etc., the University has been working on the following measures The company has been actively employing people with disabilities.

In April 2012, we established the Office of Employment Promotion for Persons with Disabilities with the aim of further enhancing these efforts and promoting efforts to make better use of the abilities of persons with disabilities, such as planning measures to support the independence of persons with disabilities after employment and expanding the scope of their duties. We will continue to promote the employment of persons with disabilities, taking into consideration the fact that the employment rate of persons with disabilities stipulated by law has been 2.6% since March 1, 2021.

Office of Employment Promotion for the Elderly

The University introduced a reemployment system on April 1, 2006, and in September 2007, established the “WG to Study the Employment of Rehired Employees and Persons with Disabilities” under the Office of the President to study how to employ retirees in a way that makes the most of their careers, and to consider how to employ older people with We have implemented measures necessary to stabilize employment and support employment of older workers. Furthermore, in FY2012, a reemployment system for full-time work was introduced to address chronic labor shortages, etc. due to the mass retirement of administrative staff.

In April 2012, we established the Office of Employment Promotion for the Elderly with the aim of securing employment opportunities through a variety of work styles and enhancing the development of various systems that accurately respond to the diverse needs of older workers.

Support system for students with reasonable accommodation needs

Accessibility Support Office

In April 2007, the University established the Barrier-Free Promotion Office to deal with students with disabilities and students who have difficulties in their student life.
In July 2021, the name was changed to “Accessibility Support Office” to further enhance past efforts, respond to the Law for Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, provide support to the rapidly increasing number of students who need reasonable accommodation, and promote the improvement of the study environment.