Social | Talent creativity
Respecting diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)

The Global Executive Committee (Global EXCO) is the highest global level executive body within the Group overseeing business strategy and execution and consists of executive officers of the Company and leaders responsible for major business entities and functions. With five of its 11 members from countries other than Japan, this committee shows the Group’s respect for the inclusion of diverse perspectives and values in management decision-making. Furthermore, the Group has established a number of other committees with global talent as members under Global EXCO.

In order to develop the next generation of management leaders, as the Group pushes forward with leadership development by region and country, we have also been developing "Bridgestone NEXT100", a program to develop the next-generation management leaders since 2020. This program nominates approximately 100 individuals globally each year (30 from Japan, 30 from the Americas, 20 from Europe, 20 from Asia / divided into the three levels of Next, Advancing, and Developing Executive) to take part in this program. The individuals participate in a town hall meeting with the Global CEO, Executive Vice President, and respective overseas Group Presidents and various management / executive meetings as well as overseas business school training programs. In 2024, two participants from the Next Executive were promoted to Vice President and Senior Officer. Furthermore, in 2025, another participant was furthermore promoted to Vice President and Senior Officer, and another was appointed as Executive Vice President and Representative Executive Officer of the Company. Participants across each of the Group’s SBU’s work to build uniquely Bridgestone-like global management talent to create new DNA. This new DNA builds upon its existing Bridgestone DNA of "Focus on quality," "Respect for being on-site," "Being attentive and supportive of customer problems," and "Challenging spirit."

The Group has customized DE&I programs that reflect the context, rules, traditions and regulations of the individual countries and regions in which it operates.

Asia Pacific, India, and China region

Bridgestone Asia Pacific, India and China (BSAPIC) is undertaking DE&I initiatives based on the philosophy of Right Person in the Position with the Right Skills. Its intent is to draw out the ambitions and potential of unique empowered individuals to the fullest and identify the best fit of talent for each position. BSAPIC embraces diversity in generation, gender, nationality and experience with our commitment to fostering an inclusive and engaged workforce and community. BSAPIC outlines our approach to DE&I as follows:

Inclusive workplace culture

BSAPIC strives to cultivate a workplace where all employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives. Through corporate policies, training programs, and employee engagement activities, BSAPIC promotes awareness, understanding, and appreciation of diversity with the essence of an engaged workforce and employee well-being. As part of our ongoing commitment to integrity and inclusion, BSAPIC emphasized the importance of respect for diversity, equity and inclusion during the BSAPIC Integrity Day 2024. The event reinforced a culture of speaking up and strictly prohibiting discrimination and harassment and retaliation and acts of reprisal of any kind.

Enhancing inclusive work practices on-site (Genba)

The voice of operators (VOO) and our front-line tire fitter working groups’ focus on enhancing their working environment is in our DNA. It allows our retail tire technicians to share and suggest ideas for improvements required to be implemented with the management; with a focus on enhancing the workflow and processes (authority and empowerment), working conditions and safety. The outcomes of the working groups will be shared with representatives across stores and zones to better leverage all improvement ideas. The appreciation of Direct (wages) employees’ contribution to the company is valued by other teammates through the program “Day in the Life”. Employees are encouraged to shadow the work in a day of a Tire Technician to gain an appreciation of the role expectations in delivering superior quality to our customers.
Besides the standing labor relations’ communication sessions, group companies held various workshops, engagement and competency enhancement activities such as delegation of authority training, traffic safety training, regular standard education training and 70-20-10 learning rules training with the primary objective to enhance and uplift our Direct (wages) skillsets.

Equal Opportunity in career and development

BSAPIC is committed to providing equal opportunities for all employees and applicants, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, generation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. Its hiring, promotion, and compensation practices are guided by ability, merit, contribution and performance, ensuring a fair and level playing field for all talents. The annual career development and discussion process empowers employees to own their career milestones to advance their careers in Management or Professional specialist career tracks, with the key focus on devising career development goal(s) on how to achieve the next milestone. The ongoing dialogues between employees and their respective Manager are pivotal in alignment and helping talent to upskill and reskill in the competency and skills area required. BSAPIC leverages talent analytics as part of an annual talent review process to analyze the current representation across gender, experience, nationality, and generation both regionally and by group company, to build its talent pipeline based on the philosophy, employee’s aspiration and potential.

Americas region

Bridgestone Americas (BSAM) believes in building diverse teams that champion all perspectives.
Diversity is a source of strength for BSAM. The diverse experiences, viewpoints and styles of BSAM’s employees not only give us an important competitive advantage in the marketplace, but also contribute to a rich work environment where we can all learn from one another.

Free to Be Movement

Since launching its “Free to Be” movement in 2021, BSAM has emphasized the importance of inclusion and bringing one’s whole self to work. Inclusion starts with having the right culture which involves ensuring teammates have an inclusive and respectful workplace. “Free to Be” unites teammates in the belief that an inclusive workplace is essential for building and sustaining a diverse and engaged workforce. We strive to have a work environment that energizes teammates by respecting and valuing their diverse backgrounds and cultures, unique attributes, and individual goals. We believe that, if this is achieved, it will naturally create a better experience for our teammates, customers and the communities Bridgestone serves.

Building on foundational programs implemented over the last several years, BSAM expanded Free to Be programming in 2024. BSAM created monthly resources called Free to Be Moments and expanded Free to Be Conversations to include panelists and personal testimonies from teammates in the United States, Canada, Latin Americas and Europe the Middle East and Africa (BSEMEA). Topics in 2024 included innovation, allyship, psychological safety, and resilience. BSAM celebrated its fourth annual Free to Be Week. The theme, “Free to Be United,” focused on the power of uniting our different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences to pioneer solutions that will drive Bridgestone forward.

Employee Resource Groups

The Free to Be strategy in 2024 focused on finding opportunities to partner with business groups and the broader Human Resources Function to identify and implement impactful initiatives. Some highlights included learning and development programs in Canada and U.S. manufacturing, onboarding training in Latin Americas (promoting respect, dignity and diversity), and hosting various hybrid and in-person training opportunities (the business case for inclusion & diversity, effective allyship, psychological safety, inclusive leadership, and belonging in the workplace).

• BSAM continues to support seven Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).
• BBOLD — African American/Black employees and allies
• BWIN — Women employees and allies
• BNEXT — Employees seeking to reach the next level in their career
• BBRAVO — Veteran employees and allies
• BUNIDOS — Latin/Hispanic employees and allies
• BPROUD — LGBTQ+ employees and allies
• BHAPI — Asian/Pacific Islander employees and allies

The ERGs bring together employees and allies based on shared characteristics, life experiences, and interests and are critical in helping BSAM value employee differences. Each ERG has the autonomy to define its purpose and programming, including community outreach and volunteering, mentoring and development opportunities, and networking. In 2024, the ERGs organized a variety of personal and professional development programs, heritage month celebrations, and networking opportunities that are open to all BSAM teammates. Heritage celebrations included Black History Month in February, International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month in March, Earth Day in April, the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival in April, Asian-Pacific Islander Month in May, Cinco de Mayo in May, Pride Month in June, National Hispanic Heritage Month in September and October, LGBTQ+ History Month in October, and Veteran’s Day in November.

BSAM launched a detailed ERG Playbook in 2024, which outlines governance and resources that streamline operations, ensures consistency across ERGs, and empowers ERG leaders to effectively support their members, boosting teammate engagement and retention. The Playbook, paired with quarterly ERG connection meetings, fosters collaboration, enables best practice sharing, and strengthens the ERG network.

In 2025 and beyond

BSAM will continue to ensure we have an inclusive workplace where our diverse teammates have opportunities to develop and thrive. In 2025 and beyond, BSAM will be emphasizing succession management, focusing on retention and development strategies to grow a broader talent pipeline of future leaders.

Europe, Middle East and Africa region

Bridgestone EMEA (BSEMEA) believes that a diverse work environment creates a better understanding of its customers, greater employee engagement, decision-making that includes diverse perspectives, and innovative ideas that lead to better outcomes. It is working to create an environment where all employees feel safe and included so they can contribute at their best.

Employee resource groups

In 2024, BSEMEA continued the “Free to Be” movement that helps employees understand the importance of inclusion and bringing one’s whole self to work. It will continue to promote initiatives to increase diversity and embed DE&I into the business and create an even more equitable and inclusive work environment. These priorities will be accomplished with direct employee input, including from its ERGs:

• BWIN — Women employees
• BPROUD — LGBTQ+ employees

The ERGs bring together employees and allies based on shared characteristics, life experiences, and interests and are critical in helping BSEMEA value employee differences. Each has the autonomy to define its purpose and programming, including community outreach and volunteering, mentoring and development opportunities, and networking. In 2024, the ERGs organized a variety of personal and professional development programs and networking opportunities that are open to all BSEMEA teammates. These programs included interviews and panel discussions with senior leaders, unconscious bias workshops, and curated LinkedIn Learning courses.

In 2025 and beyond

BSEMEA has achieved a high level of cultural diversity. This is the result of decisions made by management over the last several years to build an international business run by local experts, regardless of their nationality or cultural background. As a result, nearly all nationalities from the region are represented in BSEMEA’s headquarters and across its many geographies. Workstreams in the areas of awareness and communication, talent acquisition, talent management, training and development and benefits have further strengthened BSEMEA’s DE&I efforts and have led to increased visibility and career opportunities for underrepresented groups. BSEMEA will continue to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute to their fullest potential.

In order to continuously provide social and customer value through being attentive to and supportive of customer problems and needs more proactively, the Group believes that it is important to expect and facilitate all employees to support an inclusive workplace environment mutually and to promote diversity in perspectives and better decision-making as an organization. In this regard, the Group is empowering women and developing female leaders, while considering the conditions in each individual region and country where it operates.

As of December 2024, the percentage of female employees in each of the Group's segments was as follows.

International Women’s Day (IWD)

BSAPIC has been commemorating International Women’s Day (IWD) since 2019 and advocating it annually through a more structured and consistent approach across the 10 countries and regions of BSAPIC. SBU guidelines were launched for group companies to promote the celebration of women’s empowerment and achievements and to showcase its on-going commitment to women’s equality. BSAPIC’s annual participation in IWD, which is supported globally by industry, governments, educational institutions and community groups to recognize the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, is to raise awareness of women’s challenges to help forge a gender-equal world. In IWD 2024, BSAPIC reinforced its vision of a workplace where everyone has the opportunity to grow and succeed. This aligns with the United Nations’ 2025 International Women’s Day theme, “For ALL Women: Rights, Equality, Empowerment” and reflects our Bridgestone E8 Commitment – especially the value of Empowerment: contributing to a society that ensures accessibility and dignity for all. Our dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion is deeply embedded in the Bridgestone Code of Conduct, which underscores the importance of embracing differences and ensuring equal opportunities for all, regardless of background or origin. This is further embodied in our TRACE values, where mutual respect is foundational to how we engage with one another. Each BSAPIC teammate can make a difference through daily actions and conscious effort within our sphere of influence – fostering a workplace where inclusion is not just encouraged but lived.

Americas region

BSAM remains committed to creating a uniting, empowering, and pioneering culture and work environment where employees feel supported, trusted, valued and motivated. As part of this commitment, particularly with respect to gender diversity and equity, BSAM has continued intentional programs to further empower women. A few highlighted programs include:

BSAM has partnered with the Women Unlimited, Inc. organization for over 10 years. Women Unlimited, Inc. offers three distinct programs (ImPower, Lead, Few) for participants at varying levels of their career journey and each is designed to integrate unique mentoring, education and networking experiences. In 2024, 25 female employees across BSAM participated in this impactful development opportunity.

Specifically in Latin America, 50 female employees participated in the Red Shoe Movement Program, a 12-month virtual program designed to engage and keep female employees focused on career growth and leadership development. The program’s two core pillars of mutual mentoring and self-leadership provide participants with a unique skills development experience while fostering a strong community that supports individual career goals. They also ran a 6-month Accelerated Women’s Development Program which was available for 10 select women who were paired with senior leaders across the region to provide career mentoring.

In addition to these highlighted programs, Bridgestone’s Women’s Initiative Network (BWIN) employee resource group (ERG) offered several programs that further supported their mission to champion diversity, foster gender equity and empower women to excel and lead with excellence. A few 2024 highlights include running year-round BWIN mentoring circles to nurture professional and personal growth, hosting panels and masterclasses to discuss topics such as women’s leadership, motherhood and health and supporting International Women’s Day with multiple events.

Europe, Middle East and Africa region

Bridgestone EMEA (BSEMEA) is committed to creating an environment where every employee can thrive. With this commitment, specifically related to gender diversity and equity, BSEMEA has continued to empower and grow female talent across the business. A few initiatives worth noting are below.

Women in Motion is a 12-month leadership program created to improve Bridgestone‘s business results by leveraging gender diverse approaches on how to develop business and solve business issues. The program is designed to ‘Lead, Inspire, Connect’ for three distinct levels of female talent (Leaders of Self, Leaders of Others, Leaders of Leaders) across three separate business cohorts: EMEA Sales, EMEA Operations and Technology, and EMEA all functions. With Lead-Inspire-Connect as the pillars and foundation of the program, the female employees participating have the opportunity to enhance their skills and knowledge of various leadership topics, learn from each other, build a broader network across the EMEA region, and get exposure to various business leaders and challenges to support their career growth. In 2024, 88 female employees participated in one of the nine cohorts, enhancing their leadership capabilities, building self-awareness, and learning new tools to support their professional development.

In addition to this program, Bridgestone’s Women’s Initiative Network (BWIN) employee resource group (ERG) delivered a robust and diverse calendar of initiatives across BSEMEA in 2024, reinforcing its mission to champion diversity, foster gender equity, and empower women to lead and grow. A few 2024 key highlights include:

• running year-round BWIN mentoring circles to nurture professional and personal growth
• hosting e-coffee sessions to learn from various leaders inside and outside the company and discuss topics such as women’s leadership, sustainability and DE&I
• celebrating International Women’s Day with Women’s Talk 2, a flagship event open to all employees that showcased inspiring stories and insights from female leaders
• hosting networking training workshops and a ‘Jobinar’ to provide employees with career guidance
• running multiple onboarding sessions throughout the year to increase awareness of and engagement in BWIN

These wide-ranging initiatives demonstrate BWIN’s strategic and grassroots approach to building a more inclusive, connected, and empowering culture for women at Bridgestone.

In March 2021 the Group joined The Valuable 500, a global initiative launched at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland in January 2019. The Valuable 500 aims to help business leaders transform their businesses and unlock the social and economic value of people living with disabilities around the world. It gains the endorsement of the CEOs from 500 companies worldwide. The concept of The Valuable 500, which respects diversity and promotes inclusion, has much in common with the Group’s corporate philosophy and is in line with the intended direction of its Global Human Rights Policy.

Sharing the belief of The Valuable 500 with other world leaders, the Group will strengthen its diversity initiatives, including building a diverse workplace that empowers employees with disabilities. The Group will work to create a more inclusive society that promotes good physical and mental health through co-creation with communities and strategic partners.

Japan

In 2004, Bridgestone established Bridgestone Empowerment Co., Ltd., a special subsidiary for the purpose of employing people with disabilities, and Bridgestone has been actively working to hire people with disabilities for the past 20 years. In addition, with the goal of achieving the legally mandated employment ratio at Bridgestone and all of its 16 group companies in Japan^*, Bridgestone has been taking systematic actions to increase these opportunities. As of January 2025, the total employment ratio of people with disabilities across all 17 companies (when including its special subsidiary) was 2.75%.
Bridgestone Empowerment Co., Ltd. started with seven employees with disabilities and five other staff members and has expanded its business within the group to hire 232 employees with disabilities and 66 other staff members as of January 2025.

At the company's headquarters (Kodaira, Tokyo) and branch offices (Nagoya in Aichi, Ichikawa in Chiba, Yokohama in Kanagawa, Chuo-ku in Tokyo, Nasushiobara in Tochigi, Ageo in Saitama, Amagi in Fukuoka and Hikone in Shiga), the following values serve as its fundamental philosophies as it aims to be a company where each and every employee can work with energy and enthusiasm:

1. Harmony with local communities
2. Harmony with Bridgestone employees
3. Building environments helping employees with disabilities to be independent in society

These efforts include helping each employee establish goals they want to achieve each year while maintaining close interaction with local organizations and special support schools connected to the employment of people with disabilities. The special subsidiary’s business lines include cleaning services, printing of promotional materials and business cards and mail pickup and delivery services, and support for tire testing.

In April 2011, Bridgestone also opened a vocational education and training school, Work Education Center Hikone, at its Hikone Plant to support social participation through employment and independence for people with disabilities. The center is operated by Kansai Fukushi Gakuen, an organization operating schools for social welfare. During the two-year education and training period, participants are provided with education on basic knowledge and manners as members of society, as well as on-the-job training at the Hikone office. As of February 2025, 20 graduates had been employed at the Hikone office. By further promoting these efforts and expanding employment of people with disabilities, Bridgestone will contribute to the realization of a harmonious society where everyone can continue to work with peace of mind.

* 16 group companies in Japan include the company to which Bridgestone's special subsidiary system applies (as of January 2025)

Asia Pacific, India, and China region

Each BSAPIC employees can make a difference within their sphere of influence by taking concrete action to be more inclusive in their work.

Workplace and external engagement

• 2008 : Established a corporate daycare facility, Bridgestone Kodaira Daycare Center (Tokyo)
• 2015 : Launched a corporate daycare facility, Yokohama Daycare Center (Kanagawa)
• 2022 : Introduced “Childcare Future Concierge”, a company-led childcare facility matching service, enhancing childcare environment support in other areas in Japan
• 2022 : Established a system to encourage male employees to take leave upon the birth of a child with the aim to build an environment that further facilitates male employees' participation in childcare
• 2025 : Expanded the conditions to take nursing care leave to further support work-life balance for employees raising children

The Company works to raise awareness of nursing care, including holding nursing care seminars by outside experts and by publishing its Parenting and Nursing Care Guidebook in aiming to reinforce the workplace ability to cope with and support employees’ various work styles as well as deepening the understanding of balancing caregiving and work on a company-wide basis. Since 2018, the Company has been holding nursing care seminars led by outside experts for all employees, and since 2019 for line managers specifically. These seminars provide knowledge on balancing work and caregiving for employees and their subordinates. Furthermore, we opened “Chat room” as a platform for sharing information among employees who are actually situated in such case in 2024.
With regard to system revision, the Company has prepared various regulations such as nursing care leave, exemption from overtime work during caregiving, etc. and initiated the Care Support Benefit, which provides a maximum of 30,000 yen per parent or spouse who has been certified as requiring care or support.
Its employees already dealing with nursing care and those concerned about the future are also provided with opportunities for individual consultations to help them resolve issues as early as possible when they inform the company. We strive for a better workplace where employees in need can apply to these programs through supportive communication between employees and supervisors.