Social | Human Rights, Labor Practices
Respecting diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)

Respect for diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is a key element of the Bridgestone Group’s Global Human Rights Policy and practiced in various ways across the operation. Equity was added to the 2022 revision of this policy to reinforce and clarify its commitment to providing equitable opportunities, and the Group will continue to advance initiatives that address potential disparities and other workplace and social issues related to equity.

Plans for 2022 and beyond

In 2022, BSAM is focused on improving representation of racial and gender diversity, continuing to educate leaders with resources and experiential learning, embedding DE&I into ways of operating in the business and with customers, and ensuring that employees feel that their workplace is equitable and inclusive.

BSAM foresees potential challenges as resignations in the U.S. continue to increase and labor shortages persist in pivotal areas of BSAM’s business and operations, including technical fields. BSAM plans to overcome them by focusing on retention and development strategies and partnering with organizations to cultivate relationships and grow a broader talent pipeline, with a focus on traditionally underrepresented groups.

Approach

Bridgestone Europe, Russia, Middle East, India and Africa (BSEMIA) 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. A key element of this work is more fully engaging employee resource groups (ERGs) to involve employees in building an even-more inclusive culture. In 2022, BSEMIA will promote initiatives to respect diversity with a particular focus on three groups: gender, seniority and experience.

Achievements in cultural diversity

BSEMIA has achieved a high level of cultural diversity. This is the result of decisions made by management over the last eight 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 BSEMIA’s headquarters and across its many geographies.

In South Africa, Bridgestone South Africa (Pty) Ltd. (BSAF) achieved Level 1 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE)^*1 Contributor status which was the highest rating in the certification. This recognizes BSAF's efforts to include African people in the workforce, support African businesses and give back to underserved African communities. BSEMIA was also recognized as a Top Employer and Great Place To Work in 2022 in multiple countries.

Plans for 2022 and beyond

BSEMIA has developed an action plan and goals for DE&I. Going forward, it plans to launch a steering committee with involvement of the management board. The committee will work with ERGs to discuss actions and next steps and report quarterly updates on progress.

Instead of setting specific KPIs, which could lead to undesirable behaviors and outcomes for the business in the short term, BSEMIA is focused on setting a clear sense of direction that will provide perspective and the ability to measure progress.

The following table provides a more detailed outline of action steps for 2022 and 2023. These include issuing a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEI&B) policy statement, providing inclusiveness and unconscious bias training to all HR employees and leadership teams, and screening for diversity in the talent management process.

To realize its Mid-Long Term Business Strategy, the Bridgestone Group will develop a truly global human resources strategy and approach that embraces diverse work styles to accommodate each employee's needs. By doing so, it will more fully engage employees, resulting in even greater productivity and added value from each employee. The Group strives to create a comfortable, flexible and vibrant work environment that takes into account the needs of different individuals at different moments of their career, so that home or family situations do not prevent any employees from being successful in the Group.

The Bridgestone Group respects and encourages flexible work styles by offering benefits such as hybrid work schedules, childcare facilities in some locations, paid parental leave, and family care and/or volunteer leave above the legally required minimum in many locations including Japan, Americas, Europe, Russia, Middle East, India and Africa.

In Japan, Bridgestone has established a support system for balancing work and childcare duties and provides guidance regularly for employees who plan to take parental leave. The company holds seminars for employees and management to ensure appropriate preparation and support during leave, and to ensure this support continues after returning to work.

Bridgestone also supports employees who manage their work and family care efforts by shortening working hours, enhancing family support leave, and disseminating information through guidebooks and in-house newsletters.

Bridgestone intends to further expand these programs designed to help build an inclusive workplace where employees can feel comfortable and fulfill their potential.

The Bridgestone Group and its strategic business units quickly deployed policies and practices in 2020 to protect the safety and security of employees around the world as the business environment shifted rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Group implemented a work-from-home arrangement for employees in all regions whose roles can be performed remotely. Based on this experience, the Group has implemented a new flexible hybrid work model in which employees will work on a hybrid basis (office/home) in line with the needs of their role and team. This transformative adjustment to the Group’s work practices dramatically increases the flexibility the Group offers employees, and will significantly accelerate DE&I efforts across its operations.

The Bridgestone Group commits to ensuring pay equity for its diverse workforce. Its compensation programs are designed to be market competitive based on regional/local trends and best practices as described below.

In Japan, Bridgestone’s salaries are set according to "role," "ability to demonstrate," and "results," and the same compensation program is used for all employees regardless of their characteristics. Its compensation program is based on a survey conducted to ensure a competitive position in comparison to the market, and then salary revisions are considered each year based on social trends in Japan and other factors. In determining compensation for employees who are represented by labor unions, the company holds labor-management negotiations with the Bridgestone Labor Union every spring, and revises employee salaries in accordance with the agreement.

BSAM’s compensation program is committed to attracting, motivating and retaining employees who enable it to achieve its short and long term business goals. Its compensation practices are in compliance with federal, state and local legal requirements. BSAM ensures pay equity through the job offer process, its annual compensation practices, and periodic internal compensation reviews. External market data is leveraged to evaluate and develop competitive pay structures, which are updated annually. Additionally, short-term and long-term incentive programs are utilized to meet business needs and offer market competitive total direct compensation. These programs are reviewed and approved annually by the Succession, Nomination & Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of BSAM. Pay practices are governed by collective bargaining agreements for those hourly employees represented by labor organizations.

In BSEMIA, its compensation program is based on the principle of a market based pay for performance. The purpose of the program is to hire, engage and develop the right talents that Bridgestone needs for future growth. The drivers of the program are base pay, short and long term variable pay, and a proper benefit program. The market data are collected externally to check the local reference to ensure the adequate program. The company also holds collective bargaining agreements with labor union to ensure equity and complies with the regulations of the countries and regions where it operates. In addition, the compensation team conducts inspections every year to assure the equity, and the results are shared in the Succession, Nomination and Compensation Committee of the Board of directors of BSEMIA.

BSCAP believes that it is important salaries are paid based on the employees’ performance. Employees are generally paid based on the company and individual performance with reference to their experience, skills and market competitiveness level. Other applicable conditions may apply for employees who are represented by labor union, which include region-specific minimum wage and items specified in the collective bargaining agreements, among others.