Promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The Daicel Group, which was founded as a celluloid manufacturing company, has now grown into an entity that produces a wide variety of products and has a network in every country and region. At the heart of this growth is "People-centered Management", and the concept that "People" are the source of the Daicel Group's activities.

However, "People-centered Management" was not firmly established from the outset. It is no exaggeration to say that the history of the Daicel Group is the history of the pursuit of what "People-centered Management" means. Going forward, we will continue to consider what it means to "follow the right path," and, based on the respect for human rights set out in the Daicel Group Code of Ethics, we hereby define the "DE&I (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)" of the Daicel Group.

This declaration was approved and published by the Management Committee on 16 January 2024 as a declaration based on the "Daicel Group Code of Ethics (2.ii)"

The Human Resources Division, supervised by the Executive Officer responsible for this area, leads the Company’s human asset management, in which a CAPD cycle^* is applied for planning and implementing specific measures. The important measures from a management perspective are submitted for deliberation in major meetings such as the Management Meetings and Planning Meetings.

In addition, based on “sustainable people,” one of our sustainable management policies, we have set “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” as one of our key management issues. We are promoting measures according to the situation of each Daicel Group company.

Daicel promotes diversity, starting with the empowerment of female employees. In order to support the career development of motivated women and create workplaces that cater to everyone’s needs, we promote initiatives such as remote work and raising the annual paid leave usage ratio. As a result, these efforts are leading to the creation of workplaces and systems not only for women but also for all our employees in the Daicel Group so that they can fully demonstrate their talents.

In its recruitment activities, the Group places emphasis on securing talented individuals regardless of gender or nationality, with “human resources who have pride and passion as professionals, and who can also embrace diverse values outside of their own area of expertise” and “human resources who can take steady action towards achieving self-fulfillment (their own ideal circumstances).” Daicel is also working to achieve a target diversity ratio^*of 30%.

In addition, we are actively recruiting mid-career employees to ensure diversity not only due to attributes such as gender and nationality but also experience, different cultures, and areas of expertise. We aim to create an organization where each and every one of our diverse employees can make the most of their individual abilities and individuality so that all can achieve self-fulfillment.

Since we formulated an action plan based on Japan’s Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace in April 2016, we have been actively recruiting female employees and developing female leadership. In addition, we have established a system that allows employees to choose their own work style according to their life stage.

In December 2025, we held a networking event bringing together women employees from our Group companies and our female outside directors. During the event, participants experienced the Crossroad Diversity Game, engaging in group discussions to deepen their understanding of diverse perspectives and decision-making in both the workplace and everyday life. Participants shared positive feedback, commenting that “hearing opinions and ideas different from my own gave me new insights” and “the event provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on my own way of working and career.” The event proved to be a meaningful and enriching experience for all involved.

Daicel regularly holds roundtable discussions with female outside directors to promote the career development of female managers.

As part of our efforts to support the career development of female employees, we have introduced a young mentor system and hold regular dialogues with senior employees (mentors).

Daicel has introduced PeerCross, a career development support service for working mothers, to support the mid- to long-term career development of female employees.

“. The NEW Growth Strategy” announced by KEIDANREN (Business Federation) in November 2020 focuses on “Diversity and Inclusion (D&I)” as a key driver for achieving sustainable growth. It upholds the goal of raising the ratio of female executives to 30% or more by 2030. Daicel declared its support for this goal on April 5, 2021.

This is a goal based on the “. The NEW Growth Strategy” announced by KEIDANREN in November 2020, and it is guided by the following four points.

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As of March 31, 2026, there are 35 non-Japanese employees working at Daicel Group companies in Japan. Daicel provides the following assistance when hiring non-Japanese employees.

Daicel systematically hires persons with disabilities and creates workplace environments that enable them to fully demonstrate their individual abilities. This is done to fulfill our social responsibility of maintaining the ratio of persons with disabilities in the total workforce above the statutory employment rate and also to provide support so that persons with disabilities can contribute as members of society.

As of June 1, 2026, the rate of persons with disabilities in the total workforce was 2.74% (non-consolidated), which is above the statutory requirement.^* We aim to ensure that each individual can contribute in the best possible way at each worksite.

Following the previous year, we held Sustainable Week and Diversity Week concurrently in FY2025. Under the theme of “Integration and Engagement in Multicultural Organizations,” Professor Norihiko Takeuchi of Waseda University delivered a special lecture. From a diversity perspective, Professor Takeuchi spoke on topics such as the nature of invisible barriers within organizations, the principles of organizational transformation, and evolving work performance and boundary-spanning behavior in increasingly diverse workplaces. Approximately 100 employees participated in the session.

In addition, we organized a Dementia Awareness Experience Program, where participants used VR goggles to experience the world from the perspective of a person living with dementia. This provided a valuable opportunity to deepen their understanding of dementia and the challenges faced by those affected. We will continue to promote DE&I initiatives across our entire Group and foster a more inclusive and diverse workplace environment.

As part of our DE&I initiatives, we held “Unconscious Bias Training” and a “Work-life Balance Seminar for Caregiving” in FY2025/3. The “Unconscious Bias Training” involved learning about common cognitive biases and reflecting on our own actions. Through group work, participants gained awareness of their own unconscious biases and deepened their practical understanding.

Daicel has a continuous employment system in place that allows employees who have reached the retirement age of 60 to continue working for the Company and use their extensive knowledge and experience in the workforce. In accordance with the revised Law Concerning Stabilization of Employment of Older Persons, the system applies to employees seeking to continue to work to the age of 65. In FY2026/3, 122 out of 126 employees who reached the retirement age were re-employed under the system, and 445 senior employees are currently working at the Company after passing their retirement age as of March 31, 2026. Daicel will continue to maintain working environments where veteran employees can make use of their careers, knowledge, and experience.

Daicel has held Life Planning Seminars for employees between the ages of 55 and 59, covering topics related to their post-retirement life, such as health and receiving pensions. They consist of a Health Care Seminar from a corporate health nurse, explanations about the severance pay system and continuous employment system from the Human Resources Group, and a Second Life Seminar and a Defined Contribution Pension Seminar by Nippon Life Insurance Company. We are engaged in proactive efforts to ensure that our retirees have the information they need to lead active and fulfilling lives.

The Daicel Group aims to create attractive workplaces in which every employee, including those identifying as LGBTQ, can fully demonstrate their abilities. We set up an LGBTQ consultation desk in April 2020 toward creating an attractive workplace for all employees. The Daicel Group is promoting conversations with their LGBTQ employees. For example, as a result of such discussions, the changing room policy was adjusted to accommodate transgender needs.

In June 2025, we held a seminar on same-sex marriage, providing employees with an opportunity to learn about its legal status and to consider the issues and challenges surrounding it.

In order to further create an environment where everyone can work in their own way, the Daicel Group introduced a same-sex partnership system on April 1, 2023, which stipulates that the Daicel Group regards the same-sex partners of employees as equivalent to legally married spouses, and made it possible to apply for various allowances and benefits under relevant rules.

In FY2026/3, we received the highest "Three-Star Rating” under the "Osaka City LGBT Leading Company Certification System."

We participate in the LGBT-Ally Project organized by OUT JAPAN Co., Ltd.