The TOMY Group Code of Conduct includes the commitment to “respect individuality and foster initiative and creativity” based on our Founding Philosophy of “Let’s excite the world’s markets with our outstanding products. Our sincerity and diligence will contribute to society and lead to our own success and happiness.” We believe that new concepts that excite the world’s markets and thrill both children and adults are born from the individuality and skill of each employee, and teamwork that respects diverse values.
Responsible for overseas business activities, TOMY International (TI) recognizes the importance of each of these key attributes. Guided by this understanding, TI established a committee to promote diversity and inclusion. While extending well beyond national boundaries, this initiative is centered in the U.S., U.K., and Europe. Here, we introduce the wide array of activities undertaken by the Committee.
TOMY International
DEI Committee website
The beginning of the DEI
(Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion)
Committee
The DEI mission envisioned by TOMY International Chairman Pete Henseler and President Greg Kilrea encompasses a few key elements:
An equitable workplace where talent can shine through and everyone has a chance to progress and achieve success.
A workforce that’s inclusive as the result of active efforts to create an environment where all people feel they can fully participate and where your ideas are valued.
A DEI mission that translates through to the global TOMY International marketplace, where our workforce and the products we market serve the needs of our diverse consumers.
And so the journey began in August 2020 with the creation of the DEI Steering Committee.
DEI LOGO
Our logo represents a sun that provides light while delivering benefits to all those around us. The smiling character in the center is our TOMY mascot, NOHOHONZOKU, who personifies happiness and doing good things for others. The colored lines represent all the different types of people we are, each radiating outwards to engage others in TOMY’s DEI mission.
DEI MISSION
DEI Committee Activities
The DEI activities are spearheaded by a steering committee/sub-committee structure comprised of a total 31 members. Six members from TOMY International’s overseas network that extends from North America to Europe, make up the DEI Steering Committee, which meets monthly to review activities and plans. Providing additional support, 25 volunteers with diverse backgrounds recruited from within the Group make up four supplementary sub-committees. Drawing from an internal survey aimed at further reinforcing DEI activities, the DEI Committee identified the following four pillars with advice from an outside consulting firm.
MESSAGE
―From what perspective do you think that diversity is important at TOMY International?
Having a diverse workforce gives us access to different viewpoints and allows us to uncover innovations and ideas that we might otherwise miss. It is also important to recognize that our mission is to make all of the children of the world smile. Having employees who mirror the diversity of our consumers is a great way to bring that mission to reality.
―Please tell us about any difficulties you have encountered, and conversely any positive or rewarding experiences you have had in promoting DEI activities.
Our focus on DEI began during the lockdown. Despite this difficult environment, the passion and commitment of committee members and volunteers helped overcome any difficulties. As a first step, we launched an external DEI online training program for all employees. Utilizing the Paradigm Reach platform, training covers a wide range of topics including unconscious bias and allyship. I believe this initiative is a resounding success. Also available on a remote basis, the program has attracted considerable interest from employees. In a bid to further deepen communication, the content of training has been raised as a topic for discussion during team meetings. These discussions provide a forum for the exchange of opinions and ideas. Building on this, we are working to further instill the DEI concept within the Group through a host of measures. This includes the distribution of a monthly DEI newsletter, partnering with the Women in Toys (WIT) global community, launching our first internship website, and engaging in volunteer activities in support of the local communities at each office.
―Have you noticed any changes internally as a result of DEI activities?
In promoting DEI activities, we have witnessed certain changes within the Group. In addition to DEI now featuring as an objective in yearly performance appraisals, other initiatives include the introduction of a transgender policy in the Group’s handbook. Moreover, we are designing products with more universal appeal, and anticipate realizing outputs in the form of future products and services.
ACTIVITIES
Here are some specifics
about what kind of activities
we are involved in!
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From a communication perspective, we publish and issue an internal monthly DEI newsletter in-house. These are emailed to all TOMY International members, accessible through One TOMY, and displayed in offices. The content of each newsletter is designed to deepen the reader’s knowledge of such specific DEI topics as PRIDE, mental health, and hanami (cherry blossom viewing), which correspond to the event of a particular month.
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Tomy International (TI) engages in community-based volunteer activities. When undertaking an activity, volunteers wear original
t-shirts in order to spread the word about each endeavor.TI is also a proud sponsor of Women In Toys (WIT), which champions the advancement of women through leadership, networking, and educational opportunities.
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Philanthropic Activities
- ・Donations
- ・Toy donations
- ・Charity events, etc.
Select Volunteer Activities
We invited participants from TI in the December 2021 DEI Newsletter.
The following initiatives were implemented for future activities and volunteer organizations.- ・Exeter : Food bank in Sidmouth, helping pack goods
- ・Brooklands : Yorda Adventures, play project: helping build equipment
- ・Oakbrook : The TOMY team helped clear up a house which had been damaged and flooded as part of a local community restoration project
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Sponsorships
Home : Women in Toys
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As a diverse organization, we have utilized multiple tools to embrace DEI as a core value of both our business and people. We recently launched a DEI-focused internship program, working with local universities and education centers to identify diverse talent for our company and teams.
TOMY Internship website
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Employee Training
Our Paradigm Reach training gives employees access to tools that educate, providing them with a better understanding of the importance and benefits of DEI on both a personal and professional level.
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Employee Engagement
In the UK, we conduct an employee engagement survey, to ascertain the level of staff satisfaction, every two years. We are thrilled that DEI is now part of this year’s survey and the results will provide a better understanding of people’s views on DEI.
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In Closing by TOMY International
To summarize, DEI is an area of strategic importance to our business. Accordingly, we are focusing on employee education and training.
We have also invested time and human resources through the DEI Committee , actively making TOMY a DEI friendly workplace.
DEI is an ongoing journey, and we are on that development path now. We are committed to putting DEI at the center of our organization while embedding DEI throughout the employee experience, and also with both our consumers and stakeholders.
