Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike awarded👀 SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, a company empowering women, wins the “Tokyo Women’s Participation Promotion Award Grand Prize!” Take a look behind the scenes at the award ceremony held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

Hello, this is Sunny-chan from the Corporate PRTeam!

This time, I’ll introduce some exciting news that came in at the end of the year🌞

SSUG has won the “Tokyo Women’s Participation Promotion Award Grand Prize!”🏆✨

With a female president and 60% of the team being female, SSUG has been dedicated to creating a comfortable working environment for women and promoting awareness externally.

As a result, the percentage of female managers is 44.7% (including team lead positions), and the percentage of female directors is 50%. These figures significantly exceed the average for Japanese companies, making SSUG a company where women can thrive🌸

So today, I’ll share with you the efforts made by SSUG so far and the highlights from the recent “Tokyo Women’s Participation Promotion Award” ceremony!

First, what is the Tokyo Women’s Participation Promotion Award?

The Tokyo Women’s Participation Promotion Award is presented by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to companies, organizations, and individuals who are working to promote women’s participation and advancement in society.

▼Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Citizens, Culture, and Sports Official Website | Tokyo Women’s Empowerment Award
https://www.seikatubunka.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/danjo/jokatsu/taisho.html

This time, SSUG was recognized for its unique welfare system supporting various lifestyles, such as egg freezing and AMH testing, as well as its efforts in promoting awareness and addressing women’s physical, mental, and social issues externally, leading to the award🌱

The initiatives of SSUG regarding “promotion of women’s participation and advancement.”

The unique welfare system “32 Benefits”

Based on the slogan “Lets Have Fun,” we established our unique welfare system in 2011 to enable our members to enjoy fulfilling ways of working and living.

“Heartbreak Holiday,” “Healthy Report Card,” “Partnership,” and more – our unique approach is evident throughout. Among these, the “Dear WOMAN Program” was established with the aim of supporting women’s wellness, and it has undergone several updates over time.

🕊The main updates to the “Dear WOMAN System”🕊
・Introduced the “egg freezing cost assistance” for the first time in a private company in Japan (July 2015)
・Added “cost assistance for AMH testing” (April 2022)
・Added “cost assistance for semen analysis” (July 2022)

※AMH testing (Anti-Müllerian Hormone testing: a blood test reflecting the ovarian reserve, which is an estimate of the number of follicles remaining in the ovaries).

Public awareness campaign “W society”

It is a project initiated by SSUG’s subsidiary, “Good＆Co.,Inc.” to address women’s physical, mental, and social challenges.

With the slogan “Changing Society, Changing Women’s Future,” various activities are carried out to ensure that each woman can live a “better” life amidst a range of lifestyle options. These activities include hosting free online seminars for working women and companies, organizing region-specific events in collaboration with local governments, and conducting awareness campaigns targeting the general female population on occasions like International Women’s Day.

Off to the presentation ceremony!🏆

Amidst the clear skies, the presentation ceremony for the “Year Tokyo Women’s Participation Promotion Award in 2024” was held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building!

Representatives from companies and organizations in Tokyo that are actively promoting women’s empowerment gathered, and even Sunny-chan felt a sense of anticipation and excitement👀

Governor Koike joined, and the presentation ceremony began. As the ceremony commenced, awards and plaques were presented, starting with the Grand Prize, followed by the Excellence Award and Special Award.

From SSUG, Ms. Tanimura, an executive officer and also the president of the group’s subsidiary, Good＆Co.,Inc., took the stage.
Governor Koike presented words of encouragement along with the certificate and plaque.

Sunny-chan was impressed by the efforts of various companies, regardless of size or business nature, such as initiatives to recruit women in industries with traditionally low female employee ratios like the painting sector, enhancement of educational systems to support the growth of female employees, and the introduction of welfare programs not yet implemented by SSUG.

It was a very educational experience!📚🖊

Afterward, there were congratulatory address from Governor Koike.（※Excerpts）

The Tokyo Women’s Participation Promotion Award is now in its 10th year, and with each passing year, the entries from participating companies and organizations seem to have grown in depth and scope. This suggests a rising interest and commitment to promoting women’s participation.

On the other hand, when we look at the world, we see that women’s participation is considered “normal” in many countries and societies. However, Japan is still behind in this regard. In response, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has been preparing various supports and new systems to ensure both women and men can actively participate. These resources are available for anyone to utilize.

In the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, there’s a recognition of the need for both psychological and conscious shifts. For instance, to change the perception of parental leave from simply “taking time off” to viewing childcare as a meaningful endeavor, they have employed the term “childcare leave” instead of “parental leave.” Additionally, efforts are being made to address unconscious biases through awareness campaigns aimed at changing ingrained stereotypes and assumptions.

Ensuring that women can thrive and shine brightly is beneficial not only for companies but also for society as a whole. I believe that all the recipients of this award have diligently pursued various activities and initiatives from different perspectives, resulting in their achievements.

Each company and organization has made various efforts towards promoting women’s participation. By sharing these initiatives collectively, we can contribute to a broader societal shift. I hope that you will continue to lead this momentum of change.

Among the initiatives of each company, Governor Koike was particularly impressed by our “32 Benefits,” specifically the “Heartbreak Leave” policy, remarking, “Just don’t take too many of them, okay? 💦” We received a good laugh from her comment.

A group photo with all the winning companies📸

The PR team members of SSUG📸

Since we were at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, we made a detour to the observatory. From the height of the 45th floor, we searched for the headquarters of SSUG 🔭

Looking out over the vast sky and numerous office buildings, the words of Governor Koike from earlier begin to sink in🌱

Each of the companies and organizations visible from here are making small efforts toward promoting women’s participation. When gathered together like this in “Tokyo” or “Japan,” we may contribute to changing society on a larger scale🕊✨

With such thoughts in mind, we returned to ouroffice🥚

SSUG will continue to strive towards creating an environment where each member, with different life stages and lifestyles, can realize their own way of living and working authentically!

And we will continue our efforts not only within our company but also to become a leading force in society, contributing to the overall improvement of women’s well-being in Japan🌸