With hopes of realising a society where women can truly shine, JFA has established 8 March as "JFA Women's Football Day." Here we have conducted an interview with Mr. UEDA Naohiro, Brand Strategy Manager of Japan National football team's supporting company, Credit Saison, about their philosophy on gender equality and women's empowerment.

――There is an impression that many women are playing active roles at your company. Since when and how did this corporate culture developed?

Ueda　The company was rebranded to Credit Saison Co., Ltd. in 1989, but even before that, when the Saison Counter service started its nationwide expansion under Seibu Credit, the company was actively hiring women. Currently, 80% of our employees are women. Because we are a female dominant company, our employees are able to continue with their career even after life events such as marriage and childbirth. This framework was constructed through many years of listening and implementing the employees’ voices, and it could be said that we have been the early adapters in the women's empowerment movement.

――So, it wasn’t like you have suddenly changed directions?

Ueda　Many of the shop-masters who are responsible for the Saison Counters, which function as customer service centres for our credit card products, are women, and that can be said for many of our other customer service centres and corporate headquarters. In order to provide an optimal working environment for working mothers, our company has allowed our employees to work in shifts, reduced work schedule, flextime, and telecommute.

――The company provides an environment where employees can easily take a leave of absence and return to work in case of life events such as marriage and childbirth.

Ueda　That is correct. There are nearly 30 employees working at my department, out of which four or five employees, including a manager, are currently working on a reduced work schedule or using flextime to take care of their child. Our company used to hire contractors and part-time employees, but starting from September 2017, every employee was converted to full-time employees. Labour cost has risen, but at the same time, we have implemented a mission-based grading system and consolidated various benefits, such as pension plans and bonuses. It may seem like we are providing preferential treatment for women, but we are actually striving to create an optimal working environment for all employees.

――The slogan for JFA Women's Football Day is, "Let's become the fairest country in the world." It can be said that your company has exemplified the message of “Striving to create a fair environment.”

Ueda　Our philosophy exists on the premise that opportunities should be given equally to everyone, regardless of their gender, age, and educational background. Working hours can be affected for both men and women, when they have someone to take care of. By providing options to telecommute and instating a system where employees can apply for paid vacations by the hour, we are creating an optimal working environment to satisfy the individual needs for both men and women. Some will opt to work more hours, while some will seek to balance work with family time. We hope to give that option to our employees by providing a flexible working environment. It is our company’s policy to recognise and acknowledge the individual working styles.

――Your company has been supporting the Japan national football team since 2001. Share us with the company’s sentiment regarding this support.

Ueda　We love sports and we always wanted to support the Japan national team as a company. Sports have the power of bringing great unity and excitement to people. The country gets energised especially when the Japan national team does well. With football being a national sport, we have been supporting the Japan national football team with hopes to give power to the players competing at the world stage. There were also demands to support club teams, but we will continue to stick with supporting the Japan national team.

――With 8 March being established as the "JFA Women's Football Day," how will your company be involved for this day?

Ueda　Our company has been a supporting company for a long time, and we support the purpose of this day. We have many female staffs and customers, so it means a lot for us to be given the opportunity to support women through this day established by the JFA. This year will be the inaugural year for us to be involved, and we hope to cooperate with JFA to take action for many years to come.

Credit Saison’s official website to support Japan national football team(Japanese website)

▼For more information on the "JFA Women's Football Day" projects and events, please visit the follwoing website.