Extension of All Employee Benefits Systems to Cover Same-Sex Partners

From April 1, 2018, the NTT Group (NTT, NTT East, NTT West, NTT Communications, NTT DOCOMO, NTT DATA, NTT COMWARE, NTT Facilities and most of their Group companies in Japan) will extend all its employee benefits systems relating to spouses and their families to cover same-sex partners.

In order to respond to market changes and increasingly diverse customer requirements and remain a "Value Partner" that customers continue to select, the NTT Group believes that it is of crucial importance to generate innovation and enhance its corporate capabilities by employing and utilizing a diverse range of personnel. The Group therefore regards diversity and inclusion as a key business strategy.

The NTT Group is already taking a range of measures to ensure diversity and inclusion. Such measures include fostering understanding of issues relating to LGBT individuals and other sexual minorities to ensure that its organizations enable everybody, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, to be themselves as they live and work. Since April 2016, some of the Group's employee benefits systems, such as that for marriage leave, have covered same-sex partners with the same relationship to an employee as a spouse.

As a result of such initiatives, 16 NTT Group companies were accredited under the PRIDE Index 2017 created by a voluntary association called "work with Pride." This included receipt of a "Gold" rating by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (the Group's holding company).

From April 1, 2018, the NTT Group will further progress its efforts to create an environment where everybody can work with peace of mind by extending all its employee allowances and benefits systems relating to spouses and their families to cover same-sex partners.

Examples of systems to be extended to same-sex partners

Leave-related	Leave for childcare or when a partner gives birth, leave to nurse or care for a partner or a member of a partner's family, in addition to marriage and bereavement leave
Allowances-related	Dependent(s) allowance, unaccompanied assignment allowance, etc.
Benefits-related	Provision of company accommodation, etc., in addition to congratulatory/condolence money and telegrams

The NTT Group will continue its efforts to create workplaces where a diverse range of personnel can cooperate and each individual can perform to the best of their ability.