Nissan Speaking out on Diversity at Work

Berlin (ots/PRNewswire) - Nissan Motor Company is participating in
the 2007 Global Summit of Women held in Berlin, Germany from June
14-16th. Ms. Yukiko Yoshimaru, general manager of Nissan's Diversity
Development Office, today spoke at the "Leaders' Voices in the
Work/Family Debate" dialogue session, highlighting Nissan's diversity
practices at the workplace within the context of Japan's corporate
environment.

Ms. Yoshimaru also drew on some of the key learnings and synergies
derived from the Renault-Nissan Alliance that has benefited Nissan's
diversity efforts.

"At Nissan, we have taken a conscientious and deliberate effort to
promote diversity because the company firmly believes that diversity
can be leveraged as a competitive advantage that could contribute
directly to the company's growth and profitability," said Yoshimaru.
"This commitment to diversity is clearly demonstrated from our senior
most management and our CEO Carlos Ghosn in particular is a very
proactive champion of diversity."

In Japan, cultural norms have influenced the traditional role of
women with societal expectations focused on the role of women as the
"care-giver" within the family unit. Moreover, the automotive
industry is still very much a male-oriented, with women at management
positions representing 0.8% of Japan's auto-sector.

"The combination of these factors creates a very challenging
environment for an automaker in Japan, in terms of changing mindsets
and attitudes within the workplace," observed Yoshimaru. "You need to
demonstrate and quantify how diversity can add value to the
organization as a whole."

At Nissan in Japan, the ratio of women at management level is 4%
(as of April 2007), which although higher than the current industry
average does not, according to Yoshimaru, represent the potential of
Nissan. The company continues to take active measures to improve this
ratio and to create more opportunities for women to advance their
careers in the company.

Some of the diversity initiatives already implemented at Nissan in
Japan include:

- Maternity leave policy above the legal requirement (up to
two-years of age for the child)

- Shorter and flexible working hours for mothers (up to 3 hours
reduction per day)

- Day-care nursery centers at the workplace

- Mobile/tele-working arrangement

Nissan's diversity initiatives have resulted in significant
improvements:

- Number of women employee attrition due to marriage,
child-bearing and childcare reasons has dramatically decreased by
half in the past three years.

- The percentage of female decision makers at management levels is
expected to triple from 1.6% to 5% within three years (FY2005 -
2007). This figure is significantly higher than the overall
manufacturing industry's average for women managers at 1.9%.

In Japan, Nissan is already well-acknowledged as a leader in
diversity advocacy. Amongst its many accolades, Nissan has been
awarded by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for its
contributions to the advancement of women and is a recipient of the
reputable "Nikkei Childcare Support Award".

Note to Editor: The Global Summit of Women is celebrating its 17h
year of bringing together women leaders in business, government, the
professions and enterprises of all sizes. Informally called the
'Davos for Women' by past delegates, the Summit is basically a
business meeting with a development angle, and it so happens the
participants are women. The Summit focuses primarily on promoting
women's economic advancement and provides the forum for exchanges of
winning strategies and successful best practices rather than
exploring well-known and well-researched barriers that women face.
The audience divides evenly between corporate executives, women
entrepreneurs, government and business NGO leaders. For more
information on the 2007 Summit in Germany, please log on to
www.globewomen.com.

For more information, contact:
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Communications and CSR Department
Global Communications and CSR Division
Tel:+81-(0)3-5565-2141
http://press.nissan-global.com/EN

ots Originaltext: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For more information, contact: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd, Communications
and CSR Department, Global Communications and CSR Division,
Tel:+81-(0)3-5565-2141, http://press.nissan-global.com/EN


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