Report on Panasonic’s Participation in Rainbow Festa! 2023

Kansai Rainbow Parade

Panasonic Group has participated in the Kansai Rainbow Parade for two consecutive years. The Group secretariat of this event included the members from the Panasonic Rainbow Network (PRN), a community of LGBTQ persons and their allies (supporters). The total number of participants from the Group added up to about 250, including Panasonic employees with their families and friends, wearing T-shirts with the rainbow-colored Group logo.

Regardless of the untimely rain, the participants shared their raincoats or plastic bags and started with smiles on their faces! They marched down the main avenues with other teams and people along the load chanting “Happy Pride!” and waving their rainbow-colored flags for about 90 minutes.

Photo: A scene from the Kansai Rainbow Parade

Voices from Participants

Employee with their family

Illustration: Image of an adult and a child

I brought my daughters as I wish they learn about the significance of having an awareness of the differences between each of us. I hope that her experience today with so many people can someday turn out to be any kind of help for her if she has trouble in relationships with her friends.

In April, a friend of mine in the company asked me to join the Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2023. At that time, I was impressed with the atmosphere there, which was wonderful with participants talking and helpful to each other. That’s why I thought of taking part in the Parade here in Osaka. This is a great occasion for me as I can see a lot of people face to face, such as those whom I hardly have much opportunity to meet due to their factory shift. I do recommend many people know and savor the joy of being here with a lot of colleagues and people!

Employee who participated for the first time

Employee who also participated in 2022

Until the year before last, the Rainbow Parade was a minor event, not widely known among employees. But since last year, it has become an official event of the Panasonic Group. A great surprise for me is that the number of participants this year is over 200 from 30 of the last year! I feel a sense of a “swell” in the understanding of LGBTQ within the company, as well as an increase in the number of colleagues who are showing interest or understanding of the issue.

The corporate culture of our workplace is still not open enough to LGBTQ, which sometimes makes us depressed. But today we feel like our eyes are open to see so many allies here at the event who are willing to support us. What you act as allies cheers people up. Each action might be a small step. However, the accumulation of the tiny steps can bring a great leap to make a workplace where anyone can work with the feeling of psychological safety.

Employees who identify as LGBTQ

I brought my daughters as I wish they learn about the significance of having an awareness of the differences between each of us. I hope that her experience today with so many people can someday turn out to be any kind of help for her if she has trouble in relationships with her friends.

Employee with their family

In April, a friend of mine in the company asked me to join the Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2023. At that time, I was impressed with the atmosphere there, which was wonderful with participants talking and helpful to each other. That’s why I thought of taking part in the Parade here in Osaka. This is a great occasion for me as I can see a lot of people face to face, such as those whom I hardly have much opportunity to meet due to their factory shift. I do recommend many people know and savor the joy of being here with a lot of colleagues and people!

Employee who participated for the first time

Until the year before last, the Rainbow Parade was a minor event, not widely known among employees. But since last year, it has become an official event of the Panasonic Group. A great surprise for me is that the number of participants this year is over 200 from 30 of the last year! I feel a sense of a “swell” in the understanding of LGBTQ within the company, as well as an increase in the number of colleagues who are showing interest or understanding of the issue.

Employee who also participated in 2022

The corporate culture of our workplace is still not open enough to LGBTQ, which sometimes makes us depressed. But today we feel like our eyes are open to see so many allies here at the event who are willing to support us. What you act as allies cheers people up. Each action might be a small step. However, the accumulation of the tiny steps can bring a great leap to make a workplace where anyone can work with the feeling of psychological safety.

Employees who identify as LGBTQ

Voices from Executives

Although it was a parade through the rain, I was impressed by the cheerful atmosphere of people, not only our fellow Group employees but also other organizations and people on the streets. I saw some fellow employees bring their families, which is good because children can learn how DEI is an important issue at the earliest stage of life. We are in the age the DEI is something we should include in our corporate culture. I hope every employee will think about what they can do to make workplaces where everyone can work as they are without any reservations to others.

Shinji Sakamoto
CEO
Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd.

Although it was a parade through the rain, I was impressed by the cheerful atmosphere of people, not only our fellow Group employees but also other organizations and people on the streets. I saw some fellow employees bring their families, which is good because children can learn how DEI is an important issue at the earliest stage of life. We are in the age the DEI is something we should include in our corporate culture. I hope every employee will think about what they can do to make workplaces where everyone can work as they are without any reservations to others.

Shinji Sakamoto
CEO
Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd.

A company is a place where different people gather for a certain project to move forward. We cannot expect diverse opinions from people unless a company supplies each employee with an environment where they can work with comfort. We have more opportunities to think about DEI. There is no need to adhere to the definition of the words. Starting from the awareness and actions to respect the diversity of others would be a better way. Our daily actions matter in respecting, knowing, and understanding differences among us.

Akira Toyoshima
CEO
Panasonic Entertainment & Communication Corporation

A company is a place where different people gather for a certain project to move forward. We cannot expect diverse opinions from people unless a company supplies each employee with an environment where they can work with comfort. We have more opportunities to think about DEI. There is no need to adhere to the definition of the words. Starting from the awareness and actions to respect the diversity of others would be a better way. Our daily actions matter in respecting, knowing, and understanding differences among us.

Akira Toyoshima
CEO
Panasonic Entertainment & Communication Corporation

The parade gave us a good opportunity to get together with the participants and people who cheered us across from the streets, chanting the “Happy Pride!” slogan. The first step of learning DEI starts when we meet so many diverse people. One of our Group’s business strategies, collective wisdom, refers to the way to seek and find out the best answer through opinions from diverse people, which is the spirit of DEI. On this occasion, I deeply felt the importance of accepting differences and drawing out the best from the diversity and characteristics of each individual.

Yutaka Abe
Senior Managing Executive Officer
Panasonic Information Systems Co., Ltd.

The parade gave us a good opportunity to get together with the participants and people who cheered us across from the streets, chanting the “Happy Pride!” slogan. The first step of learning DEI starts when we meet so many diverse people. One of our Group’s business strategies, collective wisdom, refers to the way to seek and find out the best answer through opinions from diverse people, which is the spirit of DEI. On this occasion, I deeply felt the importance of accepting differences and drawing out the best from the diversity and characteristics of each individual.

Yutaka Abe
Senior Managing Executive Officer
Panasonic Information Systems Co., Ltd.

Back to “Support for Every Individual: LGBTQ”

What Is “Rainbow Festa!”?

Kansai Rainbow Parade

Voices from Participants

Voices from Executives