Diversity Drives Innovation at SK hynix

 

As one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, SK hynix has always been committed to delivering innovation and excellence. At the core of our breakthrough technologies and products is a global team of employees from diverse backgrounds and cultures, each with their unique perspectives, experiences, and expertise.

To mark Global Diversity Awareness Month, which celebrates the diversity of minds and beliefs held by all cultures around the world, let’s take a look at how SK hynix is fostering a corporate culture of inclusion, and creating an environment in which every employee feels valued and respected.

Diversity Is Policy

“SK hynix strives to enhance both corporate culture and technological competitiveness, with diversity at the heart of maintaining such a talented workforce,” said Sang Kyu Shin, Head of Corporate Culture at SK hynix. “As a global company, I am convinced that securing and fostering human resources that include people from diverse backgrounds, regardless of their gender, race, education, religion and other, is a critical factor to our long-term competitiveness.”

 

 

In accordance with PRISM, SK hynix’s goals by 2030 include strengthening the diversity of governance with a gender and nationality diversity ratio to at least 30 percent, tripling the ratio of women in executive positions, ensuring at least 10 percent of team leaders are women¹, and supporting local communities by helping create 1,000 jobs for people with disabilities or low incomes².

 

 

In selecting candidates for specific jobs, SK hynix focuses on the competencies and expertise that are required for the role. As of 2022, at least 94.5 percent of people are hired for permanent positions, providing a stable and secure environment in which people can work.

Empowering Women

SK hynix is committed to gender equality. It’s no secret that, historically, semiconductor companies worldwide have been characterized by a lack of gender diversity. According to a study by GSA and Accenture, women represent 10-25 percent of the entire semiconductor workforce, with the majority of companies still having less than 1 percent of women in director roles. As an industry leader, SK hynix recognizes the importance of addressing this issue head on and setting a standard. In doing so, it is breaking down barriers and redefining workplace culture and attitudes both in Korea, where the company is headquartered, and throughout operations worldwide.

At SK hynix, 26.3 percent of managers³ are female⁴, and the company is making every effort to increase this ratio. This includes through the Women in Leadership Program (WLP), which supports and encourages the growth of female employees across the SK Group. The training program includes meetings with female executives from SK Group companies, who serve as positive role models for the participants to grow within the company. Furthermore, the company is preparing to sign the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) CEO Statement of Support to demonstrate its commitment to empowering women, from nurturing female leaders to eliminating gender discrimination in the workplace.

SK hynix is also launching initiatives aimed at helping families balance work and life. This includes a three-month leave for taking care of children entering elementary school, extending shortened working hours during pregnancy, and implementing infertility treatment benefits and leave policies.

 

Recognizing Junior Talent

When a person leaves their job within several years of joining a company, the Korean job market often requires that they start over as a new recruit. SK hynix believes such practices have no place in the modern workplace. The Junior Talent program⁵, introduced in 2021, recognizes the experience that people have accrued even if their work history is only a few years, and supports them in their new jobs accordingly. The company organizes large-scale job fairs three times a year to promote the Junior Talent program.

 

 

In October 2021, SK Group signed a partnership with the Korean government to participate in the Youth Hope ON project. The project aims to create 32,000 jobs for young people from various backgrounds. SK hynix is committed to fostering semiconductor talent, recruiting young people from underprivileged communities and nurturing the innovative young entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Underrepresented Communities Matter

SK hynix takes great pride in its commitment to ensuring the inclusion of underrepresented groups within its global operation, which includes a non-discriminatory recruitment process. Every effort is made to accommodate employees’ personal needs so that they can perform to their full potential.

 

 

As part of ongoing efforts to recruit people from all backgrounds, SK hynix aims to create 1,000 jobs by 2030 for people with disabilities or from low-income households to support local communities⁶.

The company takes things a step further with its Happymore subsidiary⁷. Happymore is a workshop for people with disabilities established in 2016, where employees make and clean smocks used in semiconductor cleanrooms. As of 2021, 405 persons with disabilities worked as full-time employees, making this the nation’s largest operation of its kind. Happymore also runs diverse programs to support and motivate workers so they can continue to grow into independent professions. Thanks for these efforts, Happymore was selected as an Exemplary Workplace by the Korean government in 2021.

Dedicated To Becoming a Global Top-tier Company

Based on the PRISM framework, in 2021, SK hynix achieved 11 percent women representation on its Board of Directors, created 918 jobs for people with disabilities and low-income households⁸, and generated KRW 120.3 billion in social contribution value. These are just some of the ways in which SK hynix is improving the company, and will strive to achieve even greater targets in 2022 and beyond.

SK hynix remains committed to bringing the best people on board without discrimination, and bringing the best out of them. As proud as the company is of its progress and success, SK hynix does not want to stop here and will continue on its journey to become a global top-tier company that sets the standard in the industry, and leads the way.

 

^1~2Figures from domestic sites

³Manager positions at SK hynix include Director (excluding Executive Director), Professional Leader (PL), Independent Part Leader, Field Manager, and Line Leader.

^4~8Figures from domestic sites