Japanese automotive giant Toyota Motor Corporation has offered promotion to more foreigners to senior posts. Europe chief Didier Leroy has been appointed executive vice president by the world's biggest automaker.

Leroy will be one of six executive vice presidents (EVP) at Toyota. Julie Hamp, a senior official at Toyota Motor North America will be made a managing officer and will also become first female executive.

An African-American general counsel in North America, Christopher Reynolds is also going to hold the post of a managing officer. Promotion of Hamp marks a step in Japanese automaker's move to reduce the gender gap in the workplace. Corporate Japan has been asked to appoint women to 30% of top jobs by 2020.

Researcher McKinsey said that presently women account for 11% of mid-to-senior level management in Japan and also account 1% of executive committee members. At present, seven of 57 executives of Toyota are foreign. By the changes that are due in June, the number will be increase to nine of 58.

Presently, Frenchman Leroy is holding a post of a senior managing officer and chief executive of Toyota in Europe. It has been informed that Leroy is going to be accountable for all developed markets at Toyota, involving Japan and North America. Toyota said that it believes that talk between people of many backgrounds helps to creates new ideas and also helps in promotion of innovative ideas. The changes will help to make more efficient the company’s operations.

“By appointing talented people from affiliates outside Japan to executive positions, Toyota aims to foster innovation by enabling people from many different backgrounds to contribute and provide input”, said Toyota.