Sustainability

Toward a Gender-Equal World

As a global leader in HR matching platforms, Recruit Group believes that our data and technology can contribute to realize fairer, more equitable workplaces and hiring. Together with UN Women and other global change-makers, we will accelerate social transformation by advocating gender equality and operationalizing it into our business.

Closing the Gender Gap Together with Global Leaders

Committing to the Women's Empowerment Principles*1

In February 2022, Recruit Group endorsed the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs)*1, a set of action principles developed jointly by the UN Global Compact and UN Women to proactively promote the advancement of women.

A logo of the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs)

Becoming a #HeForShe*2 Alliance Corporate Champion

In conjunction with our support for #HeForShe*2, the global solidarity movement for gender equality led by the United Nations entity, UN Women, we announced a further commitment to gender equality by becoming a HeForShe corporate champion*3 in 2022.

Learn more about the partnership

A logo of the HeForShe Alliance

Recruit Holdings' CEO, Hisayuki “Deko” Idekoba took to the stage at the 2022 HeForShe Summit to assert the company’s commitment to gender equality in front of an international audience of global leaders from government, business, and academia.

A thumbnail of Recruit Holdings CEO Hisayuki “Deko” Idekoba’s speech at the HeForShe Summit 2022. Click to play.

Commitment from Our Top Leaders

An advocate for G20 EMPOWER, the G20 alliance for the empowerment and progression of women’s economic representation

G20 EMPOWER represents a cooperative partnership between G20 governments and private sector entities, with the shared objective of enhancing the involvement of women in decision-making positions. Recruit Holdings firmly recognizes the importance of G20 EMPOWER and actively serves as an advocate company, supporting G20 leaders by sharing best practices and actively participating in educational sessions.

Read the G20 EMPOWER Best Practices Playbook 2023

Engaging in Dialogue with Capital Markets

To accelerate progress toward gender equity, we firmly believe that encouraging companies to express the expectations from capital markets plays a pivotal role. As a result, Recruit Holdings proactively participates in dialogues with investors, where discussions revolve around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) topics, including gender diversity.

We have garnered keen interest from global capital markets concerning our strategies for advancing gender-based DEI in Japan, a region characterized by significant gender disparities. This has opened doors for us to showcase our initiatives at events catering to investors.

Participated in "Gender and DE&I: Market expectations and Japanese leading companies ‘footprint’" hosted by JP Morgan Securities Japan Co., Ltd.

During the event, we introduced our DEI initiatives to an audience of nearly 160 participants, primarily consisting of institutional investors. We discussed our management principles, emphasizing our commitment to harness the potential of diverse individuals. We also delved into the rationale behind our decision to incorporate gender parity as one of our sustainability goals, and addressed the challenges and experiences to overcome the 30% threshold for women managers in Japan. We elaborated on specific measures taken within each SBU to attain gender parity and our broader contribution to fostering gender equity in society.

A thumbnail of Recruit Holdings Presentation Video: Bring out the Best in People by Embracing Diversity. Click to play.

Initiatives Through Businesses

HR Technology SBU

DEI efforts to drive employers to open up job opportunities for all

To foster DEI in the workplace, which naturally includes addressing gender disparities, companies must prioritize transparency, acknowledge the existing gaps between their DEI goals and the current status and take concrete actions to close these gaps. HR Technology SBU plays a critical role in providing companies with data on the outcomes of their DEI efforts; Indeed’s Work Wellbeing Score and Glassdoor’s Equity Xray enable employees to provide feedback on organizations' efforts and reputation for promoting DEI, including gender parity efforts.

Learn more about the initiatives of HR Technology SBU

Matching & Solutions SBU

Supporting "Business for Marriage Equality”

Recruit strives to improve the working environment for LGBTQ+ employees and conducts company-wide educational activities and initiatives, including “Business for Marriage Equality.” By endorsing programs such as this, Recruit is contributing to realizing a society where individuals can be free to determine their own lives.

Recruit also launched the "SOGI Workshop" in FY2023 for employees involved in the creation of services and products. By initiating these workshops, we aspire to build teams capable of making meaningful contributions to create a more inclusive society through business endeavors in the future.

Read more about Recruit’s initiatives toward marriage equality (Japanese only)

Efforts toward gender equality in the STEM field

Recruit aligns with the University of Tokyo's Metaverse School of Engineering commitment to advancing diversity in STEM talent development and provides support for career development leveraging expertise in talent education and technology domains.

Read more about University of Tokyo's Metaverse School of Engineering (Japanese only)

Staffing SBU

Putting people first, helping them thrive, and ensuring a better future for everyone is what drives our people at Staffing SBU. RGF Connect, a global social program led by RGF Staffing, was designed and launched through this commitment to such principles. The following projects under RGF Connect aim to contribute to workplace diversity around the world, specifically aimed at women.

Providing career pathways for women experiencing inequality in Australia

RGF Staffing APEJ is on a mission to provide career pathways for women experiencing inequity by building confidence and breaking constraints. Through the program, RGF Staffing APEJ helps employers to recruit Australian women based on their lived experience and key traits that are sought by employers. Using interviews, psychometric assessments, group training, mentoring and post-placement support, it connects women to meaningful career opportunities to change the labor market for the better.

A thumbnail introducing the RGF Staffing APEJ initiative to support employment opportunities for women facing barriers. Click to play.

Supporting single mothers find flexible and meaningful opportunities

Single mothers in Japan face time constraints in balancing work and child care while lacking adequate administrative support. This makes it difficult for them to obtain career advancement opportunities, which in turn leads to financial difficulties. Staff Service Group understands these challenges faced by single mothers and aims to create an environment that makes it easier for them to advance their careers by providing free skill enhancement opportunities, job transition support, and follow-up services during employment.

  1. Established by UN Women and UN Global Compact, the WEPs are a set of principles offering guidance to business on how to promote gender equality and women's empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. It serves as a practical guide for companies to examine and analyze their current practices, standards and behaviors.
  2. HeForShe is a movement for the realization of gender equality that UN Women has been promoting globally since 2014. It provides an opportunity for all people in the world, including men, to express their commitment and support for the realization of a gender-equal society.
  3. Champions are an ambitious group of trailblazers in the HeForShe Alliance across a broad set of fields, with tangible commitments focused on transformative change across countries, companies, and communities. Through HeForShe Alliance, champions join forces as role models and develop scalable and shareable solutions for gender equality's most pressing challenges. They are required to set ambitious goals for gender equality, both individually and for the organization they lead as a whole, and to express their commitment to achieving these goals. In addition to achieving gender equality within their own organizations, Champions are expected to establish collaborative programs with UN Women, host awareness-raising activities and make investments to solve issues in their relevant industries and regions, regularly report on the progress of their initiatives, and serve as practical role models in promoting equality.