To promote inclusion and cultural diversity in organizations, we created the Cultural Diversity Index, where organizations and corporations that commit to inclusion are valued.
Challenges
Lively working environment for everyone
To address Japan’s labor shortage, more workers with refugee and foreign backgrounds are entering the workforce. Japanese feel the difficulties in working together due to the difference in language and culture, which create various barriers.
What we do
Towards cultural diversity and inclusion in organizations
We create a social inclusion guideline that focuses on the cultural diversity of organizations and verify corporations accordingly. Also, we conduct a research study on the social impact of such verification.
Index formulation: Cultural Diversity Index
The Cultural Diversity Index consists of 39 items in total which are divided into the following seven categories, “Declaration of action” “External appeal” “Recruitment/ internship” “Work environment” “Fostering organizational culture and climate” “Corporate social contribution” and “Improvement processes”.
Corporate verification
Once a year, we verify all corporations and organizations based on the Cultural Diversity Index.
Research study
We partnered with Tokyo University to conduct a research study on the social impact of such verification.
Pledge
Promoting Workplace Diversity in Japan with the Cultural Diversity Index Initiative
We are committed to promoting cultural diversity and inclusivity in the workplace, especially for refugees and foreign-rooted individuals. Drawing inspiration from the "Cultural Diversity Index" developed by a team led by the certified NPO "Living in Peace", we aim to encourage companies to utilize this index as a benchmark for creating a more inclusive work environment. The index focuses on various aspects such as ethnicity, race, skin color, cultural background, customs, and language ensuring that diverse individuals can work comfortably and effectively. Our pledge is to call upon companies to adopt the Cultural Diversity Index and establish a system to recognize their contributions towards fostering a multicultural work environment. This initiative is particularly relevant given the increasing number of foreign-rooted individuals in Japan, which stood at 3.07 million by the end of 2022. The target beneficiaries of this pledge are refugees and foreign-rooted workers in Japan, with a special emphasis on ensuring they face no disadvantages due to language or cultural barriers. We aim to reach out to at least 20 companies within the next year to adopt and implement the Cultural Diversity Index.
Members
- Yiqun Gong
Representative Director, Living in Peace - Fumiko Takahashi
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Area Studies, University of Tokyo - Go Ito
PERSOL Career Co., Ltd. - Sae Tamagawa
Living in Peace - Katsunari Kurumizawa
Living in Peace - Masaru Ito
Living in Peace - Ayaka Ohashi
Living in Peace - Tomoko Joko
Living in Peace
