Message
Statement
Gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion or creed, neurological characteristics, physical ability, ethnicity, nationality, race, and age are just a few of a countless number of diverse backgrounds that people working at Mercari have. Our goal is for everyone to have equal chances to do their best work, regardless of their background. We strive to create various policies and initiatives to make this a reality. We work towards promoting Diversity & Inclusion in true Mercari fashion, utilizing our unique combination of the experiences, knowledge, and views of our diverse members and our culture as a Japanese company.
Basic Human Rights Policy
Mercari Group commits to respecting the human rights of all people working at our organization, from executives to employees (including part-time and temporary employees), as well as subcontracted and outsourced partners.
Leaders’ Voices
“I was afraid of becoming a manager.” Finding Strength By Being Honest With Yourself Vol. 6: Anastasiia
Dedicate Your Life to Believing in Yourself Without Being Constrained by What is “Normal” Vol. 5: Maiko (@michael)
Leveraging My Experiences in Both the Majority and Minority to Achieve the “I” in D&I Vol. 4: Mark
How a “Nobody” Like Me Can Continue to Take On New Challenges Vol. 3: Yoko
Going Outside Your Domain and Enjoying Traveling Without a Goal Vol. 2: Ichihara
“I Believe in Your Ability”—A Phrase That Yields Huge Change for Organizations Vol. 1: Snehal
Diversity Within the Product: Why Mercari CEO Shintaro Yamada and Outside Director Makiko Shinoda Focus on D&I
“Diversity is an issue not just for Mercari, but for Japanese society at large” CEO Shintaro Yamada & Outside Director Makiko Shinoda emphasize the importance of dialogue
External Evaluation

PRIDE Index 2021
Mercari was awarded the gold rating in the PRIDE Index 2021 (an index used to evaluate LGBT+ friendly companies in Japan) in recognition of initiatives such as making special leave, congratulatory allowance, and other marriage benefits available to same-sex couples, as well as the implementation of an LGBT+ e-learning course for all company employees.

D&I Award 2021
Mercari received the Grand Prize, the highest award in the “Startup” category of the 2021 D&I Awards, in recognition of our efforts to eliminate inequality of opportunity and change society through initiatives such as our HR data analysis, IT career, and education programs, as well as our partnership with Kamiyama Marutgoto Kosen (tentative name).

Program
Mercari Restart Program
Mercari offers the Mercari Restart Program, a program that aims to support those who, due to personal reasons, had to interrupt their careers and want to return to the workforce.
Communities
Pride@Mercari
The Pride community holds study groups and events to raise awareness regarding sexual diversity, the LGBT+ community, and its allies (people who understand and support sexual diversity). We hold seminars with internal and external speakers, work on ways to improve our HR policies, and more.
What does the new shape of family and future of workplace look like? Mercari’s LGBT+ workshop
The story behind the Ally sticker: Mercari’s member-led D&I initiative
Materials
Mercari Pride E-Learning
Led by the internal community Pride@Mercari, Mercari Pride E-Learning is an in-house online training program designed to increase understanding toward LGBT+ individuals and promote D&I. The training has been mandatory for all employees since 2021.
Third-party institutions specializing in LGBT+ advocacy conducted a review of the training before this external release.
Unconscious Bias Workshop
Mercari has released materials for its in-house training program “Unconscious Bias Workshop” for free, with the goal of promoting diversity and inclusion in society by sharing knowledge and methods for understanding unconscious bias. A script for facilitating the Unconscious Bias Workshop using these slides can be found in the Facilitator Guide below.
Support
We provide training and support programs so that everyone working at Mercari is able to perform at their best.