Bringing out the best in our people
DEI Department Interview

On International Women’s Day (March 8), Nomura took out an ad in The Nikkei, highlighting our diversity and how it makes us stronger as a firm.
With over 27,000 employees across 30 countries and regions, how is Nomura tapping into this diversity to build a better organization and help employees thrive?
We discuss this question and more with the head of Nomura’s DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Department, Yasue Nakanishi.

Q. Why did Nomura take out an ad in The Nikkei?

Nomura’s acquisition of Lehman Brothers in 2008 marked a significant turning point for the firm. Not only did our organizational structure change, but we also welcomed colleagues from many different nationalities.

In Japan, Nomura became more proactive in hiring mid-career professionals. I was a mid-career hire who joined the company in 2014. I was struck by the diverse nationalities and how everyone had their own work style while respecting the Nomura brand.

The key message of this ad is “Turning diversity into strengths.” We have a wide range of employees, but we have not yet tapped their full potential. For example, we still have situations where people feel they cannot approach the HR department. To bring out the best in our diversity, the most important thing is for our people to be their true selves. When people are their true selves, we all benefit.

Q. What does “diversity” look like at Nomura today?

Before we acquired Lehman, around 80% of our employees were in Japan and 20% were overseas. Today it’s about half and half. Our global network spans approximately 30 countries and regions with about 15,000 people in Japan and around 12,000 overseas. We have employees representing over 90 nationalities from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Nomura has built a robust global platform supported by our offices in Japan and international regions across the world.

Q. What is Nomura doing to tap the full potential of its employees?

In a recent advertisement in Nikkei xwoman, we featured a domestic employee who switched from working in different locations across Japan to working only in a specific area. He made the switch because he was welcoming a baby to his family, and he wanted to remain in the same area as them.

Nomura supports the careers of all employees. We emphasize the importance of work-life balance, and as a result more people are changing the way they work. Our Group CEO Kentaro Okuda often talks about how important it is for each individual to remain true to themselves. This culture of being yourself and accepting people for who they are is spreading internally.

In 2023, Nomura was named as a “Next Nadeshiko” company by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, recognizing our efforts to create an environment where employees can balance work and family responsibilities.

Q. When everyone is “being themselves,” what happens to cohesion?

If you take being yourself to simply mean having freedom, cohesion may suffer. That is why we have our Group Purpose. It provides employees with a common company goal to aim towards. When we created our Purpose, we also revised the Nomura Group DEI Statement to include: “We strive to provide a workplace where everyone can thrive as their authentic selves and achieve their full potential.” We believe this will be the source of our strength as we put our Group Purpose into action. While each individual has the freedom to be their true self, we all work towards the same company goal.

Q. It sounds like employees being their true selves is connected to the company goal.

We use the words “authentic selves” and “full potential” in the DEI Statement, but this is just in the pursuit of our Purpose. Employees can choose how they work but we all contribute towards our Purpose. This means that regardless of the diverse work styles and values that employees have, these must align with Nomura’s goals. Thus, a dialogue is necessary to connect the two.

As Nomura employees, we are here to put Nomura’s Group Purpose into action. Of course, our Purpose is far too large for any one employee to take on. Each person must think about what they want to do in light of the Group Purpose. This means having team discussions about Nomura’s Purpose and each department’s Purpose, and then reflecting on your own personal Purpose. Employees need to think about how they fit within the bigger picture that is Nomura.

Q. So, a personal Purpose is the first step.

Nomura is a large organization of 27,000 people. Each employee has a valuable role and can contribute while being true to themselves. While it may be difficult for one person to take on a huge deal alone, by working together as a department or team, we can achieve great results. I believe managers have the important task of providing an environment where each employee can work to their full capabilities.
Our job as the DEI Department is to offer the necessary support to help employees maximize their potential.
We can accomplish more by taking full advantage of our diversity as a source of strength. My purpose is to foster a Nomura where we can achieve this.

Yasue Nakanishi
Head of DEI Department, Nomura Holdings

Yasue Nakanishi was appointed head of Nomura’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Department in April 2023. She joined Nomura in 2014 as an HR Business Partner Global Lead for Corporate functions. Prior to Nomura, she spent seven years as an HR Business Partner at Philips Japan, and worked in recruitment consulting before that. She started her career at an e-commerce call center, where her role evolved to include staff recruitment, training and evaluation. She holds a Masters in Human Resource Management from The University of Melbourne and a bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Kansai.