Mentor For, promoting the development of female managers and DE&I, selected for "Japan Service Innovation 2025"

Mentor For Inc. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Masako Ikehara), which provides medium-to-long-term support for promoting DE&I within organizations, is pleased to announce that it has been selected for 'Japan Service Innovation 2025,' chosen by the Service Productivity & Innovation for Growth (SPRING).

About "Japan Service Innovation 2025"

"Japan Service Innovation 2025" is a program where the Service Productivity & Innovation for Growth (SPRING) independently selects and widely publicizes innovative and advanced service examples that can serve as a reference for other industries, from various service cases obtained through activities such as the "Japan Service Award" and the "Japan Customer Satisfaction Index (JCSI) Survey" organized by SPRING. This time, Mentor For was selected for this program in recognition of its initiatives to support the development of female managers and promote DE&I through external mentor training and matching.

■ Background of Selection: Approach to the Structural Issue of "Lack of Role Models" Faced in Human Resource Development

The ratio of female managers in Japan remains at about 15%, and achieving the government's goal of "30% female executives by 2030" remains challenging. According to the Cabinet Office's "2023 White Paper on Gender Equality," the most common reason cited for "why it is difficult for women to become managers" is "lack of role models" (38.1%), highlighting a structural issue where the absence of accessible advisors and mentors leads to a decline in motivation for promotion.

To address these challenges, Mentor For pioneered the "external mentor training and matching" business in Japan in 2018. The company has developed a system to internally train role model individuals with diverse life and business experiences as "external mentors" through its own Business Career Mentor Academy (BCMA) and individually match them with female managers and candidates in companies. As a result, the cumulative mentoring hours reached 11,000 hours by the end of June 2025. Furthermore, the number of companies adopting the service, mainly large corporations, has exceeded 200.

Approximately 90% (92.4%) of participants in Mentor For's mentoring service responded that they "could speak openly because it was an external mentor," and about 70% of participants subsequently experienced career advancement, demonstrating achievements for both individuals and organizations (※1).

(※1) From Mentor For's user survey conducted in 2025

■ About Mentor For's Services

Mentor For is a comprehensive support service for DE&I promotion, starting with the development of female managers. Key services are as follows:

1. External Mentor 1-on-1 Mentoring:

   Approximately 170 independently trained and certified professional external mentors provide individual support over several months. They primarily assist female managers and leader candidates in career development, confidence building, and improving decision-making skills.

2. Internal Mentor System Establishment Support:

   Achieving a "cycle of knowledge" where individuals who have experienced high-quality external mentoring also become internal mentors. We support the design and operation of internal mentor systems tailored to the company's unique culture and challenges.

3. DE&I Promotion Consulting, Training, and Workshops:

   We offer various programs that promote organizational mindset change, such as unconscious bias training and career 1-on-1 skill training for managers.