Kakao, Industry's First 'Diversity Report' Published

Kakao announced on the 19th that it has published the '2023 Kakao Diversity Report,' the first of its kind in the domestic IT industry.

This report includes Kakao's diversity-related activities regarding ▲people at work ▲work-life balance ▲a culture of respect and without prejudice ▲principles of recruitment.

Kakao announced on the 19th that it has published the '2023 Kakao Diversity Report,' the first of its kind in the domestic IT industry. [Image source=Kakao]

As of 2022, among Kakao employees, 2,183 (56.0%) are male and 1,718 (44.0%) are female. The gender ratio gap among employees decreased from 18.6 percentage points in 2020 to 12 percentage points in 2022. The number of newly hired employees last year was 870, down 124 from the previous year. Among new hires, 453 (52.1%) are male and 417 (47.9%) are female. The gender ratio gap among new hires decreased from 20.8 percentage points in 2020 to 4.2 percentage points in 2022. The number of female senior managers increased from 24 (22.4%) in 2020 to 58 (34.1%) in 2022. As of September 30 this year, the proportion of female directors on Kakao’s board is 57% (4 members).

Kakao aims to foster a culture that respects diversity based on employees’ individual backgrounds and values such as gender, age, and nationality. The gender ratio gap among employees has been steadily decreasing. The proportion of female executives on the board exceeds the average of the top 500 companies in Korea.

Kakao operates a total of four daycare centers, the largest in the industry, accommodating 907 children, to support a balanced coexistence of work and family. In addition, it provides maternity leave, prenatal checkup leave, and miscarriage leave for both employees and their spouses. Various family-friendly policies such as family care leave, sabbatical leave, and recovery days are also in place.

Kakao continuously strives to respect diverse opinions among employees. It conducts an annual 'health measurement' survey to understand organizational culture. As a result, 86% of employees responded last year that they can express their opinions within the organization without difficulty. Kakao’s subsidiary-type standard workplace for people with disabilities, 'Linkage Lab,' was recognized for expanding employment of severely disabled persons by about 25% and female disabled persons by about 40% compared to the previous year, and was selected as an 'Excellent Employer for Disabled Employment in 2023.'

In talent recruitment, Kakao respects diverse values and pursues a culture that prioritizes individual capabilities and performance without discrimination based on origin, gender, age, or disability. Since 2017, it has operated a 'blind' recruitment process that does not collect information such as educational background, major, age, or gender on job applications.

Kakao has made the diversity report available on its official website and plans to publish it regularly every year going forward.

Hong Eun-taek, CEO of Kakao, said in the foreword, "As technological advancement and digitalization accelerate, our society is becoming newer, richer, and more diverse," adding, "We will continue to promote the development of services and technology, and through this, strive to expand diversity both inside and outside Kakao and create a healthy digital ecosystem."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.