Glassdoor owner Recruit Holdings says it wants to have women in 50% of its senior executive and managerial roles within 10 years — a rare pledge in a country where men dominate the top echelons of companies, politics and the civil service.

The push for more women at the upper levels of Japan's largest staffing agency is part of a diversity drive to ensure a flow of bright business ideas, said Chief Operations Officer Ayano "Sena" Senaha, its most senior female executive.

As of April 1, 21% of Recruit's senior executives, including heads of major business units, were women, compared with 10% a year earlier, according to company data.