The Pokémon Company posted a job listing for their location in Bellevue, Washington for a Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Social Responsibility.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A (2025), The Pokémon Company
The job listing appears to share that the position’s role is to discriminate in hiring practices. The job’s summary reads, “The Director Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Social Responsibility facilitates and promotes The Pokémon Company International’s (TPCi) global culture of innovation, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.”
“This role will partner with the DEISR Team to build diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and Social Responsibility (SR) initiatives and programs to influence employee engagement, talent acquisition, talent management, charitable community engagement and marketplace opportunities across our global team to engage and retain talent and foster relationships in local and global communities.”
“This role will ensure that the core elements of TPCi culture are well-defined and ever-present to employees, highlighting engagement as an essential component to support a positive, diverse, inclusive, innovative, and high-achieving environment. This position will report to the Vice President and Chief Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer (CDO), lead the DEISR team, and will partner with stakeholders across the organization and operate as an internal business consultant,” it concludes.
The position is paying between $178,000 and $211,850 for new hires with an upward ceiling of $267,000.
Screenshot from Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet (2022), Game Freak
READ: The Pokémon Company Announces ‘Pokémon Legends: Z-A’
It’s no surprise that the company is hiring for a Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Social Responsibility. Back in 2022, The Pokémon Company pledged $25 million to various organizations to support children and social equity.
The company shared at the time, “At The Pokémon Company International (TPCi), we believe in inclusion and belonging! Alongside our Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and our Company Core Values, our Employee Resource Groups help us all become the very best (that no one ever was)!”
The company revealed four employee resource groups. They include: The Pokémon Black Diaspora, Familia Pokémon, The Rainbow Gym, Women of Pokémon, and TPCi Parents.
Screenshot from Pokémon Legends: Arceus (2022), Game Freak
Familia Pokémon is described by The Pokémon Company, “¡Bienvenidos! We are a group of Latinx/Hispanic employees who are united by experiences, food, language and so many aspects of our cultures. We come together as a familia which means family in Spanish and Portuguese, and our purpose is to foster the professional development of our members in the interactive entertainment industry, as well as to facilitate recruitment and retention of our talent, while promoting awareness and inclusion of the Latinx/Hispanic community and culture.”
The Pokémon Black Diaspora description reads, “We are The Pokémon Black Diaspora (TPBD) Employee Resource Group! Our aim is to aid in the creation of an inclusive company culture by providing a supportive and uplifting community for Black employees throughout TPCi. We’ll achieve this through education, community development, recruitment, and engagement with folks – inside and outside the office. We want to create a place where every Black employee has a space where they can collaborate, relax, and empower each other throughout their daily lives. Black excellence and Black representation!”
The Rainbow Gym states, “Welcome to the Rainbow Gym, TPCi’s official Employee Resource Group on a mission to celebrate LGBTQIA+ employees! In addition to creating a safe place for queer folks and allies, we provide helpful resources to allow for open discussions and internal support, with the understanding of the intersectionalities of the larger community. The Rainbow Gym works with leaders and departments to promote inclusion at all levels, including initiatives related to engagement, talent acquisition, professional development, and community-building.”
Screenshot from Detective Pikachu Returns (2023), Creatures
Women of Pokémon reads, “Women of Pokémon (WxP) is committed to empowering all TPCi employees who identify as women, non-binary people, and all people of marginalized genders. WxP will partner widely with a broad group of cohorts to identify and promote equity. Specifically, WxP strives to achieve equity in development, recruitment strategies, retention, and networking opportunities for all people of marginalized genders at TPCi. WxP’s focus is to identify and help activate areas that will provide increased internal support for employees while serving as a helpful resource and fostering a sense of safety for the WxP constituency.”
Finally, TPCi Parents reads, “At the TPCi Parents ERG, we’re building off the love for children and family exemplified in the Pokémon brand in order empower parents to thrive both at work and at home! Parenthood is an ever-evolving journey that intersects all aspects of life and comes in many shapes. This group recognizes that by improving support for parents within TPCi, we will attract and retain talent and improve employee engagement among those who identify as parents. This will be done through advancing company-focused initiatives such as advancing resources and benefits while providing speakers and coaching. We will also promote networking initiatives and a community of support.”
As for the organizations that The Pokémon Company was going to give to, it includes a number of controversial political organizations including The Trevor Project, 100 Black Men of London, Black Girls CODE, BGC Canada, Interfaith America, Young Women Empowered, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Stop AAPI Hate, and more.
Screenshot from Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet (2022), Game Freak
On top of this, the most recent releases of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet removed the skirt options for female players’ avatars. This came in the wake of Sword and Shield removing gendered player character options completely.
Scarlet and Violet also introduced a number of suspect NPC characters such as a woman who looks very similar to man.
One of Scarlet and Violet’s female NPCs. They also didn’t provide any skirts for the female trainer which many women I saw took issue with. The symptoms are there. pic.twitter.com/5qjce2w6rU
— RogueGen (@gen_rogue) March 22, 2024
READ: Gaming Industry Layoffs Continue: Supermassive Games’ Cuts Highlight a Broader Turmoil
Former World of Warcraft Team Lead Mark Kern also notes that developer Niantic is removing feminine features from Pokémon GO! avatars.
He pointed to the characters’ jawline and asked, “Why did you do this to her?”
I don’t get it. Why was this a necessary change, @PokemonGoApp ?
Why did you do this to her? I used to love Pokemon Go! pic.twitter.com/rxEvZAIRHW
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 22, 2024
It’s not just the jawline, the female avatar’s hips have been removed as well according to Reddit user Aettyr.
Aettyr on Reddit
As noted by Kern, Pokémon GO! developer Niantic funded Black Lives Matter, a movement that burned down a number of U.S. cities in 2020.
Niantic announced their commitment to the violent movement in a blog post with the company’s John Hanke writing, “We think the next area where we can make a powerful, scalable impact is through the culture, ideas, and role models we help to create. To achieve that, we are going to fund projects from Black creators and will bring the best of those creations to a mass audience where they can shine a light on characters, story, and points of view that validate the lives and experiences of the Black community.”
He revealed, “We’ll be donating Niantic proceeds from Pokémon GO Fest 2020 ticket sales, committing a minimum of $5 million. Half of the proceeds donated will be used to fund new projects from Black gaming and AR creators that can live on the Niantic platform, with the ultimate goal of increasing content that represents a more diverse view on the world. The other half will go to US nonprofit organizations that are helping local communities rebuild.”
“We’ll be donating $100,000 to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute and doing an employee match of up to $50,000,” he added. “In honor of the Black Lives Matter movement and of Pride Month, the Diversity and Inclusion team and the executive leadership team believe this donation is the right thing to do to support those who are most vulnerable to police brutality and other systems of oppression.”
Screenshot from Pokémon Legends: Arceus (2022), Game Freak
Furthermore Hanke revealed the company was fully embracing Diversity and Inclusion training.
He wrote, “We’re developing new Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) training with a specific focus on allyship training. I cannot stress this point enough: it is not the responsibility of the Black community or our Black employees now to carry the burden of education. It is up to non-Black allies to educate ourselves and each other. We hope this diversity and inclusion training can help provide the tools and resources to make us all better allies. More details to come.”
Screenshot from Detective Pikachu Returns (2023), Creatures
After announcing a number of initiatives Hanke declared, “We are committed to this cause. These initiatives don’t end with an announcement. The work to follow through will require years of effort to yield the impact we seek. Along the way, we’ll be looking for even more opportunities to deepen these initiatives.”
“The heart of Niantic is our community of players. It is imperative that we stand up to support our Black Trainers, Agents, and Wizards. We aim to be a force of change committed to the long road ahead of rebuilding a more just and fair system where historical racial divides are overcome and where all are welcomed, valued, and have a fair chance at success. The first step is overcoming the racism and injustice that prevents members of our community from safely enjoying the freedom and pleasure of a simple walk or run outdoors. Black Lives Matter,” Hanke concluded.
Key art for Pokémon UNITE (2021), TiMi Studio Group
What do you make of The Pokémon Company doubling down on wokeness?
