DE&I

Recognizing and embracing the intersectionality of the people around us

Chiara Vona — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 10:17:38 +0000

Recognizing and embracing the intersectionality of the people around us

Denelle Waynick Johnson, Executive Vice President and General Counsel

Chiara Vona Wed 20/12/2023 - 11:17

Recently, I was invited to reflect on intersectionality and how the different aspects of my own identity are interconnected and linked to my personal and professional path.

Intersectionality means that there are different diversity dimensions that make us unique. Some of these are visible but in fact, many of them are invisible. When thinking about what I call my intersections, the various aspects of my identity and my life, there are a few non-visible ones that jump out.

One that is important for me is that I am a woman of faith. This means that I have been able to overcome challenges by drawing on an inner source of strength that others can’t see.

Another aspect I want to highlight is that I am the child of divorced parents, and I was raised, primarily, by my mother. The divorce resulted in us living in a single-income household, which meant being raised in a less privileged socio-economic environment. What has been the consequence of this? First, it fueled my education and career ambitions simply because I didn’t want to perpetuate this cycle for my son, who would come several years later. Second, it actually continues to inform my approach to spending which tends to still be conservative.

This leads to the third intersection I want to share: I raised my son as a single mother. As such, all of my decisions were taken through the lens of a parent. It helped me frame what was important and acceptable for me — personally and professionally. Motherhood colored decisions about which jobs I took, such as ensuring the corporate culture was aligned with my values or the proximity of the company to good schools and back-up day care.

I believe that being able to identify not just as an African American woman, but also taking these other aspects into account, leads to a natural empathy. This awareness allows me to relate to others, even if their intersections are different from mine, and allows me to be an ally for them.

For example, I recognize the challenges of young parents –specifically, the need for work flexibility. I, personally, benefitted from such flexibility. And over the years have demonstrated that parents or caregivers or others can manage their personal situations, while remaining professional and effective and able to move up the corporate ladder.

But meaningful allyship goes beyond empathy. It includes supporting those who have less privilege than yourself.

Recognizing and embracing not just the diversity but the intersectionality of the people we meet – how the different aspects of their identity are connected and how this influences their life and position in society – opens our perspectives, our minds and our talent pool. It increases the ability for us to embrace diverse thinking and backgrounds. All this, in addition to being fair, benefits organizations, their people and their business. And, for us at ��ֳ�, it benefits the people we serve. How can we serve them if we are not mindful of their different backgrounds?

I want to applaud and encourage the conversations that are happening around intersectionality, at ��ֳ� and outside. It is a deeper, additional component to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and it is fundamental for us to explore it to become more inclusive — both on a corporate and human level.

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Advancing inclusion and fostering allyship at work: reflections on IDAHOBIT

Chiara Vona — Wed, 17 May 2023 06:49:00 +0000

Advancing inclusion and fostering allyship at work: reflections on IDAHOBIT

Evangelos Chatzikalymnios, Global Compensation

Chiara Vona Wed 17/05/2023 - 08:49

As we celebrate IDAHOBIT, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia & Transphobia, I reflect on what steps can be taken for greater equality and inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community in companies.

We spend a significant amount of our time at work; hence, it is important that our work environment is physically and psychologically safe. For the LGBTQ+ community, this means it needs to be a place where we can bring our full selves to and feel appreciated for the work we do, without any fear of being discriminated against for who we are. Companies can also play a vital role in providing a safe environment within the “company walls” for employees in countries where the LGBTQ+ community doesn’t have equal rights and freedoms yet.

I am proud that at ��ֳ�, fostering a sense of belonging is a key element of our culture. One way we enable an inclusive work environment is by involving employees directly through employee Resource Groups (ERGs). ��ֳ�+ is our LGBTQ+ ERG and it aims to contribute towards an open, inclusive and safe environment for the LGBTQ+ community and allies in the company, where everyone feels equal and valued regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

In addition to having a supportive culture, it is important to have courageous and authentic leaders who will commit to fostering a more inclusive environment at work. At ��ֳ�, we see this strong support in different forms, including an Executive Committee member sponsoring the activities of ��ֳ�+. This is particularly important as the ERG is a grassroot initiative, so having the support of an Executive Committee member is a very clear and visible sign to the LGBTQ+ community that they are valued and appreciated.

Another way to provide an inclusive environment is by showing support to the LGBTQ+ workforce and allying with them. ��ֳ�+ is open to all, including allies of the LGBTQ+ cause who want to contribute, support or simply learn more about our community. Allies have a unique responsibility and an opportunity to create inclusive environments for their LGBTQ+ peers, by educating themselves and others, speaking up against discrimination, and supporting LGBTQ+ organisations and events. And we, the LGBTQ+ community, have a responsibility to guide the allies supporting us, for example by helping them understand what language to use in order not to be discriminatory.

The theme of this year's IDAHOBIT is "Together always: united in diversity", which reminds us of the importance of inclusivity and sense of belonging in all aspects of our lives. Companies can provide the space for individual and collective efforts that can ultimately lead to the positive change we want to bring into society.

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IDAHOBIT DE&I Diversity equity and inclusion

Comment:

Posted by Fraiture Marianne, 22 May 2023

Thanks for standing out - calling out and just being you - an admirable person !
What unites us in the end all is that we are all human being with unique treasures that would benefit us all, if to remove any form of (un)conscious discrimination.
Let's indeed continue in fostering a safe space for us all to collectively thrive and flourish !

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Partnering with UpskillMe to inspire tomorrow’s innovators

eCMSadmin — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 10:30:00 +0000

Partnering with UpskillMe to inspire tomorrow’s innovators

Karen Borrer, Communications, BII Operations

eCMSadmin Thu 07/10/2021 - 12:30

For ��ֳ�, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) are essential. Our business needs a diverse workforce that embraces difference and reflects the communities we work with and in. We need that to care for our patients, people and planet – and do that sustainably. After all, diversity drives innovation, a concept at the very heart of our patient-centred strategy.

But when it comes to the number of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), the numbers don’t add up. While more than one million women are working in STEM roles, they only represent 24% of the entire STEM workforce in the UK. Moreover, women represent less than 30% of the world’s researchers, only 35% of STEM students in higher education in the UK and a mere 26% of STEM graduates.

Improving DE&I
��ֳ� wants to make a real difference by improving DE&I throughout our business and our industry. And that is why we are proud to be the first pharmaceutical company to team up with UK social enterprise UpskillMe. Through this collaboration, we aim to support the next generation of young scientists and inspire tomorrow’s innovators.

UpskillMe is a careers network that supports under-represented and less advantaged young people. It helps them build the skills, connections and knowledge they need to thrive in the future. After all, every person has unique strengths, and UpskillMe aims to help young people find theirs so they can flourish. It specifically designed its employability programmes to help talented and motivated young people aged 11 to 18 achieve their aspirations.

Inspiring women in STEM
Our first collaboration with UpskillMe aims to help tackle the low numbers of women in STEM. The ‘Empowered Females STEM Mentoring Programme’ aims to inspire the next generation of women, raising their aspirations for studying STEM subjects and embarking on a STEM career in STEM.

Working closely with UpskillMe, five of ��ֳ�’s female scientists based in our UK Research and Development hub in Slough will be delivering a mentoring programme to engage and empower female students to maximise their skills and raise their aspirations for studying STEM subjects and a career in science, technology, engineering or maths.

The six-month programme consists of a series of mentoring sessions and masterclasses to engage and empower 20 female students, promote a growth mindset and maximise skills and aspirations. Over the six months, the students will build both their own personal brand. Specific career advice for succeeding in STEM will help them also build resilience.

At the end of the mentoring programme, the female students will ‘graduate’ more prepared personally and professionally. They will be ready to consider further education and a career in STEM.

Partnering to make a difference
Through partnerships such as this, ��ֳ� hopes to help address the inequities that exist for children and young people today. We hope that by offering tailored and targeted support to some of the most disadvantaged, we can inspire the innovators of tomorrow while making DE&I a reality for all.

For us, this is not just good business sense – it’s sustainable business sense.

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UpskillMe STEM science Diversity equity and inclusion DE&I

Comment:

Posted by Teresa Fogelberg. , 9 October 2021

What a good story. Will the five female scientists have time for this? Does it not compete with their other activities and targets? To what extent does it weigh on their Performance appraisal or will it be an extra for which they get recognition? And how can this be skilled up to other countries?

Posted by ��ֳ�

Dear Teresa
Thank you for your email and interest in our collaboration with Upskill Me. This is a new partnership for ��ֳ� and we are delighted to be exploring the areas in which we can help make an impact with them.

We have started on a small scale with colleagues who are passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), which is a business priority for both our leadership team in the UK and our global Executive Committee. We positioned the five volunteer mentor places as an opportunity for employees to grow and develop as well as giving back to society, which is an important aspect of our sustainable business approach. Our employees are empowered to prioritise their own schedules in line with business needs. Because DE&I is a strategic priority for ��ֳ� this activity will take place during normal business hours.

We had an overwhelming response from our UK colleagues to our call for volunteers which highlights the importance that our colleagues attach to DE&I and has provided us with the momentum to scale up our volunteer mentoring opportunities in 2022. In addition to the STEM mentoring programme we will also be partnering with Upskill Me to host an ‘insights day’ in February 2022 for 30 disadvantaged students from local schools which will provide an additional opportunity for our colleagues to engage in DE&I-related initiatives.

Our partnership with Upskill Me has been highlighted at a global level within the organisation and we hope that this may act as a catalyst for other countries to engage in similar opportunities. UpskillMe are a UK social enterprise and other ��ֳ� affiliates will be working with similar organisations in their locality.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like further information about our activity in this area.

Best wishes
Karen Borrer (she/her)
Communications Lead, BII Operations
karen.borrer@ucb.com

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DE&I

Recognizing and embracing the intersectionality of the people around us

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Advancing inclusion and fostering allyship at work: reflections on IDAHOBIT

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Partnering with UpskillMe to inspire tomorrow’s innovators

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