Johnson & Johnson Shares Best Practices to Empower Women
AmCham China spoke to Catherine Zheng, Talent Acquisition Head at Johnson & Johnson China, winner of the Best Company (MNC) for the Advancement of Women, about the importance of female empowerment, promoting women in STEM, and how to foster inclusive corporate culture.
Helen Liu, VP, Supply Chain, Medical; Lead, Women Leadership & Inclusion, from Johnson & Johnson China accepts the award for Best Company for the Advancement of Women (MNC).
Photo courtesy of SCHS Asia/AmCham China
This award recognizes one MNC that has demonstrated a commitment to real progress in gender equity and engaged people across all genders and levels. What has Johnson & Johnson been doing in the area of women’s empowerment?
Catherine Zheng: Johnson & Johnson is the world’s largest and most broadly-based healthcare company. Guided by Our Credo, we blend heart, science, and ingenuity to fundamentally change the trajectory of health for humanity. We are committed to promoting a working environment that supports employees’ development and advocates for gender equity. Females account for about 50% of Johnson & Johnson employees both at the global level and in China.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion at Johnson & Johnson is not just a commitment – it is the reality of how we live and work. The best innovations come when our people reflect the world’s full diversity of individuals, opinions, and approaches.
As we see more companies prioritizing women’s empowerment, J&J has the distinction of being a trailblazer in the advancement of women in business. What has made your initiatives so effective so far?
Catherine Zheng: J&J attaches high importance to our employees’ comprehensive growth and strives to create a diversified and inclusive environment for employees’ development and well-being. The leadership team is dedicated to building a culture that champions Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Recently, we had the first J&J China DE&I week, where we convened multiple townhalls and workshops to engage employees and share perspectives. These employee resource groups also support the advancement of employees. I believe our initiatives have been especially effective because we foster a culture of belonging and breakthroughs.
It’s great to see an MNC in the STEM field put such an emphasis on empowering female leaders. What will J&J continue to work on and are there any new projects planned to continue your work on diversity?
Catherine Zheng: Since the founding of our company 135 years ago, Johnson & Johnson has been championing women. Eight of our 14 first employees were women. Our commitment to champion women is written into our company’s long-term goals – we pledge to achieve 50% of women in management positions globally by 2025.
In 2015 we launched our WiSTEM2D initiative (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing, and Design). This initiative works to educate girls, while also demonstrating in action what “technology for good” can look like. We will continue to promote the advancement of our employees, as well as the advancement of our communities.
This article is from the AmCham China Quarterly Magazine (Issue 2, 2021). To access the entire publication for free, sign up on our member portal here.