Inside Johnson & Johnson’s gender equality program

The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in Australia was recently awarded an ‘Employer of Choice for Gender Equality’ (EOCGE) citation by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).

Even though it's the first year that Johnson & Johnson has achieved a WEGA EOCGE citation, the company’s philosophy since 1943 has been to accept everyone who has a unique experience or background and support them to create a deep sense of belonging with other colleagues in the business.

 “As an organisation, we represent the market in which we work and operate, in relation to age, gender, race, religion, sexual preference, disability and nationality,” said Sue Martin, managing director of Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Australia and New Zealand.

“With a focus on diversity and inclusion, we must ensure that we embed a culture that not only treats everyone equally, but actively seeks input from all.

“Doing this will lead to more robust dialogue, smarter decisions and ultimately, sustainable growth in the short and long term.”

Indeed, the company recently announced enhanced entitlements for its parental leave program to further support its focus on gender equality.

The new approach includes, 14 weeks of paid Birth Leave for the birth mother, eight weeks of paid Bonding Leave for partners of the birth mother and eight weeks of paid Adoption Leave for adoptive parents of a child under 17 years old.

One Johnson & Johnson employee, Paul Bottomley, has just recently returned from four weeks of Bonding Leave and will be taking four more weeks shortly, to allow him to support Nicola Johnson and his newborn baby daughter, Immy.

Nicola acknowledged the benefits of Paul being able to access the leave through Johnson & Johnson’s new and enhanced Parental Leave Policy

“The main thing for me was that I felt no panic or pressure in the thought of Paul going back to work after a week, so the thought of being left on my own wasn’t an issue,” said Nicola.

“The thought of Paul going back to work was so far in the back of my mind that it allowed us to concentrate on becoming a family.

“The extra time allowed me to get the rest I needed and to fully recover from the birth, so by the time Paul did go back, I was 100% confident with her.” 

Nicola added that she also felt rested and relaxed and didn’t mind him going back to work at all.

“Paul was also able to establish a strong bond with Immy so that he now knows all the cues for settling her,” said Nicola.

“So when he comes home from work now, nothing is alien to him or her. If Paul only had a week off, then he may not have been confident in being able to settle her.“

Some of Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies achievements in gender equality include:

• 60% of its workforce is female.
• More than half (52%) of the company’s directors and managers are female.
• Introduction of an enhanced parental leave policy supporting 14 weeks paid leave for Birth mothers, eight weeks paid Bonding Leave for partners and eight weeks paid Adoption Leave for adoptive parents.
• Flexible working practices, coupled with extensive leave options.
• Practices that encourage gender equality in succession planning and learning and development programs.
• Supporting employees experiencing Domestic and Family Violence, with access to paid leave.
• Regular gender remuneration gap analysis.
• Targets for improving gender equality.
• Attracting and retaining diverse talent.
• Building inclusive leadership competencies.