Novartis US Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021

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Novartis US Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021
Novartis US Equal Employment
Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion
Report 2021
Novartis US Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021
Contents

OVERVIEW3

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY REPORTING 4

TALENT               6

SOCIETAL IMPACT      10

MOVING FORWARD
TOGETHER14
Novartis US Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021
Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021 | 3

Overview
­ ovartis strives to achieve high standards of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) in our cul-
N
ture and values, as embodied in our company’s Code of Ethics. D&I is an integral
part of our strong commitment to corporate responsibility and is fundamental to
our inspired, curious and unbossed culture. It is endorsed at the highest level of the
company and central to the way we run our business. As a diverse and inclusive
organization, we are better positioned to drive innovation, get closer to patients
and other stakeholders, and have a lasting impact on our world.

Our executive leaders take accountability for corporate responsibility and
D&I ­efforts, led by Patrice Matchaba, Head of US Corporate Responsibility and
­President, ­Novartis US Foundation, and Marion Brooks, Vice President and US
 Country Head, Diversity & Inclusion. Together, they work with N
                                                               ­ ovartis employees
 across the US business to implement a range of innovative programs designed
 to augment and support our diverse talent base and shape a more inclusive and
 equitable society.
Novartis US Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021
4 | Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021

Equal Employment
Opportunity Reporting
As part of our ongoing commitment to          in the US that provides demographic               discussion of our many initiatives to fur-
D&I, Novartis is taking the initiative to     information related to gender, race and          ther D&I at N­ ovartis as well as make a
publicly disclose the consolidated US         ethnicity of a c
                                                             ­ ompany’s US employee            ­positive impact on society. Our goal is
EEO demographics that we prepared             population.                                       to provide transparency and insights
for the US Equal Employment Oppor-                                                              into our efforts to support continued
tunity Commission. This is a govern-          This report provides a summary of                 progress on D&I.
ment-required submission filed by all         the data submitted to the government
companies with 50 or more employees           along with some context, including a

­­­Novartis total US EEO-1 data as of 12-31-20 with gender breakout

GENDER                                        RACE/ETHNICITY

Gender of Novartis US employees               Race or ethnicity of Novartis US employees by job category
by job category

                                                              Executives                          First/mid-level managers
Women                                Men                                    15.5% Asian
total                                total                                                                             20.6% Asian

                                                                                7% Hispanic
                                                                                 2.8% Black
                                                                                                                           6.3% Hispanic
                                                                                 0.7% Others
Executives                                                                                                                4.2% Black
                                                                                74% White
38.9%                                61.1%                                                                               1.3% Others
                                                                                                                       67.6% White

First/mid-level managers
48.1%                                51.9%
                                                            Professionals                                   Sales
                                                                                                                3.6% Asian
Professionals                                                                28.1% Asian                             6.3% Hispanic
57.5%                               42.5%                                                                               6.5% Black
                                                                                                                         1.6% Others
                                                                                                                          82% White
Sales
53.5%                               46.5%                                      7.9% Hispanic
                                                                              6.9% Black
                                                                           1.8% Others
                                                                       55.3% White
Novartis US Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021
Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021 | 5

GENDER BY RACE/ETHNICITY

Race, ethnicity and gender of Novartis US                         Gender of all Novartis US employees by race and ethnicity – not divided by job category
employees by job category

Executives                         First/mid-level                                    White                                        Asian
                                   managers
                       0.4%
                       1.7%                                           Women                            Men          Women                          Men
                       4.2%                                           52.2%                            47.8%        54.7%                          45.3%
                                                         0.6%
                                                         2.0%
                                    0.7%                 3.2%
                       9.0%         2.2%
                                    3.1%
 0.3%
  1.1%
 2.8%                                                    10.6%
                                   10.0%
 6.5%

                                                                                     Hispanic                                      Black
         Women

                                           Women
                 Men

                                                   Men

                                                                      Women                            Men          Women                          Men
28.2%                  45.8%       32.1%                 35.5%        54.8%                            45.2%        57.4%                          42.6%

Professionals                      Sales
 0.9%
 4.2%                               0.9%
                                    3.5%
 4.6%                               3.4%                 0.7%
                                    1.9%                 3.0%
                       0.9%
                                                         2.9%
                       2.7%
                                                         1.7%
                       3.3%
16.8%
                                                                  US EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION JOB CATEGORIES
                       11.3%

                                                                  Executive/senior-level officials and managers      Professionals
                                                                  are defined as VPs and above.                      are defined as non-managers whose roles typically
         Women

                                           Women

                                                                                                                     require a bachelor’s degree or equivalent – both
                                                                  First/mid-level officials and managers
                 Men

                                                   Men

                                                                                                                     exempt and non-exempt – excluding sales roles.
31.0%                  24.3%       43.8%                 38.2%    are defined as all non-executive functional
                                                                  or people managers and supervisors.                Sales workers
                                                                                                                     are defined as all non-management
  White          Asian         Hispanic    Black         Others                                                      sales positions.
Novartis US Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021
Talent
At Novartis, we aspire to have an employee population that reflects the populations we serve in
terms of the representation of women and people of color, particularly at the leadership level.
To help us realize this important goal, we have designed and implemented a number of initiatives
that already are yielding results.

Recruitment and retention
                                                Case study: Making a sales organization more diverse
Diverse hiring panels and slates
In January of 2020, ­Novartis US imple-         In addition to corporate- and country-wide initiatives, individual business units
mented guidelines requiring gender and          at ­N ovartis are embracing the benefits of diverse teams. In 2020, the ­­Novartis
racial/ethnic diversity both in candidate       sales organization for Cardio­vascular, Renal and Metabolic (CRM) joined with
slates as well as on the panels inter-          our D&I talent acquisition team to develop and implement a comprehensive
viewing these candidates. Having diver-         strategy to make the sales force more diverse and reflective of our customers
sity in both slates and panels is critically    and their patients. They used as their model a highly successful six-year old
important to the success of this ini­           program that recruits military veterans for CRM sales positions.
tiative. Since its launch fifteen months
ago, more than 90% of our candidate             CRM’s Diversity Hiring Initiative takes a strategic and targeted approach to re-
slates are now gender diverse and more          cruiting and developing talent. They work directly with a recruiter to put together
than 80% are diverse in their r­ acial/eth-     diverse candidate pools and slates, in geographies across the country.
nic representation.
                                                To assist in identifying new talent, CRM engages the company’s ERGs, includ-
In addition, N  ­ ovartis hired a dedicat-      ing the African Ancestry & Cultural Exchange, CapABLE (employees with visible
ed D&I talent acquisition team to help          and invisible disabilities), Chinese Cultural Community, Hispanic Latino Network,
us identify and attract diverse talent to       ­Military Affinity Group and Slavic Culture Club. They also leverage alumni net-
the company. Our Employee Resource               works from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The program includes
Groups (ERG, discussed below) also               intensive training, mentoring and one-on-one engagement for participants.
play a vital role in our recruitment efforts.
Novartis US Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021
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Profile: Garrett Bryant                      One day, a friend and former ­Novartis
                                             employee told him the company was ac-
For Garrett Bryant, career advice al-        tively looking for candidates to fill crit-
ways seemed to point in one direction.       ical sales roles. Garrett was intrigued
“People would always tell me I should        and learned about a N  ­ ovartis program
go into sales,” he said. Today he is a       that hired graduates of ­HBCUs into sales
­Novartis virtual sales specialist based     positions. He applied and was accepted,
 in Charlotte, NC. “I like connecting with   joining the company at the beginning of
 doctors and other medical profession-       this year.
 als who are directly helping patients,”
 he says.                                    Starting a new job in the middle of a pan­
                                             demic has been a challenge, especially
After graduating in 2014 from North          because so much of sales work requires
Carolina Agriculture and Technical           face-to-face interaction. But Garrett
­University, one of the country’s Histor-    jumped right in, immersing himself in
 ically Black Colleges and Universities      intensive training in virtual sales as well
 (HBCUs), Garrett began a career in          as in the clinical profile of our product
 healthcare. He held positions in manu-      portfolio. “It’s been pretty intense since
 facturing and customer service but re-      day one, but I get a high level of person-    which I like, and also I can see plenty of
 ally wanted to make the jump to sales,      al and professional support in the sales      opportunity here to grow and achieve
 where he felt he could have the biggest     organization,” he says. “­Novartis has a      my career goals.”
 impact helping people.                      welcoming and family-oriented culture,

                                             part of a three-person team supporting        “I was impressed by the intensive train-
                                             an important ­  Novartis cardiovascular       ing about the sales process as well as
                                             product in the Albany, Georgia, region,       the products I would be supporting,”
                                             with a lot of autonomy and initiative in      he says. “I also heard incredible sto­
                                             my work.”                                     ries about the difference our products
                                                                                           were making in the lives of loved ones
                                             Ryan credits his military service with        and friends, and that drove me even
                                             helping him step confidently into a new       more to succeed.” Since joining the
                                             role. “In the Army I learned how to adapt     company six years ago, Ryan has been
                                             quickly to new situations, how to em-         promoted twice and received three na-
                                             brace different cultures and build trust-     tional sales awards.
                                             ing relationships between very different
                                             people, and how to function effec­tively      Ryan credits mentors at all levels with
                                             as a team, thinking and operating as          helping him get off to a strong start in
                                             one,” he says. “I knew these skills           his sales career at Novartis. “People
                                             would serve me well in my next career         were so generous with their time and
                                             following the Army.” Sales seemed like        wisdom, and it made all the difference
Profile: Ryan Demastus                       a good fit for him, since he considered       for me,” he says. Now he is working
                                             himself a “people person” who liked to        with colleagues to create a new men-
When Ryan Demastus joined the                channel his enthusiasm into something         torship program for future hires in the
­Novartis sales force in 2015, he knew       he believed in.                               CRM sales force who are new to the
 he was embarking on a very different                                                      pharmaceutical industry. “Mentoring
 journey than his previous nine-and-a-       After being offered positions with            and hands-on support will help ensure
 half year career in the Army. “I was used   many different companies, Ryan chose          that people – including veterans – who
 to highly structured environments in        Novartis because of the company’s
                                             ­                                             join the sales organization will have the
 distant places like Korea, Iraq, Afghan-    unique program that hires veterans            tools to reach their full potential here at
 istan and Kuwait,” he said. “Now I am       without previous sales experience.            Novartis,” he says.
Novartis US Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021
8 | Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021

Gender equity initiatives                     female leaders across five divisions to     commitments by 2023, both in the US
In 2018, ­Novartis chose to directly chal-    support our female talent in their career   and globally. In addition, in the US and
lenge gender inequity by becoming the         development. We are currently evalu-        ­several other countries, we no longer
first pharmaceutical company to join          ating this program with a view toward        look at any candidate’s prior salary
the Equal Pay International Coalition         ­expanding it going forward.                 when making internal and external of-
(EPIC), a UN-sponsored initiative work-                                                   fers, and we conduct regular pay equi-
ing to achieve equal pay for women            These initiatives build on ongoing com-     ty analyses for each of our ­US-based
and men worldwide. As a member of             pany efforts to promote greater partic-     companies and take remedial action as
EPIC, we made a global commitment             ipation of women in leadership roles.       appropriate. In 2021, we are advancing
to achieve gender balance in manage-          They include Leading Up, a six-month        pay ­ transparency further by sharing
ment and further improve our pay equity       development program specifically de-        with our employees their pay as com-
and transparency processes by 2023.           signed for emerging women leaders.          pared to external benchmarks, and look
To date, we are making good progress          Each participant engages in a com-          to further expand this to internal bench-
­toward this goal.                            prehensive exploration of her career        marks in 2022.
                                              goals, personal development and the
In 2020, the percentage of women in           impact she has on the organization. A       We have also adopted a number of fam-
management globally at ­Novartis rose         specific action plan is developed that      ily-focused initiatives that improve the
to 45%, and in the US the figure was          focuses on development of important         lives of both women and men, such as
slightly higher – 47.5%. To accelerate        leadership skills and traits, including     Choice with Responsibility, which sig-
this momentum, we are pursuing var-           networking, persuasive communica-           nificantly increases flexible working
ious initiatives to improve gender bal-       tion and executive presence. Since the      opportunities and strengthens work-
ance. For example, our commitment to          program’s launch in 2008, 224 women         life balance, and our expanded Gender
balanced candidate slates and inter-          have participated, with many moving         Neutral Paid Parental Leave, open to all
view panels is having a direct impact on      into key leadership roles.                  employees globally, which provides a
the number of women joining the com-                                                      minimum of 14 weeks paid leave to all
pany. And in 2020, we launched a glob-        We also remain on track to meet our         new parents following the birth or adop-
al Executive Sponsorship Program for          EPIC pay equity and transparency            tion of a child.
Novartis US Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021
Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021 | 9

Fostering inclusion
                                            MEP Profile:
Multicultural Engagement Program            Charmaine Anthony
In 2020, ­Novartis launched our Multi-
cultural Engagement Program (MEP)           Charmaine Anthony is passionate
to strengthen our inclusion efforts and     about helping patients with sickle cell
ensure engagement – and improve re-         disease (SCD), an extremely ­        painful
tention – of ethnically and racially di-    and life-threatening blood condi-
verse employees. The one-year pilot         tion primarily affecting individuals of
program included African American/          ­African ancestry. As a Medical Science
Black employees at the Associate Di-         ­Liaison Director, supporting the Benign
rector and Director levels in the US          Hema­tology and Sickle Cell unit in the
Innovative Medicines organization.            Novartis Oncology mid-­
                                              ­                           Atlantic ter-
Participants were provided executive          ritory, Charmaine puts her extensive
coaches, e ­ xecutive mentors and learn-      training as a pediatric sickle cell nurse
ing sessions to accelerate their person­      practitioner and clinical educator to
al and professional development and           good use, helping healthcare providers
help prepare them for senior l­ eadership     understand SCD and make informed
roles in the company.                         decisions on treatment options for their
                                              patients.
We are pleased with the results of
the MEP pilot and are now expanding         “One of the most important aspects
the program. More than 60% of the           of my job is making sure patients have
first class of participants have seen       access to therapies that can potential-
their careers advance, either through       ly benefit them,” she says. “SCD is a          professionally and acquire e­xtremely
promotion or key assignments that           global disease and the majority of pa-         valuable new skills,” she says. “The
strengthens their experience profile.
­                                           tients affected are in low-income and          networking, mentorship and training
Feedback has been extremely positive,       underserved communities. I am proud            opened my eyes to a leadership path
with participants benefiting from net-      and humbled to do my part to advance           forward for me, and also made me more
work- and community-building along          education about the disease, reduce
                                            ­                                              confident and resilient.”
with direct, hands-on coaching, mentor-     stigma and advocate for patients.”
ing and sponsorship designed to further                                                    Charmaine received a promotion during
enhance personal development, pro-          Charmaine is also part of the first group      the program and was one of the speak­
fessional development and leadership        of N
                                               ­ ovartis employees to participate in       ers at the graduation ceremony for the
capabilities, and expand exposure and       the company’s innovative Multicultur-          first MEP class. She remains an enthu-
sponsorship across the organization.        al Engagement Program (MEP), which             siastic “ambassador” for the program.
In 2021, the program was expanded to        provides direct one-on-one coaching,           “This is a huge investment in people by
include Hispanic employees as well. We      training and executive monitoring for di-      Novartis and a commitment to helping
                                                                                           ­
will stay involved with MEP participants    verse talent, preparing them to assume         employees realize their full potential,” she
for at least three years following their    critical leadership roles in the future.       says.
graduation, to track their careers and      “MEP helped me grow personally and
provide follow-up support.
Novartis US Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021
10 | Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021

Employee Resource Groups                      ing underserved communities. Recent-         Teletha Brown, co-chair of the African
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)               ly, N­ ovartis D&I partnered with Public     Ancestry & Cultural Exchange (AACE)
are employee-led groups that support          ­Affairs to connect several group Chairs     ERG, summarizes the value of ERGs in
our diverse and inclusive workplace at         with Members of Congress to discuss         one word: community. “AACE provides
Novartis. Their activities align with our      the value of ERGs to a global enterprise    opportunities to network and connect
company purpose of reimagining med-            like ­Novartis and the positive role they   formally and informally, along with op-
icine to improve and extend people’s           play in furthering the company’s D&I ob-    portunities to give back to the com-
lives, and also with our US and global         jectives and helping shape society.         munity and provide information and
D&I priorities of Equity, Inclusivity and                                                  resources to hundreds of colleagues
Society. ERGs play an important role          For Melissa Patterson, co-chair of           across the organization,” she says. For
in helping us live our values as a com-       the PRIDE@East Hanover group for             John Sun, lead of the Chinese Culture
pany, advance our business objectives,        LGBTQIA+ employees at the company’s          Community, “ERGs are a great platform
recruit and develop our talent, and in-       East Hanover, New Jersey, US head-           to learn and expand our own leadership
crease employees’ engagement.                 quarters site, “ERGs are a great place       capabilities.”
                                              to proactively further diversity and
There are currently 28 ERGs across            ­inclusion at ­Novartis and a community
­Novartis US work sites totaling approx-      where we can share our own goals and
 imately 6 500 members. The groups            needs in a safe and welcoming space.”
 are engaged in internal and external         She notes that “ERGs can also foster
 activities ranging from mentoring and        allyship, which is so important to build-
 networking, to developing programming         ing broad support for D&I at N­ ovartis.”
 for employees around heritage and            Executive Sponsors for PRIDE and
                                              ­
 special recognition months, to organiz-      other ERGs, as well as other company
 ing community outreach events, includ-       leaders, are all allies.
Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021 | 11

Societal impact
At Novartis, our commitment to furthering D&I extends beyond the workplace. We are also working to build
a stronger, safer and more inclusive society. Through initiatives led by our company as well as the ­Novartis
US Foundation, we are focusing on addressing persistent disparities of care that hit individuals, families and
communities of color especially hard.

Meeting diverse patient needs                 ious A
                                                   ­ frican populations and those of       periences of program alumni, PRISM
                                             ­African ancestry.                            participants have a high likelihood of
 ­ ovartis has a long history of pur­suing
 N                                                                                         successfully completing their studies
 novel treatments for diseases that af-      We also believe it is important to en-        and moving into meaningful careers in
 fect diverse populations, including         courage diversity in science educa-           science and research.
 people in underserved communities           tion to help build a broad-based talent
 and regions. We start by analyzing          pipeline in biomedical scholarship and        Diversity in clinical trials
 our early-stage pipeline to ensure our      training. In 2010, the N
                                                                    ­ ovartis Institutes
 drug candidates have the potential          for BioMedical Research established           It is vitally important to have broad-
 to meet the needs of diverse groups,        the N­ ovartis PRISM (Postbaccalaure-         based participation in pharmaceutical
 and continue this focus through the         ate Research InternShip & Mentoring)          clinical studies, to help researchers find
 proof of concept stages and into later      Program, targeting under-resourced            better ways to fight diseases, includ-
­development.                                recent college graduates – including          ing those that disproportionately affect
                                             women, first-generation college stu-          racial and ethnic minority groups. Cur-
­ ovartis also collaborates with other
N                                            dents, underrepresented minorities            rently, underrepresentation of diverse
companies and organizations to sup-          and others – from across the US and           groups in clinical trials appears to be a
port scientific research into genet-         around the world.                             key contributing factor to the disparity
ic diversity. For example, in January                                                      of care.
2021, N­ ovartis and GlaxoSmithKline         Under the program, participants come
announced a joint effort to improve          to N
                                                ­ ovartis research facilities for in-      ­ ovartis is active on a variety of fronts
                                                                                           N
the efficacy and tolerability of cur-        tensive hands-on training, mentoring          to further diversity and inclusion in
rent and future medicines among var-         and development. Based on the ex-             clinical trials. For example, we are pur-
12 | Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021

suing partnerships and other strategic
relationships to enhance clinical trial
accessibility and expand geographic
reach. This includes exploring alterna-
tive recruitment models and aligning
with trial centers and local hospitals in
areas with diverse patient groups. Our
goal is to i­ncrease our network of inves-
tigators and expand the overall number
of locations offering trials.

In collaboration with physicians and
clinical staff, we are also working to
produce educational materials and tool-
kits to mitigate some of the attitudinal
and language barriers to participating
in clinical trials. In addition, we are in-
corporating the patient perspective to
improve clinical trial designs, clinical
trial access and participation, and re-
cruitment, enrollment and retention of
diverse populations. We are exploring
ways to reduce practical barriers as
well, such as transportation challenges
and scheduling conflicts.

Separately, the ­  Novartis US Founda-
tion is committing USD 15 million to
initiatives that address the vast under­
representation of Black Americans,            provement’s Pursuing Equity Learning &        a pledge to lead a legacy of fewer lives
Native Americans, Hispanics, and other        Action Network, which brings together         lost to the disease. Working with advo-
minorities in clinical trials.                healthcare organizations to learn about       cacy groups and organizations like the
                                              and identify bias in the system. These        Association of Black Cardiologists and
Addressing disparities in care                learnings are used to shape policies to       the Black Heart Association, this initia-
and health equity                             create more equitable care.                   tive places special emphasis on raising
                                                                                            awareness of the disproportionate im-
­ ovartis believes an important way we
N                                             COVID-19 has shined a harsh spotlight         pact of cardiovascular disease within
can achieve greater health equity is to       on disparities of care and their impact       Black and other minority communities.
address persistent disparities in the way     on disadvantaged communities. The US
healthcare is approached, accessed            Foundation’s support of the New Jersey        Mentoring programs
and delivered. We are confronting these       Primary Care Association’s Telehealth
disparities in innovative ways, such as       Innovation Grant Program, initiated just      For many years, ­    Novartis has partici-
promoting greater diversity in pharma-        before the onset of the pandemic, ena-        pated in mentoring programs designed
ceutical clinical trials (discussed above)    bled five New Jersey Community Health         to bring employee volunteers together
and supporting education programs             Centers to rapidly launch telehealth ser-     with individuals who can benefit from
that raise awareness about diseases           vices shortly after the pandemic began,       direct, hands-on support. Since 2008,
and treatments. Often, we work in part-       ensuring continuity of care for some of       we have hosted a Disability Mentoring
nership with patient and community or-        the state’s most vulnerable populations.      Day for New Jersey high school stu-
ganizations that share our commitment                                                       dents as part of a nationwide initiative
to health equity.                             Education and awareness are an im-            by the American Association of Peo-
                                              portant part of our efforts to reduce         ple with Disabilities to promote career
The ­  Novartis US Foundation is very         disparities in care. For example, in          ­development for students and job seek-
active in this effort as well, committing     2020 N  ­ ovartis launched The Legacy          ers with disabilities.
more than USD 12 million to promote           We Lead, a first-of-its kind community
­greater health equity and lower barriers     activation initiative that aims to stop the   ­ ovartis also invites New Jersey stu-
                                                                                            N
 to care. These funds support projects        rise of cardiovascular disease mortality      dents in grades 8-12 from a wide range
 like the Institute for Healthcare Im-        by rallying diverse stakeholders around       of cultural backgrounds to come to
Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021 | 13

our East Hanover campus for a three-       in the 1990s to a multifaceted initiative   External recognition
day mentoring program focused on           to include small and diverse suppli-
introducing them to the pharmaceuti-       ers in our e
                                                      ­ xtensive supply chain as a     Our D&I achievements continue to be
cal industry and providing insights into   business imperative. Today, small and       recognized outside the company. In
­various career opportunities. Launched    diverse companies deliver more than         2020, we once again ranked among
 in 1996, the ­Novartis Teen Corporate     USD 400 million in goods and services       just seven companies in DiversityInc’s
 Mentoring Program has earned the          to our company’s US operations.             Hall of Fame, and also number one in
 praise of the New Jersey State Senate                                                 our industry in the Refinitiv Diversity &
 and General Assembly, which cited the     Key to the initiative’s success is our      ­Inclusion Index for the second consec-
 program in naming N ­ ovartis the “Most   focus on identifying, developing and         utive year. In addition, we scored 100%
 Dedicated Mentor”. The program has        mentoring small and diverse suppliers.       on the LGBT Corporate Equality Index
 been a huge success, inspiring many of    Every year N ­ ovartis holds a Supplier      of the Human Rights Campaign and
 the students to become first-generation   Diversity Business Forum, where more         were named a Military Friendly Employ-
 college students.                         than 100 strategically identified small      er for 2020 by Victory Media, publisher
                                           and diverse suppliers meet with the US       of GI Jobs Magazine.
Supplier diversity                         procurement team and others to learn
                                           about doing business with ­Novartis and
­ ovartis believes that diverse suppli-
N                                          the value of partnering with diverse
ers provide unique expertise as well       companies. We are also aligned with
as innovative ideas, products and ser-     five national and local business asso-
vices to our businesses. Supplier di-      ciations to help build capacity for small
versity at ­
           Novartis has grown from a       and diverse businesses through formal
government reporting effort beginning      supplier mentoring programs.
14 | Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021

Case study: Addressing sickle cell disease                           break their silence about the impact and burden of the dis-
                                                                     ease. Since the program’s inception, people within the sickle
­ ovartis is pursuing a comprehensive approach to tackling
N                                                                    cell community have shared more than 1 000 stories on the
sickle cell disease (SCD), a hereditary and life-threatening         website, JoinGenS.com.
condition that causes ongoing vascular damage and repeated
injury to blood vessels and organs. This lifelong illness – which    ­ ovartis has also supported US nonprofits working with the
                                                                     N
disproportionately affects individuals of African ancestry and       SCD community as part of our STEP (Solutions to Empow-
other people of color – often takes an extreme emotional,            er Patients) Program. In 2019, we provided USD 250 000 in
physical and financial toll on patients and their families. In the   funding for innovative programs to help empower SCD pa-
US alone, there are about 100 000 people living with SCD.            tients with significant unmet needs to better navigate the
                                                                     healthcare system, and support them as they transition from
For more than a decade, N ­ ovartis has been seeking to better       pediatric to adult care. The diverse group of grant recipient
understand sickle cell disease and pursuing improved treat-          organizations included patient advocacy groups and research
ments for it. In 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration           institutions, reflecting the broad impact of the disease.
approved an important new ­Novartis treatment for SCD that
is helping many patients.                                            In addition, we are pursuing promising new pathways to-
                                                                     ward more effective treatments of SCD, including in the
We are also actively working to raise awareness about the            area of breakthrough gene therapies. In February 2021, we
condition and expand SCD patient access to treatment and             announced a collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates
care, partnering with patient groups and other organizations.        ­Foundation to discover and develop an accessible in vivo
In 2018, we joined with a number of patient advocacy organ-           gene therapy for the disease. This agreement aims to ad-
izations to launch Generation S, a national sickle cell story-        dress disparity in access to treatments and to prioritize pop-
telling project designed to encourage the SCD community to            ulations and regions that bear the greatest burden of SCD.
Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021 | 15

Moving forward together
At Novartis, D&I is a constant work in      tinually assessing our progress toward   initiatives to continue to make a real dif-
progress, as we continue to seek new        achieving our D&I goals, and holding     ference for our employees and our pa-
ways to make our company more di-           ourselves accountable to the highest     tients, so that together we can discover
verse and inclusive and to help society     standards. As we move forward, we are    more, reach underserved communities,
move in a positive direction. We are con-   excited about the potential of our D&I   and reimagine medicine.
Novartis US EEO/Diversity & Inclusion Report 2021 | 16
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