The Power of Employee-Led Workstreams to Drive Gender Parity

#breakthebias #employeeresourcegroup #empowerthegrassroots #inclusion

At MSD we are committed to achieving gender parity at all levels. The company is driving its goal forward in a project group led by representatives of the entire workforce. Together, we set out on the journey, considering both hard facts (D&I metrics) and soft facts (diversity of perspectives). Join MSD on its very own unique path to gender parity.

This Best Practice was first published in the Gender Intelligence Report 2022. 

Striving for full gender parity at all management levels  

As MSD, we have been present in Switzerland since 1963. We are 1,000 employees at five locations in the cantons of Lucerne and, more recently, Zurich. We strongly believe that equality, diversity and inclusion are success factors within the company. We are therefore committed to an inclusive work environment that gives all employees the opportunity to develop their full potential. 

Our values represent the very core of MSD’s character. They guide every decision and action we take. One of our values is ‘Respect for People.’ Our ability to excel depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, skill, diversity, safety, and teamwork of our employees. To this end, we work to create an environment of mutual respect, inclusion, and accountability. In line with our values, our goal is full gender parity at all levels at MSD Switzerland. Our priority: to move the needle on the first level of people management to drive the change and allow more women to progress to the top. Currently, only about one-third of our first level management positions are held by women. We know if we get the first level management positions at parity, the pipeline to fill the next management level is more robust. The argument ‘we can’t find women’ to fill management roles is redundant when the talent pool is gender equal. 

Gender equality workstream: Involving all employees    

On the road to gender parity, we want to involve every employee. That is why we recently invited our entire workforce to help shape our D&I vision. We established a gender equality workstream. The project team is made up of ten employees from all sites, hierarchical levels, functions, genders, age groups, working time models, and D&I communities (e.g., the co-leaders of the internal women’s network).  

The workstream meets once a month with the following agenda on gender parity: 

• Discussion of D&I metrics (e.g., dashboards at local, regional, global level; Key Performance Indicators such as promotion; data from the Gender Intelligence Report)  
• Identification of the most important initiatives (e.g., listening circles)  
• Adoption of the ‘Gender Parity Roadmap’ (see graphic further below) – a binding time and activity plan  

Perspective-taking in listening circles  

Employee experiences are crucial to strengthening our inclusive culture. We are firmly convinced that it is crucial to foster a culture of open dialog. An open dialog means deep listening to others who have diverse backgrounds, views, and perspectives. It means going beyond the boundaries of one’s own perspective to understand and empathize with another person’s thoughts and feelings. That is why we held four listening circles (full time female employees, full time male employees, gender mixed flexible working arrangements including part timers, leadership team members; see graphic) about topics such as career advancement, work-life balance and support in accessing development opportunities.  

It was insightful to connect with our employees both females and males as we realized there were a lot of different perspectives on important questions:

• What does MSD do well in terms of talent development (overall)? Why? 
• Is there anything we can do better? If so, what and why and how? 
• What helped you to get to the position you are in today? 
• What are the roadblocks we can take away in order to foster a sustainable gender parity? 
• Why did you choose the work model (e.g., flex work arrangement) you are in currently? Would you like to challenge/change it? If yes, what needs to be true to do so? 

driving gender parity

Based on the quantitative data (data analysis) and the qualitative data (results of the listening circles), the project group created the ‘Gender Parity Roadmap’ for MSD Switzerland (see graphic):  

Employee empowerment works 

The support and enthusiasm of senior leadership has been vital throughout the journey. “Creating an environment where diverse talents can thrive is critical for us. Our employees’ physical and mental wellbeing, passion, and purpose shape our company’s purpose finding innovative and effective solutions for our patients, on top of gaining trust and respect from health care professionals”, shares Judeke Frederiks, HR Director Switzerland and Mid Europe. “This is why when we talk about Equity, every single one of us counts as Leaders, Managers and Employees. Our D&I culture and strategy continues to expand through our Employee Business Resource Groups, such as the Women’s Network, Rainbow Alliance, and Next Generation Network, or through targeted programs such as the Future Women Leaders Program”, adds Carolien van Bloemendal, Associate Vice President Supply Chain. 

In addition, encouraging employees to contribute ideas and suggestions to promote gender parity has been an overwhelming success. Employee empowerment works. We have the same number of female and male colleagues taking 16 weeks of parental leave (which is more than the legal maternity and paternity leave in Switzerland) – a policy we introduced in February 2020. We also have seen a significant increase of female people managers representation within the past five years. 

One of our key actions was to follow-up with our listening circle participants and share our key achievements. We offered them an insight to the Gender Parity Roadmap we developed and shared the prioritization we have made. The employees very much appreciated the transparency and open information. Our experience shows: Involving employees pays off. Everyone is on board the road to gender parity, and everyone supports the journey. And now it is time to seize the momentum and put all our plans into action. Stay tuned!  

Nathalie Nowak kindly offered her availability for an exchange to interested Advance member companies. Feel free to contact her on nathalie.nowak1@msd.com  

This Best Practice was first published in the Gender Intelligence Report 2022.

read the report

#breakthebias #employeeresourcegroups #empowerthegrassroots #inclusion