Last week an event several years in the making took place in New York City that is cause for celebration for my Johnson & Johnson colleagues.
On behalf of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies, our Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky accepted the Straight for Equality in the Workplace Award from PFLAG, the largest grassroots-based family organization providing support, education and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, their families, friends and allies (nearly 200,000 members across 350 communities across the U.S. and abroad).
This award honors Johnson & Johnson for our demonstrated commitment to achieving equality for LGBT people in the workplace by educating and engaging straight allies in creating both policy and culture change. Specifically, the organization recognized the success of Care with PRIDE™, an initiative to prevent bullying and make schools safer for all children, now celebrating its third year.
We are particularly proud of this honor because it is a testament to the commitment we make to Our Credo values, which call on us to respect all employees, and to serve the communities in which we live and work.
PFLAG is not alone in recognizing our efforts to embrace diversity in the workplace as well as the marketplace. Other LGBT advocacy organizations have recognized our efforts: 2014 was the 9th consecutive year that we have earned a perfect score of 100% on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
My colleagues should know that Johnson & Johnson has begun to move into a more visible leadership role in our commitment to diversity and equality. Two very public demonstrations of this were last June, when we supported the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and just last month, in our signing of a business coalition to support the passage of the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) – two important pieces of federal legislation.
I’m honored to be part of the celebration of this award on behalf of our company and the many Johnson & Johnson employees who work hard every day to ensure that our company is a diverse and inclusive place to work.
Read J&J Chairman & CEO Alex Gorsky’s remarks at the PFLAG Straight for Equality awards gala here:
http://www.blogjnj.com/2014/04/2014-straight-for-equality-in-the-workplace-award-acceptance-alex-gorsky/
Learn more about our diversity and inclusion programs here: http://www.jnj.com/about-jnj/diversity.
R. Scott Creighton is Global Vice President, Marketing Excellence of the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Companies, where he oversees the training and development of more than 1,000 marketing professionals worldwide. He brings nearly 25 years of international marketing and sales experience from a range of channels and business models to this role.
Scott holds an MBA with an elective concentration in Marketing from the Darden School of the University of Virginia, of which he is also an Advisory Board member. In addition to his commitment to regional and national health and community organizations, Scott is a long-distance cyclist.