Diversity and Inclusion at GSK

At GSK, creating an inclusive organisation that respects and promotes the diversity of their employees and the communities it serves is a key focus.

The very essence of successful scientific innovation relies on diversity of people and thought. Hear what their Head of Human Resources has to say on diversity and inclusion.

To accelerate GSK’s progress on inclusion and diversity, globally they are focusing on increasing female representation in senior management throughout the organisation.

• GSK is a member of the 30% Club gender campaign that aims to achieve 30% female representation in senior management within FTSE 100 companies by 2020.
• GSK supports the development and career progression for high-performing female managers through their Accelerating Difference programme, which provides coaching and support. GSK also recruits and supports women early in their careers through the graduate and apprentice programmes.
• GSK’s CEO, Emma Walmsley, is the first (and only) woman to run a major pharmaceutical company.
• Locally, Christi Kelsey and Lizzie Champion lead the pharmaceuticals and vaccines businesses in Australia and New Zealand respectively.
• GSK proudly celebrates International Women’s Day, a day where their employees collaborate with ‘Dress for Success’, to empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
• GSK Australia’s parental leave policy offers all parents paid primary and secondary caregiver leave, taking into consideration the many ways that someone can become a parent (biologically, adoptive, domestic LGBTQI+ partnership and surrogacy/gestational carrier).

GSK’s commitment to social responsibility, globally and in the Australian community, is embedded into the way they do business, and GSK are proud to have built their Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) into their ways of working.

• GSK’s 2018–2020 Innovate RAP is their second RAP, and builds upon the success of their first RAP, which was put in place from 2012–2014. 
• To demonstrate that they're not just talking the talk but actually walking the walk, GSK have released a Progress Summary Report. This document provides details of the actions taken towards their Reconciliation Action Plan deliverables in the first half of 2019.
• GSK celebrates and participates in National Reconciliation Week (NRW) by providing opportunities to build and maintain relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians. In 2019, this involved a cultural awareness training workshop hosted by their corporate charity partner, Save the Children; a tour of a site of cultural significance for the local Aboriginal tribe (Dight’s Falls) guided by a Wurundjeri Elder; site-wide Mirri Mirri team building and more.
• GSK provides opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff to engage with cultures and communities by celebrating NAIDOC Week. In 2019, this involved: an exhibition and talk with prominent indigenous photographer and cultural advisor, Professor Wayne Quilliam; volunteering at a local NGO; picking and packing aid packages to be delivered to rural Indigenous communities and more.
• GSK strives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supplier diversity within their organisation, having preferred Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses that can be engaged to procure goods and services including Pawa Catering, Nallawilli Office Wares, Outback Coffee, Dreamtime Creative, Tjindgarmi Office wares and Wurundjeri Tribe Council.
• GSK’s Consumer Healthcare business has developed a plan to help close the gap in oral health by providing product donations and volunteering time to execute oral health initiatives in NSW.
• In 2019, over 50 GSK employees, along with their friends and family, participated in the 39th annual de Castella Run. This event supports fundraising for the Indigenous Marathon Foundation, a health promotion charity.
• GSK engages its employees in understanding the significance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural protocols, such as Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country, to ensure there is a shared meaning.
• In collaboration with the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM) the ViiV team provided important HIV and sexual health education for nurses through the ‘Fundamentals of HIV and Sexual Health for primary healthcare nurses’ workshop.

GSK is a signatory to the Charter for Change at the 2018 UK Government Department for International Development Global Disability Summit, joining other organisations with a common aim to ensure rights, freedoms, dignity and inclusion for people with disabilities.

• GSK’s Disability Confidence Network (DCN) is a trusted employee resource group for disability inclusion across GSK. The DCN’s partnership with the businesses is valued and strategic to GSK becoming a disability confident employer of choice. The DCN partners with the businesses to ensure all employees feel valued and are able to reach their potential through inclusion, awareness, education, access to workplace adaptations and advocacy.
• The Global Disability Council was established in 2014 to support GSK’s aim to become a disability confident employer and is fully supported by their Corporate Executive Team and is led by chair Nick Hirons who says, ‘Inclusion for all is critical to our mission to be one of the world's most innovative, best performing and trusted healthcare companies. With approximately 15 per cent of the world's population having a disability – and over 70 per cent of those disabilities aren't visible – we have an immense opportunity to do more for our colleagues, patients and consumers in this space.’  ​
• GSK provides disability confidence training for managers and employees to become ‘disability confident’ and learn more about inclusive behaviours and language when working with people with disability.
• At GSK, mental wellbeing is just as important as physical wellbeing. They offer access to counselling through GSK’s 24-hour confidential Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), to support those employees dealing with personal or professional issues that are affecting their wellbeing.
• GSK’s modern dress codes embrace individual difference and trusts their employees to wear what they feel is appropriate and comfortable for the type of work they do in their day.
• GSK looks to accommodate all disabilities by making reasonable adjustments where possible.

GSK’s mission is to provide a supportive, nurturing forum for GSK's employees, across the spectrum of sexual orientation or gender identity. GSK fully supports their gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight ally employees, and works with LGBTQI+ employees to increase the awareness and understanding of issues and concerns that impact them.

• GSK Australia is one of the 851 corporations that publicly supports marriage equality and demonstrated this throughout the 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.
• GSK has a global employee resource group for LGBTQI+ employees and their straight allies, known as Spectrum, which was launched in Australia and New Zealand in 2019.
• In 2019, GSK’s UK Spectrum group was named Stonewall’s Employee Network Group of the Year.
• GSK has been ranked in the top 5th percentile for corporate equality in the HRC corporate equality index annual rating for 12 consecutive years.
• GSK New Zealand is the first pharmaceutical company in NZ to have achieved the Rainbow Tick.
• GSK has been named as a 2019 Equality Champion by Open For Business LGBT for their strong commitment to advancing LGBT+ equality around the world.
• Spectrum UK was praised in DIVA’s Rainbow Honours LGBTQ Network Group category by DIVA, the world’s leading media brand for LGBTQI women. This award is given to the corporate LGBTQ staff network which provides the greatest support to its members.
• All of GSK’s policies are LGBTI+ inclusive. For example, their parental leave policy is inclusive, considering the many ways that LGBTQI+ employees can become parents including adoptive surrogacy/gestational carrier and foster care.

GSK's workforce consists of a diverse population of people with different backgrounds, races and religions. Harnessing these differences creates a productive environment in which everybody feels valued, talent can be fully utilised and organisational goals met.

• GSK encourages their employees to embrace their culture under the #BeYou agenda. This has seen employees sharing their culture with others in the office through a range of events such as Diwali celebrations, Bollywood dancing, Easter around the world celebrations and more.
• GSK offers global diversity training to all employees, helping them to understand the many cultures that help to shape our employees and customers.
• GSK’s early talent recruitment process uses a strengths-based recruitment method, helping to eliminate any bias and allowing a more diverse range of candidates to be considered for the program.
• Since its launch in 2009, GSK’s employee volunteering program, PULSE, has sent more than 705 employees from 63 countries to serve 120 non-profits around the world. By doing so, GSK’s employees can immerse themselves in different cultures while having a social contribution.
• Trek for Kids is an employee fundraising initiative from the GSK and Save the Children partnership. Open to GSK employees worldwide, in March 2019 the 40 selected GSK trekkers climbed the Simien Mountains in Ethiopia to raise money for Save the Children. As well as raising more than £270,000, the employees had the invaluable experience of understanding the culture of Ethiopia, and the culture of the other 39 employees on the trek.
• Globally, GSK is a signatory to the Charter for Change at the 2018 UK Government Department for International Development Global Disability Summit, joining other organisations with a common aim to ensure rights, freedoms, dignity and inclusion for people with disabilities.

GSK believes that all employees bring something unique to GSK and when they combine their knowledge, experiences and styles together, the impact is incredible. Because of this belief, GSK has earned many awards, accreditations and memberships at both a global and local level.

• GSK New Zealand is the first pharmaceutical company in NZ to have achieved the Rainbow Tick.
• GSK was listed #6 on Stonewall Top Employer List for 2020.
• In 2019, GSK’s UK Spectrum group was named Stonewall Employee Network Group of the Year.
• In 2019, GSK were named an Equality Champion by Open For Business for their strong commitment to advancing LGBTQI+ equality around the world. 
• Spectrum UK 'Commended' in DIVA’s Rainbow Honours LGBTQ staff network which provides the greatest support to its members.
• GSK has been ranked in the top 5th percentile for corporate equality in the HRC corporate equality index annual rating for 12 consecutive years.