As it works toward improving the diversity of its workforce, Bayer took a moment this week to celebrate some of the diverse voices already on board—and its efforts to uphold their rights.
In an Instagram post in honor of the annual Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, Bayer’s U.S. branch pledged to “support and celebrate our transgender colleagues and allies at #TeamBayer today and every day.”
The Big Pharma went on in the caption of the post—a simple graphic with the colors of the trans pride flag emblazoned with “Transgender Day of Visibility”—to declare its ongoing commitment to “creating a workplace where all employees can be their authentic selves so their talents can shine.”
To that end, Bayer noted that it’s been a “long-time member” of the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC’s) Business Coalition for the Equality Act, encompassing U.S. employers that support legislation that would extend the anti-discrimination protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to LGBTQ+ people. The company said it has also signed the HRC’s Business Statement on Anti-LGBTQ+ State Legislation, an open letter signed by hundreds of U.S. corporations voicing their opposition to recently introduced bills that “single out LGBTQ individuals—many specifically targeting transgender youth—for exclusion or differential treatment.”
“At Bayer, we are committed to building an inclusive workplace where all employees can be their authentic selves every day and thrive. From how we develop products to how we design our workplaces, we strive to reflect the diverse world we live and work in,” Asha Hope, head and vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, North America, for Bayer, said in a statement sent to Fierce Pharma Marketing. “Respecting every employee’s unique needs helps us become a more inclusive, dynamic company and helps us achieve our mission, ‘Health for all, Hunger for none.’”
Bayer has often made a point of celebrating its LGBTQ+ employees on its social media feeds, with annual posts spotlighting the Trans Day of Visibility—complete with photos of the trans pride flag flying over various Bayer locations—and celebrating Pride Month every June.
Offline, one of the pharma’s nine business resource groups is reserved for LGBTQ+ workers and allies. Like its fellow BRGs, BLEND offers its members professional career development, networking and mentoring resources as well as the opportunity to share their experiences and expertise with the rest of the company.
On a corporate level, alongside its goal of achieving gender parity at all levels of management by 2030, Bayer has vowed to improve its diversity and inclusion elsewhere. That included, among other aims, a promise that “the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender employees will continue to be advocated at Board of Management level” when it set the gender parity goal in 2021.
Those efforts have earned Bayer plenty of external recognition: Not only did it receive the top score in a 2022 analysis of diversity, equity and inclusion at the top 20 pharmas, it has also earned a perfect score on the HRC Foundation’s annual assessment of LGBTQ+ workplace equality for six years running.
“We are working to create an inclusive culture where employees of all genders, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, and sexual orientation feel that they can contribute at their best because they can bring their whole self to Bayer,” Hope continued in the statement. “We are proud to offer benefits that meet the unique needs of our employees, such as aligning with the Corporate Equality Index (CEI) Criteria and providing gender transition-related care and coverage.”
