Overview
The Janssen Pharmaceuticals Company, a subsidiary member of the Pharmaceuticals business segment for J&J, is a multi-billion dollar business with a worldwide team of up to 50,000 employees.
Dr. Portia Hunt was invited by Janssen to support an exploration of the values held by the company and its related policies reflecting the non-tolerance of racism in the workplace. Hunt was engaged for three training sessions covering these issues. The engagement was instigated by the murder of George Floyd and the global uprising that followed.
Over the course of three months, June – September 2020, Dr. Hunt conducted Town Hall meetings with corporate teams and leadership totalling over 1,200 in attendance.
Outcomes:
- Leadership discovered that despite workplace anti-racism values and policies, more subtle forms of racism existed and were in fact tolerated, including how:
- White privilege operates in the workplace as the standard for how people are judged, evaluated and rewarded.
- The work environment accommodates the avoidance of discussing conflicts within and between groups of people from different, as well as the same racial ethnic group, when a racial subtext is inherent.
- Employees observed that diversity training is usually superficial and focused on the company’s customers rather than on work relationships among team members.
- Company leadership uses a “window dressing” solution model in order to present a branding image that its BIPOC employees are accepted.
- Racial tensions are usually hidden in plain sight and managers generally are not equipped to resolve these problems.
- Leaders of mixed racial heritage are often viewed as conflicted: they experience tension from white colleagues to prove themselves, while being perceived suspiciously by other BIPOC employees as being disloyal to their own ethnic group.
- Employees seemed open to revealing their negative and positive feelings with each other and leadership.
Going Forward
- Overview
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Overview
The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies is organized into three business segments— Consumer, Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Devices and considers themselves to be the world’s most broadly based global health care business serving customers, patients and medical professionals through more than 275 companies in over 60 countries.The Janssen Pharmaceuticals Company, a subsidiary member of the Pharmaceuticals business segment for J&J, is a multi-billion dollar business with a worldwide team of up to 50,000 employees.
Dr. Portia Hunt was invited by Janssen to support an exploration of the values held by the company and its related policies reflecting the non-tolerance of racism in the workplace. Hunt was engaged for three training sessions covering these issues. The engagement was instigated by the murder of George Floyd and the global uprising that followed.
Over the course of three months, June – September 2020, Dr. Hunt conducted Town Hall meetings with corporate teams and leadership totalling over 1,200 in attendance.
- Outcomes
-
Outcomes:
- Leadership discovered that despite workplace anti-racism values and policies, more subtle forms of racism existed and were in fact tolerated, including how:
- White privilege operates in the workplace as the standard for how people are judged, evaluated and rewarded.
- The work environment accommodates the avoidance of discussing conflicts within and between groups of people from different, as well as the same racial ethnic group, when a racial subtext is inherent.
- Employees observed that diversity training is usually superficial and focused on the company’s customers rather than on work relationships among team members.
- Company leadership uses a “window dressing” solution model in order to present a branding image that its BIPOC employees are accepted.
- Racial tensions are usually hidden in plain sight and managers generally are not equipped to resolve these problems.
- Leaders of mixed racial heritage are often viewed as conflicted: they experience tension from white colleagues to prove themselves, while being perceived suspiciously by other BIPOC employees as being disloyal to their own ethnic group.
- Employees seemed open to revealing their negative and positive feelings with each other and leadership.
- Going Forward
-
Going Forward
Dr. Hunt and Janssen are currently in a conversation to develop a program that will address the needs of the company and its employees.
