Since its inception in 2017, Re-Ignite has enabled professionals in 13 countries to return to the workplace, where they can continue their careers in meaningful roles at Johnson & Johnson.
At Johnson & Johnson we employ a range of approaches to ensure our talent outreach is proactive, inclusive and welcoming.
While expanding access to people through non-traditional and underleveraged channels, we also take a deliberate approach to remove gender and racial bias through our recruiting processes. Consistent with our Code of Business Conduct, our employment and development decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and skills, and not based on race, gender, ethnic status, age or any other demographic or protected status.
DEI by the Numbers in 2022
41
%
of our Vice Presidents globally are women
100
%
of eligible VP+ leaders completed required DEI Scorecard training
$
112
million
was invested in employee learning and development
50
%
of our regions have achieved gender parity
1
st
full annual cycle of hiring with
Department of Defense SkillBridge Pathway
100
%
of people leaders committed to DEI goals
Ethnic/Racial Diversity in the U.S.
Expanding Access to Talent
We maintain many partnerships and collaborations to support outreach to different communities of potential candidates. These include working with many advocacy organizations, universities and academic institutions, including medical schools and colleges, to attract candidates to Johnson & Johnson.
Some examples of expanding access to talent in 2022:
Collegiate Support
We have a broad college recruiting strategy where we work with diverse student organizations at large universities as well as deepen our strong relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions and colleges that are local to our facilities.
Connecting with Researchers
The Scientist Mentoring & Diversity Program (SMDP) of the International Center for Professional Development (ICPD) is a one-year career mentoring initiative aimed at increasing the participation of underrepresented scientists in our industry. Johnson & Johnson’s 14-year involvement in SMDP engages our leaders to mentor and identify scientists from underrepresented groups. An SMDP Virtual Poster Session in 2022 brought together more than 200 Johnson & Johnson employees from all sectors and 14 graduate and postdoctoral SMDP scholars for an exciting presentation of their scientific research and a unique connection opportunity. Many SMDP scholars go on to join Johnson & Johnson in scientific career tracks in biotechnology, medical technology and consumer healthcare.
Kristal Gant
University of Wisconsin-Madison, SMDP poster session participant
Supporting Indigenous Students in Canada
Johnson & Johnson Canada sponsored the first annual Reconciliation in Business Conference and Pow Wow hosted by the Indigenous in Business student group at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. The Conference and Pow Wow encourages reciprocal relationships between non-indigenous and indigenous organizations, while working to minimize the socioeconomic inequality faced by indigenous peoples. Our sponsorship and engagement with this event represented Johnson & Johnson’s commitment to indigenous students pursuing post-secondary degrees in business, as well as strengthening ties to the Ted Rogers School of Management and Toronto Metropolitan University as sources of potential employees for our organization.
Hosting Women Seeking Information Technology (IT) Careers
Johnson & Johnson LATAM hosted an event in collaboration with the NGO Cloudgirls, for women interested in IT careers. Our team at the Johnson & Johnson office in São Paulo, Brazil presented information about IT careers at Johnson & Johnson and training and development opportunities.
Addressing Aging Populations in Asia Pacific
As a founding member of the Aging Business Roundtable, Johnson & Johnson partnered with Associate Professor Carol Ma of the Singapore University of Social Sciences, bringing together a broad spectrum of corporate DEI leaders as well NGO and government leaders with expertise in longevity. In 2022, the Roundtable published a series of white papers exploring longevity and innovation, public private partnership and the future of the aging workplace. The team developed a Longevity Framework for Johnson & Johnson which outlined the elements of an Aging-Friendly Workplace to promote a strategic approach to longevity, capturing strengths and opportunities for future investment.
Working with Black People in Brazil
Our SoulAfro Axé program contributes to the educational and professional development of Black people in Brazil, offering training, employability and career opportunities. The program engages high school and undergraduate students as well as Johnson & Johnson’s own employees in Brazil. A key activity of the program is a two-day immersion, where participants join debates about racial literacy, impostor syndrome and emotional intelligence.
Advancing Scientists in Underrepresented Groups
Janssen advances graduate and postdoctoral scientists in underrepresented groups in several ways, including the Scholars of Oncology Diversity Engagement Program and the Diversity in Drug Discovery and Development (4D) Fellowship Program in partnership with Drexel University.
Welcoming Military Veterans
Johnson & Johnson has a long history of welcoming U.S. Armed Forces members and veterans, their families and spouses, and veteran caregivers. Alongside our appreciation for their service, we continue to value the unique leadership skills and experience military veterans and military spouses bring to our business. We are constantly seeking to improve our outreach to expand our hiring pathways for military veterans through engagement with government bodies and Veteran Service Organizations, as well as enhancing our veteran onboarding and development programs to support transitioning to civilian life, work and career development. All our veterans are invited to join our active Veterans Leadership Council Employee Resource Group (ERG) (see section: Expanding our DEI networks).
We made strong progress as an employer of choice for the military community:
- Johnson & Johnson accelerated development programs through our Military Veteran Leadership Development Program (MVLDP) for high potential, recently transitioned service members. The program has maintained a retention rate of more than 95% across all cohorts, totaling over 40 veterans.
- Hired veterans through the Department of Defense SkillBridge pathway, which provides military service members with civilian work experience during their final six months in service. In 2022, we completed our first full annual cycle of hiring, with 85% of participants becoming Johnson & Johnson full-time employees.
- Reaffirmed our commitment to hiring veterans and military spouses through the Veteran Jobs Mission, a coalition that brings together hundreds of leading companies to actively hire veterans.
I started at Johnson & Johnson in January 2021 through the Military and Veteran Leadership Development Program. To me, it’s both a program and a company; it helps you figure out what it is you want to do and gives you the flexibility to go to different functions and areas of work and learn how to round out your skills and fit into this enormous company.
Laura Ruiz
R&D Manager, Military & Veteran Leadership Development Program,
Johnson & Johnson, and Veteran, United States Army
Inspiring People to Return to Work After a Career Break
Re-Ignite is Johnson & Johnson’s global career re-entry program that offers experienced professionals who have taken a break from their career for two or more years the opportunity to return to the workforce with specialized onboarding, networking, and development activities. In addition to its ambition to support women in returning to STEM2D professions, Re-Ignite is a gender-inclusive program that, in 2022, officially expanded its focus to include returning professionals both in and outside of STEM2D roles. In practice, we have found that Re-Ignite attracts a diverse set of candidates, as it offers opportunities that they may not find through traditional channels.
Did you know?
Ensuring Accessibility for People with Disabilities
Johnson & Johnson aims to provide equitable access and to create an inclusive culture for all, including people with sensory impairments and physical, intellectual, neurodevelopmental and emotional disabilities. Among the actions Johnson & Johnson implemented or expanded upon in 2022 are:
- Incorporating inclusive language: We expanded our definition of diversity to be fully inclusive by adding “abilities” in addition to other dimensions of diversity.
- Advocating for people with disabilities: We commemorated the International Day of Persons with Disabilities with a special event featuring author and disability rights advocate, Judith Heumann.
- Protecting mental health: In June 2022, we proudly signed the Employee Well-Being & Mental Health Pledge, convened by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the nonprofit Thrive. This pledge brings together many leading companies to reaffirm a commitment to invest in employee mental health and well-being.
- Making workplaces accessible: Implemented Universal Design into the physical features of our headquarters and other offices, offering inclusive access and experiences to all people. Universal Design incorporates discreet design solutions, ergonomic furniture and touch-free devices for accessibility – to meet needs related to gender identity, race, ability, age, neurodiversity, socioeconomic status and culture. It is considerate of the ways in which these needs intersect, and creates healthier, safer, easier, more convenient and more comfortable environments for everyone.
Jonathan Sheh
Director, Workplace Strategies, Johnson & Johnson
- Promoting Ability Week: Joined forces with the Adecco Foundation in Spain to raise awareness about diversity and inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce.
- Accessibility in social media: The LATAM America Mentor and Biosense Webster teams launched the #ForAllToSee campaign, which adds image descriptions to all social media posts for increased accessibility to visually impaired people in Latin America. This approach is now being incorporated across LATAM to make content more available to a wide variety of patients and promote an inclusive understanding of the different ways people receive information.
Did you know?
The CEO of Johnson & Johnson is a signatory to the Valuable 500, stating the commitment of Johnson & Johnson to disability inclusion. The Valuable 500 is a global movement of 500 leading corporations that aim to put disability inclusion on the business leadership agenda and help unlock the social and economic value of people living with disabilities.
Removing Barriers to Access
We employ a range of approaches that eliminate barriers to access at the recruitment stage, from leveraging technology to prevent bias in job descriptions to encouraging diverse candidate slates in our interview process.
Expanding Diverse Slates
A candidate slate, defined as all candidates considered by the hiring manager, needs at least two qualified women candidates (global) or at least two qualified candidates who are women, Black or African American, or Hispanic (U.S.) to be considered diverse. We also deploy diverse interview teams, as this invites different perspectives in the candidate selection process and leads to more diverse hiring outcomes. It is required that all candidate slates be diverse.
Supporting Access for Refugees in Switzerland
Johnson & Johnson engaged in a partnership with Capacity, a nonprofit that assists high skilled migrants and refugees to join the Swiss labor market. Our employees volunteered in different capacities to co-develop the program and to coach the program’s beneficiaries.
Removing Bias from Job Postings
To continue making our job postings as inclusive as possible, in 2022 we removed the English-language requirement for Johnson & Johnson’s internship program in Brazil. By removing this barrier, we tapped into a broader population of university students, including those from underrepresented and low-income communities. Globally, Johnson & Johnson supports non-English speaking employees with resources and classes to help them learn the language and progress their careers.
I signed up for the internship process precisely because English was not one of the requirements. When I arrived, I received all the support and classes to develop myself in the English language, which I hadn’t had access to before. Recently, I was hired, and speak English daily. If it weren’t for this opportunity of not needing English for the internship, I probably wouldn’t be in this role today.
Eduardo Jose Sianga
Information Technology Analyst Jr., Johnson & Johnson Brazil
Broadening Hiring Criteria
We have broadened our recruiting requirements to include candidates with a non-linear career path or graduates from a broader range of schools than previously considered.
