Q&A: Johnson & Johnson boosts diversity through STEM initiatives, grant programs
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MONTEREY, Calif. — Johnson & Johnson has prioritized diversity by implementing pillars to involve young people in STEM programs.
“We’ll continue to push, continue these dialogues in a robust manner; we need to continue to challenge industry partners to do more,” Xiao-Yu Song, MD, PhD, global head of research and development for Johnson & Johnson Vision, told Healio/OSN at the Women in Ophthalmology Summer Symposium, where she delivered remarks at a session on diversity and gender equality in ophthalmology.
Healio/OSN spoke with Song about the efforts Johnson & Johnson has made toward a more inclusive and diverse future. Song noted efforts such as a program that encourages young women to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), training programs at the company, and the pillars that uphold diversity, equity and inclusion.
Healio/OSN: What action is Johnson & Johnson Vision taking to boost diversity and gender equality in ophthalmology?
Song: There are three strategic pillars around diversity, equity and inclusion. No. 1 is to advance the culture of inclusion and innovation. No. 2 is about building a diverse workforce for now and for the future. And No. 3 is to use the role that we have as leaders in health care to cause change on a much larger scale with much larger impact. We want our associates to come to work every day and feel they belong. We know it brings a lot of benefit to the business, but at the end of the day, it is about how we serve our patients, who are very diverse. Our job is health care, so patients are always at the center of what we do. We serve globally, not just the U.S., so in order to serve patients well, we ourselves need to be able to understand the patient.
Healio/OSN: What is your role in implementing those actions?
Song: I am fortunate. I have had so many mentors, sponsors and coaches in my 22-year career at J&J who got me the opportunity to be where I am, and I want to pay that forward, especially for women. We cannot start too late on this journey to get women into ophthalmology and optometry. We have to start early, in elementary school, middle school and high school, to get girls into STEM. I am sponsoring a local chapter, the Jacksonville, Florida-based WiSTEM2D — Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing and Design. The group of women engineers and scientists is all volunteer, and we reach out to schools in Florida to set up relationships to help students with resume preparation and mock interviews and to help them land a good job in the STEM area, including jobs at J&J. We will have that type of program across all different parts of the U.S. because of the WiSTEM2D program.
Healio/OSN: Can you share any success stories of individuals who have been inspired by J&J Vision’s initiatives?
Song: The Jacksonville group has done a tremendous job reaching out and bringing in talent, not only to J&J, but also to the STEM field. That group is led by Nayiby Alvarez, who is the director of enterprise quality customer experience engineering at J&J. She was recently recognized by the Society of Women Engineers because of WiSTEM2D. I get together with those engineers and scientists from WiSTEM2D once a month to see where they are, and I tell them that my role is to help to remove barriers for them. They are unstoppable.
Healio/OSN: Are J&J’s initiatives working?
Song: We continue to sponsor organizations that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, such as Women in Ophthalmology. We provide many grant programs for training of health care professionals to raise awareness of unconscious bias. We joined Black Eyecare Perspective for optometry schools to create a pipeline for Black students into optometry. We are taking the 13% Promise, which is a pledge intended to help optometry school enrollment reach that level of representation for Black students, and then moving on to leadership positions, whether it is executive leadership or faculty positions, to be at that level. It can feel small at the time, but if we do that over 5 or 10 years, the progress can be quite significant. We cannot take our foot off the gas pedal. That is the key — let’s keep driving this dialogue.
Reference:
The 13% Promise. https://blackeyecareperspective.com/the-13-promise. Accessed Sept. 22, 2022.
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