Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in Australia today announced it has entered into a partnership with Day of STEM to help increase the number of women studying in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Johnson & Johnson is the first health care company in Australia to enter into this partnership, which is a part of our commitment to harness the power of diversity to improve the health and well-being of people around the world.

Building a diverse STEM community is one approach Johnson & Johnson is taking as part of a broader effort to accelerate the development of women leaders and to support women at all stages of their life to improve global health and well-being and drive sustainable economic growth.

“Johnson & Johnson was founded on science and innovation and we’re committed to being a partner and advocate for women. So we are very enthusiastic about supporting programs to expand the idea base in STEM fields for students and fostering diversified perspectives across the world,” said Gavin Fox-Smith, Managing Director, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices, ANZ.

“The fact is that in Australia, diversification of the STEM graduate pool and workforce is not proceeding at a pace we’re satisfied with. Ensuring such talent is cultivated to enter the workplace is critical to maintaining successful businesses and meeting the changing needs of an increasingly complex marketplace,” Mr Fox-Smith continued.

“Our mentor for the Day of STEM program – Anelo Cournut, holds one of the most senior positions in our business in Australia, that of General Manager and strategic leader of highly experienced and professionally diverse teams who work with specialised surgeons to restore health and well being to patients. Anelo’s field of tertiary education is in Engineering and Industrial Management, and she has used this strong foundation as a launch pad for an exciting and broad career across Marketing, Logistics and Customer Satisfaction roles in health,” concluded Mr Fox-Smith.

Johnson & Johnson’s partnership in the Day of STEM program is a key initiative driving its strategy to build a healthy and diverse workforce of the future through various efforts already underway in the areas of talent recruitment and retention, women-focused innovation and corporate and philanthropic partnerships. In Australia, these include:

• High School Programs: Johnson & Johnson partners with local schools to augment program-based learning and engage Johnson & Johnson employees as mentors to students.
• University Talent: Johnson & Johnson is partnering with academic institutions to develop high-impact strategies for increasing the number of women enrolling in and graduating with STEM programs and degrees, such as the Women in MBA Program.
• Professionals: Johnson & Johnson will continue to identify and implement best practices for attracting and retaining the world’s best technical female talent, such as our Women in Leadership Program and the Johnson & Johnson Eureka Prize for Innovation in Medical Research in partnership with the Australian Museum.

About Johnson & Johnson
Caring for the world one person at a time inspires and unites the people of Johnson & Johnson. We embrace research and science – bringing innovative ideas, products and services to advance the health and well-being of people around the world. Our approximately 128,000 employees at more than 265 Johnson & Johnson operating companies work with partners in healthcare to touch the lives of over a billion people every day, throughout the world.

About Day of STEM:
Day of STEM aims to inspire the next generation of Australian STEM professionals through an interactive, online STEM awareness platform called LifeJourney. The platform introduces students to the hard and soft skills needed to pursue their digital future in STEM, whilst mentored by one of Australia’s STEM leaders.

More Information
Meshlin Khouri
mkhouri@its.jnj.com
M: +61 401 712 658