In addition to providing tools to help our employees to prioritize their health every day, we've reinforced our commitment to their health and wellbeing by providing an extra day off around International Women's Day to focus on their health. It's been great to see our people make the most of this time, from scheduling appointments, to caring for a loved one, to simply enjoying a peaceful day of reflection.

Break the mold with new leave policies: There are many reasons why employees may need time off from work that don't fall under typical leave policies, such as family emergencies, managing menstrual pain or menopausal symptoms, and bereavement leave to grieve the loss of a pregnancy. It is time for new approaches that recognize the varying needs of our people and allow everyone to take the time they need to care for themselves and their families, regardless of traditional gender norms. This means implementing policies that promote and encourage shared responsibility for caregiving, ensuring women and men are supported and empowered to take time off.

For instance, we've established a Global Care Leave policy providing a minimum standard of 10 days pay continuation and/or time off for self-care, caring for a loved one, family planning and home emergency, where local and/or statutory policies do not already provide such coverage. Where other forms of leave are not available, we envision that employees can use Care Leave to take to manage menstrual pain and menopause symptoms, which can be debilitating, or for any other reason tied to their physical or emotional wellbeing. In addition, we recognized that standard bereavement policies did not include miscarriage or stillbirth as qualifying events, so we rewrote our policy to ensure that our employees can take up to 20 days of leave following the loss of a pregnancy or newborn, providing much needed time and space to begin the process of healing.

Commit to global gender parity and pay equity: Enabling women to achieve their career aspirations requires systematic changes throughout organizations, from recruitment and retention, to career development, to managing pay and promotion. And while most organizations say that diversity, equity and inclusion is important, less than half have strategies in place for achieving gender equality. Leaders must put a stake in the ground by outlining concrete actions they are taking to drive change.

In Organon's inaugural Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Report, we articulated our goal to achieve balanced gender representation through all levels of our company globally by 2030. To reach this goal, we strive to maintain our current global gender balance while increasing the number of women in mid- to senior leadership roles. In addition, we are promoting gender equity by engaging external economic and legal experts to conduct pay equity studies in two of our largest markets.

Destigmatize speaking up: We need to do a better job giving people the opportunity to tell us what they are feeling and experiencing. By creating an environment of psychological safety where employees can share openly and honestly, we can gain a greater understanding of their needs, which allows us to create programs and policies to support them.

By listening to women, we've been able to identify unmet needs and think innovatively about how to fill the gaps in care. For example, many women have shared that they feel sandwiched between caring for families and their parents. Because of this, we're now exploring additional ways to support our employees managing both child and elder care.

Instant Insights /

5 'next horizon' practices to help women excel in their careers

More From HR Executive

Related Stories

Recommended For You