By Nicole Thompson, VP-Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Engagement

Human Health is one of four pillars in our new environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, Together We Advance. In this area, we aim to nurture the health and wellbeing of our associates, and to empower them to deliver what’s next in healthcare through innovative products and solutions.

Our inclusion, diversity, and equity (ID&E) efforts facilitate an environment where our associates can be their authentic selves, feel comfortable speaking up, grow and develop in their careers, and ultimately share their best and most innovative thinking. An inclusive environment, coupled with a diverse workforce, produces better products and better outcomes. This, in turn, contributes to the health of our company, our planet and our communities. Our progress in ID&E is vital to our ability to achieve dynamic leadership in our industry.

We recently released our 2021 Global ID&E report, “Together We Advance ID&E,” in which we shared our ID&E foundation, strategy and actions towards our 2030+ goals. In particular, we highlighted our aim to increase diverse representation at each level of our company by 1% year over year and our strategy to achieve this goal.

In FY2021 (Oct. 2020-Sept. 2021) we made strides to improve gender equity and diverse talent representation throughout the company, and there is an opportunity to accelerate our progress. We are focusing on three priorities where we believe we can have the most impact and further our enterprise-wide ID&E goals:

1. Strengthening our Talent Pipelines: Our associates are our greatest asset. As we face an increasingly competitive talent market, we are rethinking how we attract and retain talent. We’ve holistically reviewed our talent sourcing strategies and evaluated initiatives, such as our Early Career Talent Programs, and strengthened our strategic partnerships with universities and not-for profit organizations.
   
   In addition, we’re strengthening our learning and development programs within BD University, and are ensuring that our systems and processes enable equal opportunity for career advancement. Our Associate Resource Groups are also fundamental to our retention efforts. They have been champions of our ID&E work and continue to contribute to community and belonging at BD.
    
2. Driving Systemic Change: We’re operationalizing ID&E in permanent ways by rethinking our systems, processes and tools. We are reinforcing that ID&E is a business imperative and each of us is accountable for our progress. By building enterprise-wide infrastructure that supports our ID&E goals, we’re aligning our priorities across teams and driving accountability. Our Board of Directors is more frequently engaged, and our Global Inclusion Council is supporting this process by identifying best practices and collaborating with local leaders.
    
3. Fostering Inclusive Teams: For lasting impact, systemic change must be coupled with cultural transformation. In our daily practices, habits and behaviors, we encourage our associates to view every interaction as an opportunity to learn from each other and seek out diverse opinions and perspectives. Our leaders are leading by example by recognizing and confronting biases, assessing the impact of those biases, and intentionally building inclusive teams.

As we move forward on this journey, we will learn from each other, celebrate our growth and build momentum to ensure that BD offers opportunity for all. Further details about our ESG strategy and 2030+ goals, along with our sustainability and climate change management reports, can be found at www.bd.com/sustainability.

Forward-Looking Statements
This post contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties are beyond the company's control, including without limitation, challenges relating to economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting our operations, markets, and products, and other factors listed in our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC. BD expressly disclaims any undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements set forth herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, except as required by applicable law or regulation.