This Best Practice was first published in the Gender Intelligence Report 2023.
At MSD Switzerland, we are committed to achieving gender parity at all management levels, as detailed in the ‘Gender Parity Agenda’ Best Practice 2022. The Women’s Network (WN) is the largest MSD Employee Business Resource Group (EBRG) with over 10,000 members globally and 500 members in Switzerland. The WN is playing a significant role in driving this goal at the grassroots level. One of our flagship initiatives to accelerate progress towards gender parity is the Women’s Network Leadership Academy (WNLA).
The Leadership Academy is a fully virtual annual series that empowers women early in their careers with the tools and leadership capabilities needed to own and drive their own career development and future leadership positioning. We believe that by empowering women leaders of tomorrow, the argument that there are no qualified women for management positions becomes irrelevant. As an international organization, MSD remains highly committed to gender equality: the proportion of women at MSD worldwide is now around 50 percent. In Switzerland, the target for management positions is between 40 and 60 percent by 2025. This program is delivered through coach-led content inputs that are followed by a role model interview, panel, or ‘fireside chat’, and aims to connect women to world-class coaches and inspirational MSD female leaders who lead by example in owning their own career.
The Leadership Academy is unique as it is targeted towards women who are just starting out in their careers, unlike other programs that are only available to women in relatively senior positions. The Leadership Academy was developed in response to the needs of the Women’s Network membership, who expressed a desire for programs that are open to a wider audience, and which concretely support women as they become eligible for first line management for example. The WNLA, in collaboration with Advance – Gender Equality in Business, has delivered three Academy sessions to date, covering topics such as but not limited to:
To ensure the WNLA is meeting the needs of our women, surveys are conducted annually to ask members what topics they want to see covered in the Leadership Academy. The program, including content and delivery method, is then built based on survey results and community conversations. This approach has driven the continued commitment of our members to the program.
Director, Strategic Initiatives and Operations & Women’s Network Global Talent & Development Co-Lead at MSD Switzerland
We are proud of the success the Leadership Academy has achieved, with record attendance and high ratings from participants. The WNLA has achieved an average recurring attendance of circa 2,000 participants per Leadership Academy, with the majority being return attendees. To date, the Leadership Academy has seen close to 6,000 in attendance, setting a record achievement for a learning intervention in MSD and covering all Global time zones. The Network Promoter Score (NPS) has been an outstanding 8 out of 10 for learning and development interventions, with the quality of coaches, speakers, and focus topics being the driving factors.
The Leadership Academy has successfully built engagement through its Microsoft Teams community, which now has nearly 4,000 members. This community serves as a central point of communication for enrollment in new Academy sessions and access to historical recorded sessions. Moreover, it has become a space where WN members share their continued learnings and experiences. For example, the last WNLA session focused on the Gallup Clifton Strengths, and it received high ratings from the participants. The session drove close to 1,000 attendees to sign up for the follow-up called ‘Strength Circles’: smaller global online and in-person peer groups, to continue the conversation and learnings. The Strength Circles give women the tools they need to raise their voices, as statistics show that 45% of women find it hard to speak up in a virtual meeting, and 1 in 5 women (and other marginalized groups) have felt ignored in such calls. The WNLA program helps women apply their top five strengths identified through the Clifton Strengths assessment, which serves as the foundation for building their personal brand. This approach boosts their confidence, enabling them to lead and take charge of their career development.
“This was an amazing moment for focusing and connecting with ourselves and really evaluate how can we be more effective leaders in our lives, having insights on our strengths and how to best use them.” – Nicole Tatiana Beltrán Izquierdo, Financial Clinical Trial Coordinator
The WNLA’s opening and closing remarks are delivered by top leaders from around the globe and across our divisions, demonstrating the top-down commitment to empowering women early in their careers and enabling them to advance to the next level. The Leadership Academy has created a community that fosters connection, collaboration, support, and professional development due to a dedicated Women’s Network Talent Aquisition and Development leads team invested in its success and a budget to make it a reality. The program has become a flagship initiative for MSD’s Women’s Network. Overall, the WNLA is a shining example of MSD’s commitment to promoting gender parity in first level to middle to top management, through both top-down and bottom-up approaches and supporting the professional development of its employees.
MSD Switzerland chose the artwork ‘Ndebele Advancine’ by Michelle Ringeisen for International Women’s Day 2023, organized by Advance – Gender Equality for Business, because it symbolizes our strong belief in diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental values within our organization. We firmly believe that a diverse workforce leads to better decision-making, improved innovation, and increased profitability. By embracing diverse perspectives and experiences, we foster the emergence of creative solutions and ideas. Through the ‘Ndebele’ artwork, we aim to convey this message to our co-workers and beyond, emphasizing our commitment to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.
In 2023, the WNLA has set aspirational goals to not only increase the audience among women in the company, but also among its allies. The community will be grown by a targeted communications plan across the global EBRG network. The development of women early in their careers will continue to be prioritized while striving to inspire growth in leaders across the business. By empowering early-career leaders, the Women’s Network is fostering a more diverse and inclusive workplace and laying a strong foundation for the successful future of the company.
If you are interested in gaining more insights into the Women’s Network Leadership Academy, or have any questions about its content or delivery, Alice Reiner has kindly offered to share her experiences with you. You can reach her at alice.reiner@msd.com.
In addition, MSD has implemented other initiatives in Switzerland to promote gender equality and diversity, such as:
This Best Practice was first published in the Gender Intelligence Report 2023.
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