• Home
• Responsibility
• Our people
• Diversity and inclusion

Corporate Responsibility Report 2008

Diversity and inclusion

• Approach
• Performance & plans

At GSK, we recognise the value that different perspectives and experiences bring to GSK and we aim to recruit a diverse range of employees to our global workforce.

We respect all our employees and include talented people in the workforce regardless of race, gender, sexuality, age, religion and belief or disability. We do not require medical testing as a prerequisite for employment.

We aim to adopt inclusive work practices that create an environment where employees feel individually and collectively empowered, and can develop and contribute to the business to their full potential.

Being a diverse and inclusive business helps GSK to recruit and retain the best people for the job. It also enables us to understand and meet the needs of diverse patients, customers and consumers.

Global diversity policy

Our commitment is set out in our global diversity policy. Our Corporate Executive Team endorses the policy and related activities such as our annual Multicultural Marketing and Diversity Awards.

All our employees are expected to comply with this policy. Allegations of discrimination are taken extremely seriously, fully investigated and findings acted upon.

Each business has diversity champions, employees that promote diversity issues. In the UK and US we have Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) steering committees, made up of human resources managers and line managers with specific responsibility for diversity and inclusion. The committees run diversity awareness campaigns and training sessions. GSK also monitors and reports on gender diversity in management in the UK and US.

Employee networks

Employee networks are an important element of our diversity and inclusion programme. They support professional growth and provide a forum where people with similar interests or backgrounds can meet, discuss shared experiences and address any problem areas. This helps engage and empower employees.

The networks are an important source of expertise on diversity issues. GSK managers can engage with the networks to improve their understanding of employees from different backgrounds. Networks also help our media and marketing teams understand our diverse customers and stakeholders.

GSK has networks for Asian, African American, Hispanic, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees. We also have networks for mature employees, employees early in their career, women in leadership and veterans. Each network has an executive sponsor who helps to set and achieve goals, obtain resources and promote the network’s objectives among senior management.

Disability

We work to ensure people with disabilities can access the full range of recruitment and career opportunities at GSK. In the UK, we partner with the Employers’ Forum on Disability and strive to be a ‘disability confident’ organisation. Disability confidence is a concept developed by the Employers’ Forum to describe companies that create a culture of inclusion, remove barriers to access and make adjustments to enable individuals with disabilities to contribute as employees, customers and partners. We hold the ‘Two Ticks’ symbol from JobCentrePlus, which demonstrates GSK’s commitment to employing disabled people.

Read more information on our approach to diversity and inclusion.

Positively managing HIV in the workplace