Lilly works to attract and retain top employees who bring varying perspectives and the skills we need to operate on a global level.
Lilly aspires to fully leverage the talents of our diverse work force to operate within an increasingly diverse marketplace. This supports enhanced relationships between employees and their managers, improved customer interactions, increased diversity in clinical trials, and stronger community investment.
To underscore our commitments to diversity and transparency, we publicly release our global and U.S. work force breakdowns by gender and our U.S. work force breakdown by ethnic group members. This transparency demonstrates our desire for continuous improvement—especially in how we support our employees.
In 2009, 52.7 percent of our U.S. work force was male and 47.1 percent female. The numbers globally were nearly identical—54.1 percent male, 46.8 percent female. Minority employees made up 18.7 percent of our U.S. work force, breaking down as follows: 7.6 percent African American; 6.6 percent Asian; 3.1 percent Hispanic; and 0.1 percent American Indian/Alaska Nat; less than 1/10 percent Nat Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander; and 1 percent two or more races.
Accountable to ProgressWe continue to increase our leaders' accountability to develop diverse talent. Our senior leaders must meet diversity work force performance objectives. These performance objectives focus on mentoring and career path planning for women and diverse employees both in our global work force and in the United States. And in 2006, we began requiring diversity training for all U.S. employees, with additional instruction for supervisors.
Recruiting and Retaining the Best and the Brightest
We are working hard to bring new diverse talent to our company. For example, we have long-standing relationships with several historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) through which we recruit interns and new employees. We have also created faculty internships through these HBCUs, enabling us to bring talented professors to our headquarters to deepen their perspective and knowledge of our industry.
We maintain relationships with several important local and national organizations, such as the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management, which support the personal, professional, and career development of diverse students and help us find successful candidates for our internships and full-time positions.
More than 175 individuals — 45 percent of them ethnically diverse and more than half of them women — participate each year in our summer internship program. These efforts, combined with our Summer Leadership Camp and our mentoring and career development programs, help us to recruit, retain, and develop a high-performing and diverse work force.
We believe all of these efforts are paying off. In 2007, Lilly was included on Black Enterprise's third annual “Top 40 Companies for Diversity.” Lilly was the only pharmaceutical company to make the list. Black Enterprise asked more than 1,000 publicly traded companies to participate in its annual survey. The magazine selected the companies, which were not ranked, based on four categories: supplier diversity, senior management, board of directors, and employee base. Based on those categories, Lilly was also recognized among the publication's “15 Best in Supplier Diversity.”
Employee Resource Groups
Employee groups are vital partners for achieving Lilly's diversity initiative. These groups help us build competencies in specific cultural areas. They also provide a channel for Lilly employees to connect with others within the company who share common backgrounds and experiences. Several employee-led affinity groups have been established. The purpose of the groups is to:
- Support Lilly values and business goals, including the company's commitment to creating an inclusive work environment.
- Provide networking opportunities among employees with common interests or cultures.
- Create learning opportunities for Lilly employees at all levels.
