Global Diversity Awareness Month

Teva is committed to nurturing an inclusive and diverse workplace, which embraces individuals of different backgrounds and encourages and empowers all individuals to contribute to the maximum extent of their capabilities. The Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) help facilitate those opportunities for networking, mentoring, collaboration and leadership training among employees with shared characteristics and life experiences. Our resolve to keep Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) actions at the forefront has never been stronger.

We asked members of our different ERGs to share their perspectives on the power of inclusion and diversity in the workforce and how it has shaped their career journey.  Read their stories:

Nathalie Magnus, Associate Director, Respiratory Medical Affairs (Canada), Black Heritage ERG

Born and raised in the largest Canadian city, Toronto, I have been fortunate that throughout my education and career, my schoolmates, coworkers, colleagues and friends have all been from different cultural backgrounds, religions, colors, shapes, and sexual orientations. For much of my life I took this for granted, but with the opportunity to reflect on how this has helped shape me, it is undeniable that this was beneficial and has enriched my career journey and me positively. Later, I moved to Montreal and attended graduate school at McGill University.  The institute was a ‘mosaic’ of students and professors representing nearly every continent. We were united by our common interest to learn and contribute to the world of scientific research. Our different backgrounds and experiences brought new perspectives and approaches to the table that would certainly not have been there had we all been the same. The scientific community, for the most part is without borders… and this has been my observation here at Teva - a very global company whereby in Medical Affairs we frequently work with colleagues from different countries with unique cultures and identities toward common goals.

I recognize that I have had great opportunities and that this is not representative of all members of the black community. In fact, there are very few of us represented in the health sciences (academic and industry). I was one of two black people to graduate in my year at university and I had a similar experience for my two graduate degrees. I do not know the reason for this under-representation, but we need to ask: what can be done to help reverse this situation? Programs such as the University of Toronto’s medical school’s mentorship program for youth of African ancestry offer unique opportunities to high school students who are curious about the health sciences and I benefited greatly from participating in this program. I am excited that the Teva Black Heritage ERG is working on sponsoring mentorship programs like this for black youth throughout North America - an opportunity to improve our representation and contributions in the health sciences field.

Carlos Lopez, Sr Manager of Analytics at Anda (USA), Pride ERG

The Pride ERG is not only a great opportunity to network for me, but most importantly it provides our entire team the ability to advance equality and LGBTQ+ visibility at Teva. It enhances the perception of our community by raising our voices, resulting in meaningful policy changes that carry a powerful message of equality inside and outside of Teva.

Georgina Kyriazis, Executive Sales Representative (USA), ERG Latinx ERG

It is my hope that the Latinx ERG can help to continue to foster a corporate culture of Inclusion & Diversity. The power of Inclusion & Diversity is that it drives innovation, creativity and strategic thinking and problem solving through different perspectives. We must be intentional about building an inclusive culture at Teva where people feel valued and heard. We also serve a diverse community of patients and providers and as a company our work force should be reflective of that. Diverse groups of employees pull from a wider range of experiences, sources and insights and as a result are able to make informed decisions which can lead to improved results that will better address the communities we serve.

Last year I climbed 40 spots in the Teva sales rankings in just two-months and won President’s Club in 2019. Being called up to the stage to be recognized for this honor was an awesome experience and I hope involvement in the ERGs will foster professional success for each of you who join.

Liz Rippert, Regional Sales Manager of Psychiatry (USA), Women@Teva ERG

I joined Teva in May 2012 to work on Oncology and was lucky to work for a male manager and area director that were natural teachers at heart.  As I became tenured in my division, I began researching within Teva what my next growth role would be. The first experience I asked to be nominated for was the Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt coursework at MoreSteam University through Teva.  I saw an advertisement in a Teva e-mail about it and my manager agreed it would be a good course and certificate for me to gain.  Once certified as a Yellow Belt in 2014, I noticed the Women@Teva ERG reaching out to new members.  I wanted to be included in something outside of my current role and to volunteer my time.  Since 2015, I volunteered for various roles within W@T ERG and gained many leadership skillsets.  I wanted to explore my next step within Teva to become a manager.  In January of 2019, I interviewed and was nominated for the Co-Lead of the W@T ERG and then a few months later I secured a manager role in a different division at Teva.  Lucky year! 

Actually I believe that luck is defined, as someone once said, “When opportunity meets preparedness.”  The power of inclusion and diversity in the workforce has shaped my career journey by allowing me to participate with opportunities such as on-site classes, home office informational interviews, job shadowing and volunteering.  This enabled me to gain and grow the capabilities needed to move up at Teva, while sharing my diverse thoughts and opinions on our business.  Best part?  Collaborating with my colleagues!

Rahul Natarajan, Senior Manager, REMS Operations, Asian Heritage ERG

My time working in healthcare, as well as experiences studying abroad in Stockholm, Sweden, and London, U.K., revealed the power of inclusion and diversity. Through my experiences, I have had the opportunity to work with modular teams comprised of individuals from varying walks of life. What I have learned is that you never know who will bring what to the table and what can transpire from those discussions. The takeaway for me: Inclusion is the root of innovation that drives success, and through diversity, we can accelerate creativity and growth.

Jason Pursley, Regional Sales Manager – Specialty Sales, Men’s ERG Co Chair

I have learned so much about inclusion and diversity in the workplace since joining the Men’s ERG.  Joining an ERG has helped in my career journey by providing me with a better understanding about the impact people of different genders, sexual orientation, race and ethnicities have when they come together and explore new ideas and concepts.  It has opened my eyes to how critical it is that we come together as a society and organization, embracing how much we are alike and celebrating our differences to achieve our shared organizational goals.