Bristol Myers Squibb recognised in Australia’s Best Workplaces for Women List

Bristol Myers Squibb Australia/New Zealand (BMS) has been named on the Great Places to Work Best Workplaces for Women List 2022. This honour recognises Australian corporations where women have significant influence and impact to make the decisions that affect their company’s performance. BMS has earned this recognition among 30 other Australian businesses.

BMS has prioritised gender equity efforts as a key inclusion and diversity strategy, including female representation and advancement, to ensure the company is well positioned to meet current and future business challenges. The company cultivates and supports female employees and executives through a dedicated People and Resource Group namely B-NOW (Bristol Myers Squibb Network of Women).

From November 2022, female employees represent 72% of the BMS workforce and 77% of the local leadership team. Women are supported through targeted development, coaching, mentoring and sponsorship programs to help accelerate their career progression. BMS however recognises the need for gender equitable development for everyone across the local business including increasing male representation.

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Erol Bagdadi, Haematology and Oncology Business Unit Director, and local sponsor of B-NOW said “I am proud that BMS is committed to cultivating a diverse workplace that prioritises employee development and career progression through initiatives like B-NOW.

“I joined B-NOW within two weeks of returning to BMS from our US Head Office. I resonate with the vision of ‘we champion equality through role modelling gender neutral attitudes and taking action towards diversity for the benefit of our BMS Australia family and the communities in which we live and work’. I want to be that role model at work and at home” said Erol.

The societal representation and wage gap are only one factor of gender equality in the workplace, and ones which BMS is proud to have addressed. There is however, more to do as a society to address the additional silent and unconscious gender bias which can have a detrimental impact on the progress of women. This is summarised as the historically traditional and engrained attitudes and behaviours that can negatively impact women in the workplace.

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“Even with significant female representation at both a leadership team and enterprise level, we recognise that equal representation translates into the elimination of gender biases. So, the work must continue – that’s where B-NOW plays a huge part at BMS,” said Erol.