How we are becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation
We’re working hard to become a more inclusive company in the way we do business, both through our clinical trials and the external companies we choose to work with. Internally, we want GSK to be a workplace where everyone can feel a sense of belonging and thrive. We’ve made good progress – delivering inclusion training on an annual basis including how to recognise and take action on discriminatory behaviours, development programmes for underrepresented employees, and reviewing our recruitment and selection processes.
We're continually building on our approach to inclusion and diversity for our people, in the way we do business and in the communities in which we operate.
Diversity, equity and inclusion inside GSK
We want GSK to be a workplace where everyone can feel a sense of belonging and can thrive. Being a diverse organisation at all levels also brings greater opportunity to create better health outcomes for the patients who rely on us.
We want our leadership to reflect our GSK people and our people to reflect the communities in which we work and hire. Our commitment to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination is the foundation for these aspirations, supported by fair and equitable recruitment and selection processes.
Our ethnicity aspirations:
In the UK at the end of 2023, we had 18.4% ethnically diverse leaders at VP-and-above, compared with 14.3% in 2022. We had 1.9% Black leaders at VP level and above compared with 1.6% in 2022.
In the US at the end of 2023, we had 35.7% ethnically diverse leaders at VP-and-above, compared with 31.3% in 2022.
We had 8.1% Black or African American leaders at VP-and-above compared with 8.6% in 2022. We had 6.4% Hispanic or Latinx leaders at VP-and-above compared with 6.4% in 2022.
We have reviewed our recruitment processes and have worked with an external partner to ensure we're implementing best practices and ensuring fair and equitable opportunities. This includes enhanced training for recruiting managers before the selection process starts, and a review of job postings and channels to make sure we’re reaching and attracting diverse candidates.
We strive to foster a culture of empathy and acceptance where we embrace each other's differences and identities, and we aim to be recognised in global LGBTQ+ indices to ensure best practice. We work with a number of groups on this including:
We are addressing gender equality at all levels within our organisation.
We are making great strides with the support from our Global Gender Council and our Women's Leadership Initiative (WLI) employee resource group.
At the end of 2023, women held 45% of VP-and-above roles globally, compared with 42% in 2022. Women made up 48% of all employees in 2023, and 50% of all management roles.
We have been recognised in The Times Top 50 employers for women, and our colleagues have been recognised by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association for their work to advance the impact and influence of women in healthcare.
With support from our Global Disability Council and our employee resource group, the Disability Confidence Network, we are working hard to create an inclusive workplace.
Since 2020, GSK has been an active member of the Valuable 500 pledge, a grouping of 500 global companies all committed to placing disability inclusion on the leadership agenda. We are delivering on its objectives through our disability confidence plan.
We continue to invest in an accessible workplace, including our award-winning Workplace Adjustment Service.
We educate our people on disability confidence as part of our long-term, measurable, strategic disability confidence plan.
We are members of the UK Government's Disability Confident Scheme and signatories to the UK Department for International Development's Charter for Change.
We remain committed to improving the application of fair and equitable pay practices to ensure equal opportunities and equal pay for equal work. We conduct country-based reviews and ensure all markets have clear guidance, tools and support to ensure pay equity. If unexplainable differences are detected, we address them through our compensation processes.
Gender pay gap
We published our seventh UK gender pay gap report in 2023. Our gender pay gap for all permanent UK-based GSK employees is -0.50% (mean), compared to the national average of 13.2%.
Ethnicity pay gap
We published our second UK ethnicity pay gap report for 2023 comparing the average pay of our White and Ethnically Diverse employees. Our 2023 UK ethnicity pay gap for all permanent UK-based GSK employees is -0.74% (mean), compared with 0.06% in 2022.
In addition, within our 2023 UK ethnicity pay gap report we are also sharing the pay gaps comparing the average pay of our White employees with those in the ethnic groupings of Black, Mixed, Asian, and Other. This is with reference to the UK government’s recently published guidance to provide a more granular view.
Leading through action
Diseases and medicines can affect people differently depending on ethnicity, sex, race and age. This means it is important to ensure that the patients and people enrolled in our clinical trials represent the real-world patient/people population that will use our medicines and vaccines and represent those affected by the disease under study.
We continue to make progress in advancing clinical trial diversity. In addition to ensuring 100% of our phase III trials have diversity plans in place to enrol the groups most affected by the disease being studied, based on disease epidemiology, we also are challenging ourselves to actively monitor patient recruitment in real time to ensure that we reach our diversity goals.
We met our objective of 100% of the phase III interventional trials initiated in 2023 having proactive diversity plans.
We’re investing in STEM education to make it more equitable and to support and inspire the next generation of diverse, talented innovators.
Our GSK Science in the Summer™ initiative offers free, hands-on STEM learning in community settings to students in the US from groups traditionally under-represented in STEM careers, or from under-resourced communities. It has reached more than 380,000 children across the US since its launch in 1986.
In 2020, we committed $10 million over 10 years to support the number of women and Black and Latinx students in Philadelphia entering STEM careers. More than 138,000 students of all backgrounds have benefited from GSK STEM equity grants provided to local non-profit organisations so far. Find out more at US charitable investments.
In the UK, we launched a £6 million, 10-year STEM equity programme, targeting 11–25-year-old girls and young women, black people and people from low socio-economic backgrounds. The programme includes nationwide STEM mentoring, delivered in partnership with established mentoring organisations. In its first three years, we aim to reach approximately 4,000 young people through this programme.
Other community investments that support diverse communities include:
Related article: American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Scholars Initiative
Through our supplier diversity programme, we seek to provide opportunities to under-represented groups, including women, ethnic minorities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities and military veterans.
These partnerships can also provide an economic boost to the wider community. So as well as measuring how much we're spending with diverse-owned suppliers, we’re also looking holistically at the positive economic benefit that GSK and our partner suppliers will bring to the communities that we all live and work in.
We’re also engaging with key advocacy organisations for diverse suppliers by speaking at their forums, joining their boards, and sponsoring appropriate conferences. These organisations include National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), and Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK).
GSK is a company where everyone can be themselves, and where diversity is embraced and celebrated. We each hold ourselves accountable for ensuring that respect and inclusivity are at the very heart of our culture as a company.
Employees driving change
Our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) run events, workshops and initiatives where everyone is welcome to learn, contribute and feel connected. The lead volunteers meet regularly with our Global Diversity Councils and GSK Leadership Team members to share ideas, priorities and perspectives.
What’s your angle?
Our film series brings together our people from teams across the world to discuss the issues that matter across the themes of diversity, equity and inclusion, and explore their different perspectives.
