Roche, a biotech company, promises to support inclusivity and diversity in the Middle East

By: WE Staff | Friday, 19 May 2023

In 1896, Roche, a biotechnology company, was founded in Basel, Switzerland. It works with partners to create pharmaceuticals and diagnostics and has won praise for its environmental initiatives. Roche in the Middle East has reaffirmed its commitment to diversity and inclusion by approving the charter of the Middle East Inclusion & Diversity Council. According to the UN's fifth sustainable development goal, which calls for a rise in the number of women in leadership roles to 30% by 2025, the company is one of the most recent to commit to promoting gender parity in the field.

The Middle East Inclusion & Diversity Council seeks to unite like-minded organisations in the region in order to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace via collaboration and a dedication to change. The charter requires organisations to encourage local women's attempts to climb to top positions by focusing on the executive pipeline and the mid-tier level. It recognises the region's distinctiveness and the fact that diverse organisations will begin in various locations. As a result, each organisation has to determine its goals and select the best strategy for achieving them.

"We at PwC Middle East are proud of our dedication and our continued efforts to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace," said Hani Ashkar, Senior Partner for PwC Middle East Territory. We firmly believe that the business sector can play a vital role in achieving gender equality and concur that achieving it is a key component of the UAE's future vision. As a consequence, we are committed to assisting and promoting women in the workplace, and we give achieving real change in our neighbourhood communities a top priority.

Roche's Middle East area is committed to implementing the most effective practises for workplace inclusion and diversity. To raise knowledge and encourage an inclusive and open society, educational and training programmes will be given high attention. They also strive to create a leadership that is representative of both the organisation and the societies it supports.

A woman-centered approach to integrated healthcare services is required, according to Olfat Berro, Area Head Middle East of Roche Pharmaceuticals in the Middle East, in order to enhance the overall state of everyone's health globally. Women's perspectives must be taken into account in the conversation if health systems are to be improved so that women throughout the world have better health outcomes. This presents a problem for the area.

At 19%, the MENA region's female employment rates are among the lowest in the world and have been declining since 2020. Despite substantial efforts and advancement over the preceding 10 years, the MENA region has the second-largest gender gap to close after South Asia, according to the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report 2022. As CEOs from the Middle East, it is their duty to ensure that diversity and inclusion are key components of workplace culture and that businesses fairly represent the communities they serve.

Guido Sander, general manager of Roche Diagnostics Middle East, believes that men must actively take the initiative to advance gender equality in the workplace. This means listening to the opinions and experiences of female employees, promoting their ideas, challenging gender stereotypes, assisting women in leadership roles, and fighting for legislation that promotes work-life balance. This will increase the environment's success and inventiveness while also broadening its diversity and inclusivity.

According to Omar Sherief Mohammad, Cluster Head - India, Middle East & Africa, gender inclusion necessitates the development of a friendly and encouraging workplace. To do this, they must confront their implicit biases, educate themselves, embrace practises that support fair growth for everyone, create development plans that are well-structured, and share the achievements of other women in the workplace as role models for other female employees. Future growth of the organisation will be impacted by this.

Roche is an active member of the Middle East Inclusion & Diversity Council, which seeks to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion via dialogue and the exchange of personal stories. Roche is strongly committed to DE&I on a worldwide scale and pleased with how it has grown in the Middle East.

About Roche

In 1896, Roche, a biotechnology company, was founded in Basel, Switzerland. It is a leader in in vitro testing and the biggest biotechnology company in the world. The company pursues scientific excellence in the creation of medicines and diagnostics in order to enhance and preserve lives. In order to provide each patient with the best care possible, Roche works with a wide range of partners and combines its knowledge of drugs and diagnostics with data insights from clinical practise. For the thirteenth year in a row, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices have named Roche as one of the pharmaceutical industry's most sustainable companies in recognition of their efforts to improve healthcare access.