AstraZeneca’s prescription for more women in the workforce: Asia for Global talent program wins gender-equality award

Abstract

Purpose

Reveals how pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is attempting to boost the number of women in its workforce in Japan and China and help more of them to rise to senior positions.

Design/methodology/approach

Describes the Asia for Global talent program, a winner in the Opportunity Now awards, which are part of Business in the Community’s gender-equality campaign.

Findings

Examines the reasons for the program and the successes it has achieved.

Practical implications

Shows that AstraZeneca is employing more women in its senior positions than equivalent companies in Asia and that they are among the most engaged employees in its global workforce.

Social implications

Considers briefly how the economy and society as a whole in Japan and China can benefit from greater female representation in the higher echelons of private sector companies.

Originality/value

Describes an effective talent-management program operated in Asia by an international pharmaceuticals company.

Citation

(2015), "AstraZeneca’s prescription for more women in the workforce: Asia for Global talent program wins gender-equality award", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 8-9. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-03-2015-0040