Organon Is Giving Staff International Women's Day Off to Focus on Their Health

Organon, a global healthcare company with a focus on women’s health, is giving all employees International Women’s Day (March 8) off to focus on their own health and wellbeing.

“We want women to reprioritize their health,” says Wendy Lund, chief communications officer at Organon. “Women are behind their kids, partners, aging parents and friends. And Covid-19 made things even worse. We know they will never put themselves at number one, but we want to push them closer to the top and encourage them to schedule yearly screenings.”

The company also ran an open letter in the Wall Street Journal written by its CEO, Kevin Ali, explaining the paid time off for employees and encouraging other companies to follow suit.

“At Organon, we are giving our nearly 9,500 employees around the world paid time off on March 8 this year,” says Ali in the letter. “We are encouraging them to use that day to make a commitment to their own health and to the health of the women in their lives. This can include going to the doctor, taking stock of their own well-being or considering how to make a change for women’s health overall. We are working to create a healthier every day for every woman, and we will use International Women’s Day this year to pause, reflect and strengthen our commitment to that vision.”

When the company launched, Organon held a listening tour and found that mental, reproductive health and menopause were concerns of women. Organon uses a microphone in much of its imagery to emphasize this point.

“In the pharma industry, there’s a lot of talking and not a lot of listening,” notes Lund. “Women wanted to be heard.”

Lund is one of four jury chairs for this year’s Clio Health Awards, specifically the Creative Effectiveness, Creative Use of Data, Public Relations & Student Jury.

“I’m excited to be a part of the Clio Health jury and seeing the creative and innovative ways healthcare marketing has transformed advertising,” says Lund. “It spans across all disciplines, not just one category.”

The deadline for Clio Health Awards entries is Feb. 25.