We’re always marching stride for stride in support of the LGBTQIA+ community at Johnson & Johnson, but what does it mean to be part of such an inclusive workplace—a place where everyone feels like they belong and can be their authentic selves? What might that mean for you?
Two Johnson & Johnson team members share their inspiring stories below.
Empowering employees to realize their dreams
We have a strong tradition of supporting employees at Johnson & Johnson, continuing into the present. And for employees like Stuart Todd, Senior Manager, Global Strategic Insight, that level of support has had life-changing implications.
“As an openly gay man, it has been a lifelong journey to have children—and there were times when I thought it was just one of those things that would simply never happen,” he says. Indeed, it was only after Stuart, along with his husband and their beloved dog, had relocated to the U.S. from Australia—where the legal status of gay marriage at that time remained uncertain—that they began thinking seriously about surrogacy.
Except that there was now another major obstacle in their path: “We realized that if we tried to do it alone—without the support of an employer—surrogacy was going to be cost prohibitive,” Stuart recalls.
That’s when Stuart reached out to his manager at Johnson & Johnson. “Right off the bat, my manager was very supportive,” he remembers. “He walked me through the end-to-end process and showed me where to turn for support and resources.”
Stuart soon discovered that Johnson & Johnson offers assistance with fertility treatments, adoption and surrogacy to both heterosexual and same-sex spouses. Plus, among other great employee benefits offered by Johnson & Johnson, Stuart discovered he would be eligible for eight weeks of paid paternity leave and have the freedom to take time off from work for doctor’s appointments, too.
“There was never even a blink of an eye when people realized I had a husband, not a wife—it was not a problem at all,” Stuart says. “This is the first company I’ve worked with where there was never any hesitation when you’re talking about benefits and equity. Rather than having a kind of ‘song-and-dance’ routine, to have a normalized experience—that has been really powerful.”
Stuart’s daughter was born in December.
Supporting employees to be their authentic selves
We strongly believe that all of our team members should have access to the same benefits. That’s why we offer equal benefits for partners in same-sex relationships, as well as a broad spectrum of benefits designed to enhance our LGBTQIA+ teammates’ quality of life.
For instance, we offer transgender-related healthcare benefits, including insurance coverage for hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgeries, and we have unique transition guidelines in place to support employees who are considering transitioning.
In fact, such considerations are what made employees like Clark Musto, who transitioned from female to male not long after joining our team, apply for roles with us in the first place.
“I was completely unaware that programs like this—with transition guidelines in place—even existed,” he says. “For the most part, the people I know who have transitioned have done so alone. Johnson & Johnson is the first company I’ve ever heard of where they’re holding your hand and supporting you throughout the process.”
Clark said he was astonished by the thoroughness of Johnson & Johnson’s transition guidelines, which seemed to bring a host of factors—from insurance coverage to leadership buy-in, education and more—into perfect alignment. As a small example of that, Clark pointed out that many people who are transgender reject the names given them at birth in favor of their “true” names. And at Johnson & Johnson, the transition guidelines stipulate that, even if you don’t legally change your name, your name will nevertheless be updated across back-end systems to reflect your true name.
“When you’re trans, you’re asking everyone around you to change with you,” Clark says. “You’re asking people to respect your identity by using correct pronouns and your true name. While transitioning is a personal thing, the guidelines make it possible to do so in a professional environment.”
As a newcomer to Johnson & Johnson, however, Clark said that initially he wasn’t sure how his decision to transition would be received by co-workers. “I had literally just started my job—I’d been here for three months when I decided I was going to start this transition,” he says.
But for Clark, it proved to be another pleasant surprise.
As for the moment when he “came out” as transgender, he recalls feeling “unyielding support from every direction—from HR, from a VP who congratulated me, from everyone. The message was: Whatever you need, we support you.”
Championing diversity and inclusion to drive innovation
Looking for a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels like they belong and can be their authentic selves? Explore job opportunities at Johnson & Johnson.
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