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Cardinal Health Latest News
06/30/2021
June is Pride Month, a time of celebration and reflection for the LGBTQ+ community and their allies. To honor our LGBTQ+ colleagues, senior leaders recorded video podcasts for employees, discussing the power of allyship and advocacy, the importance of listening and learning and highlights of the progress we’re making on our journey to create a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace.
During one of these conversations, CEO Mike Kaufmann said, “Being an ally is one of the most powerful ways each of us can help bring people together. It means showing our support, raising awareness and calling out injustices.”
Members of the PROUD ERG campaigned throughout the month to encourage colleagues to take an LGBTQ+ Ally Pledge, affirming their commitment to embrace differences and to learn. “Executive leaders have been very vocal and visible in their support of this campaign,” said Ty Simonton, an offer strategy advisor in our Medical Segment and an active member of PROUD ERG. “As a result, we have surpassed our goal of having 5,000 allies across the company.”
Another conversation was moderated by Emily Gallo, vice president of marketing in the Medical Segment and co-chair of the PROUD ERG. “I am constantly inspired by the outpouring of support here – from the C-suite to the front line,” Gallo said. “The fact that we’ve grown our active ally base 40-fold this year is proof of the broad understanding that bold goals and representation matter.”
Simonton added, “We have a culture of active listening and learning at this company, which is apparent by the meaningful conversations we’ve had throughout the month. I have been at Cardinal Health for just a year, and I can honestly say that I have never felt the level of comfort in being visibly ‘out’ and a member of the LGBTQ+ community that I feel here.”
As Pride Month comes to a close, we share a few highlights from Pride festivities around the world. And we continue to celebrate the many contributions of our LGBTQ+ colleagues, all year long.
Top of page: In Charlotte, N.C., director Jennifer Saylor hosted a town hall meeting in the distribution center’s breakroom, and spoke about how allyship and advocacy for equal rights can help create a safe place to work for everyone. After the meeting, employees gathered for a team photo with the Pride flag, then hung the flag in their breakroom.
Fuse by Cardinal Health, Dublin, Ohio: The Fuse team hosted a Pride flag-raising ceremony that colleagues were able to join in-person or virtually. Ray Bajaj, senior vice president and chief technology officer, led a discussion of Pride Month’s history, and team members shared what the celebration meant to them. One colleague said, “Pride Month is about supporting anyone who identifies across the LGBTQ+ experience. It’s about learning more and simply understanding that no one should experience hate, discrimination or shame for how they identify or who they love.”
National Logistics Center (NLC), Groveport, Ohio: The NLC celebrated Pride Month over the course of three days to allow employees at all three different shifts to participate. They arranged a Proud showcase table, describing what Pride Month is, sharing what it means to be an Ally and making it easy to sign the online Ally Pledge and order new Pride t-shirts.
Cardinal Health Costa Rica: The team hosted a Pride flag-raising ceremony, offered Pride-inspired cupcakes, encouraged colleagues to sign our Ally Pledge and shared messages about the company’s commitment to DE&I.
Cardinal Health at-Home Solutions, Dublin, Ohio: The team talked about what each of the colors on the Pride flag represent, then chose a shirt of one of the flag colors to wear to show their support for colleagues in the LGBTQ+ community. They took a photo with a Teams background during a virtual meeting.
Dublin, Ohio: One of our colleagues commemorated the month by getting married, shown at far left with her new wife and two sons.