Global women’s health business Organon has announced that it will give all of its almost 9,500 employees the day off on International Women’s Day (IWD) (Tuesday 8 March) to recognise the growing health disparities that women face.
According to the employer, this additional annual leave day is part of its acknowledgement of the need for a global effort to address health. As a result, it is starting with its own employees by giving them paid time off to attend to their own health needs.
By doing this, it is inviting UK organisations and those across the globe to join them in raising awareness of women’s health inequity and to adopt initiatives that help females prioritise their health.
Simon Nicholson, managing director of Organon’s UK and ENI (UK, Ireland, Israel, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Iceland) cluster, commented that the burden of the pandemic has fallen disproportionately on women who may have had to take on more than the lion’s share of looking after their family and home schooling, while also working full time.
“At Organon, we are proud to say thank you by giving everyone time to recharge and put women’s health first and we are urging other employers across the UK and the world to join us. Women tend to neglect their own health needs because they’re too busy looking after everyone else. It’s time for that to change,” he said.
Kevin Ali, chief executive officer at Organon, added that the business launched with a commitment to listen to the needs of women, while also acknowledging that women are finding it harder than ever to make the time to care for their most basic health needs.
“This year, the symbolic action we are taking is to encourage all our people to spend this day off to make a commitment to their own health or the health of the women in their lives, whether that’s going to the doctor, taking stock of their own wellbeing or reflecting on how to make a change,” he said.