Johnson & Johnson Inc. announced that is entering into a partnership with 10 institutions around the world in an effort to increase the number of women students and professionals in traditional STEM fields as well as in manufacturing and design disciplines. The effort will include K-12 outreach programs to promote interest in these fields, support for college and university programs to recruit and retain women in STEM fields, and for programs to recruit and retain women in professional positions in STEM.
Among the partner institutions are several colleges and universities in the United States including the California Institute of Technology, Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Rhode Island School of Design, Rutgers University in New Jersey, and Spelman College in Atlanta.
Sandi Peterson, group worldwide chair at Johnson & Johnson, stated that “more than 80 percent of a family’s healthcare decisions are made by women, including moms, sisters and their friends, and our goal with this program is to increase the participation of women that are practicing medicine and developing the technology and products that are used to keep people healthy. Ensuring such talent is cultivated to enter the workplace is critical to maintaining successful businesses and meeting the changing needs of an increasingly complex marketplace.”