Perrigo Company President and Chief Executive Officer Murray Kessler shared the following with Perrigo’s global workforce:
Dear Colleagues,
A year ago, we launched a new Diversity and Inclusion initiative for Perrigo that stressed the importance of having all members of our community treated with fairness and respect. I shared the following thoughts with our leadership earlier this week and now I want to share them with you.
The racial divide and unrest currently within the United States related to George Floyd, a Black man who tragically died while in police custody, demonstrates the extreme of what can happen when Diversity & Inclusion isn’t part of all of our lives. I wish I could say the George Floyd death was an isolated incident. It was not. And, while many have been shocked by Mr. Floyd’s death and dismayed by the violence erupting in major cities across the world, for so many others, it is further confirmation of the inequality that Black individuals face around the world. Sadly, these recent events and the resulting pain and fear are a reality felt almost daily by employees, customers and consumers who are part of or identify closely with the Black community.
During the last few months, we have been able to mobilize our organization to quickly tackle the challenges we have encountered from the pandemic. While the racial divide at the heart of the current unrest cannot be quickly tackled, we must mobilize as an organization to stand united in the desire to help end inequality and discrimination. Our employees, consumers and communities need us to learn more about inequality and racism and how we can all do better.
For these reasons and more, Diversity & Inclusion is one of Perrigo’s top 10 priorities. Diversity & Inclusion is about people from every culture, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, and more, respecting each other and coming together to accomplish something great. For us, that “something great” is living our vision, which is important now more than ever.
If you have not done so already, I encourage you to learn more about Diversity & Inclusion by listening to Dr. Grainne Quinn, Executive Vice President & Chief Medical Officer, talk about transforming our company and inclusion. Although filmed earlier this year, the concepts of inclusion described here are important at Perrigo, and everywhere, now more than ever. (Video: Dr. Grainne Quinn - EVP & CMO Discusses Diversity & Inclusion).
It is also important to be available for colleagues, family, and friends to share thoughts, concerns and emotions they are experiencing specifically related to the Black Lives Matter movement. Finally, I ask us all to listen and learn more about racial inequity with an open mind.
We will share more about our specific actions to support the Black community in coming days, as well as recognize Pride month (LGBTQ+) globally for the first time. These topics are incredibly important, and I appreciate your support of the D&I team to ensure we do what is right for our people and our business.
Remember, WE are Perrigo.
Murray S. Kessler
President and Chief Executive Officer