We believe that being a sustainable employer that offers an inclusive and diverse working environment where everyone can bring their whole self to work, is an integrated part of being a sustainable business.

We can only unlock the full potential of our company if we have an inclusive and diverse organisation representative of the patients, customers and societies we serve. To us, diversity is about the mix of employees, perspectives and backgrounds we have in our business, and inclusion is about creating a culture where all employees feel valued and have a sense of belonging.

We fundamentally believe that diversity and inclusion drive value for Novo Nordisk by enabling a diverse line of thought, increasing innovation and leading to better and more nuanced decisions and stronger risk-management. In addition, being a strongly values driven organisation, it is simply the right thing to do. These beliefs are core to who we are and an integrated part of the Novo Nordisk Way. 

In recognition of where we are today, we have developed the following global aspirational targets to guide our journey and demonstrate our commitment:

  • Create an inclusive culture where all employees have a sense of belonging and equitable opportunities to realise their potential
  • Achieve a balanced2 gender representation across all managerial levels 
  • Achieve a minimum of 45% women and a minimum of 45% men in senior leadership positions3 by end of 20254

While gender is one dimension of diversity, we fully recognise that diversity is any dimension that differentiates our people and enables a diverse line of thought - for example ethnicity, race, nationality, disability, sexual orientation to name a few. We currently do not have consistent global measures on all the aspects of diversity across all the geographies we operate in.

To ensure we consider the local context and societal norms we have asked all areas to identify the underrepresented groups applicable to their geography and determine local aspirations and action plans.

We recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all approach and that the diversity and inclusion opportunities and identified minority groups are different depending on the local context and the local societies that we serve.

To drive impact at all local levels and to hold leaders accountable for driving progress, our senior leaders across the company have defined aspirations and associated action plans and we are following up and tracking progress on a regular basis.  

To achieve our aspirations, we are focusing on three primary drivers:

To mitigate bias we are continuously reviewing our processes and policies throughout the employee life cycle. We are ensuring a diverse slate of candidates and a diverse recruitment panel in recruitments, we are conducting yearly equal and gender pay analysis and take mitigating actions in case of any identified pay gaps and we are ensuring a strong pipeline of diverse talents via succession management and talent programs. 

We are investing resources in listening to understand how our employees and future employees define inclusion in the workplace. We are making enhancements into flexible working policies, ensuring minimum global standards for paid maternity leave and paid parental leave for non-birthing parents and we are continuously challenging the customary ways of working.

We expect all leaders to be role modelling inclusive leadership behaviors by being committed to building diverse teams of complementary strengths, valuing diverse perspectives and creating a psychologically safe space where all employees can contribute fully and feel free to speak up. Continuing with our tradition of strong leadership development, we are investing resources in formal and on-the-job experiences to help our leaders grow to be inclusive leaders. These include foundational training such as unconscious bias, as well as how to have the dialogues around inclusion and courageous conversations with their teams.

[1] This policy also applies to the upper management (øvrige ledelsesniveauer) of Novo Nordisk A/S as defined in the Danish Companies Act section 139 c (4).

[2] Balanced is defined as the range between 45%-55% to leave up to 10% flexibility for women and men and also allow for non-binary gender recognising that some employees may not wish to be categorised

[3] Vice Presidents, Corporate Vice Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents and Executive Vice Presidents within Novo Nordisk

[4] This aspirational target also applies to the upper management (øvrige ledelsesniveauer) of Novo Nordisk A/S as defined in the Danish Companies Act section 139 c (4).