Cadila: Our relentless focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion over last 7 decades

Ahmedabad, 5^th January 2024: At Cadila Pharmaceuticals, we have been consistently following principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion much before the terms gained popularity. As an organisation with a history going back over 70 years, Cadila has had significant gender diversity across levels and functions. In an industry, where gender diversity is not widespread, Cadila has relentlessly strived for equal opportunities for women and men to ensure that everyone can perform their jobs in a meaningful manner, and fulfil their professional aspirations while contributing to a thriving workplace.

Diversity, in itself, is never sustainable unless it is supported by a culture that is equitable as well as inclusive. Cadila has ensured that all employees experience fairness within the organisation, with performance at the workplace being the key factor for rewards, recognition and career progression. This is applied equally to every employee, regardless of gender or any socio-economic or cultural background.

Ensuring that the culture is inclusive for employees has been a cornerstone of the 70+ years of this organisation. Having diversity alone is not enough unless it is backed by inclusiveness as otherwise efforts on diversity ultimately fall flat if people do not feel included in the organisation. Therefore, from the very beginning, and much before Diversity, Inclusiveness and Equity became the buzzwords in the corporate world, our management made conscious endeavours to ensure the same across the length & breadth of the organisation for decades.

Proof of the pudding lies in its eating and the presence of senior women leadership in Cadila is a testimony to the culture of encouraging diversity, inclusion and equity followed right from the beginning.  As I write this, several leadership positions across the organisation are held by women. Here are examples of some senior employees, among hundreds of other women who have been working in Cadila for decades. Many of them have returned to Cadila after working in other organisations due to the conducive work environment.

1. Ms. Shruti Hegde, Chief Commercial Officer, has more than two-and-a-half decades of experience across industries. She joined Cadila a couple of years ago and relocated from Mumbai to Ahmedabad because she felt excited to be part of the journey with Cadila.
2. Ms. Mona Gogia, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, has been with the company for more than a decade and a half. In her own words, she has found immense challenge and excitement every day that she has worked with Cadila and there has never been a dull moment.
3. Ms. Priyanka Doshi, General Manager of Finance India business, has been a part of Cadila for close to five years. She is currently heading Finance for the Prescription business.
4. Ms. Anita Chakraborty, General Manager HR, has been with Cadila since 1996 and has worked in several capacities across locations before moving into her current role. In her words, “I have found the culture to be very warm and inclusive in all my years. I have never felt out of place in an industry which was and even now is predominantly male-driven”. She started as a medical representative two-and-a-half decades ago and has had career opportunities to move across functions and job roles over time.
5. Ms. Renuka Upadhyay, Company Secretary, joined us about six months ago. As is evident from her position, she plays a pivotal role in the Management Committee and Board. In her words, she feels she made the right decision to join Cadila and it has been an extremely fulfilling journey for her.
6. Ms. Leena Darne, GM Marketing of Branded business, joined us about eight months ago after almost two decades of experience across several reputed pharmaceutical organisations.
7. Dr. (Ms.) Seema Sharma, Vice President, Manufacturing Biosimilars, has been with Cadila for the last eight years. This is her second stint with Cadila as she also had a long association with the company earlier.
8. Ms. Himanshi Jain, GM HR, worked with Cadila for three-and-a-half years and then returned after six months as she felt the culture she had experienced in Cadila was something she wanted to return to. In her words, the immense responsibilities the organization places very early on shows the tremendous trust it places in young talent. She says that the organisation not only gives responsibilities but also the freedom to work. She adds that she has felt very comfortable working on the campus which provides a lot of positive vibes and energises an individual.