Tag: 3BL

PRINCETON, N.J., July 17, 2024 /3BL/ – Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) has earned a top score of 100 on the 2024 Disability Equality Index®, naming BMS a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion in the U.S., U.K. and Brazil. BMS has earned this score for the sixth consecutive year in the U.S. and for the first time in the U.K. and Brazil.

The Disability Equality Index® is the world’s most comprehensive benchmarking tool used to measure disability inclusion for Fortune 1000 companies across key performance indicators for culture and leadership, accessibility employment, community engagement, supplier diversity and procurement.

“This recognition quantifies our hard work and continuous advancement toward disability inclusion,” said Peter Paine, senior vice president, chief of staff to the CEO, Bristol Myers Squibb. “We are committed to fostering a high-performing, inclusive global workforce and an environment where employees can be at their best to deliver the best for patients.”

BMS executes on several strategic initiatives across the company to implement disability inclusion. These initiatives include accessibility infrastructure improvements, people business and resource groups, enhanced training programs and program tools, support and advocacy for employees, universal design features and IT accessibility and inclusive hiring practices.

Learn more about BMS’ commitment to fostering a high-performing and inclusive workforce in its 2023 ESG Report.

About the Disability Equality Index®

The Disability Equality Index has become the leading independent, third-party resource for the annual benchmarking of corporate disability inclusion policies and programs, and is now trusted by more than 70% of the United States Fortune 100 and nearly half of the Fortune 500. Such companies must increasingly consider how emerging global reporting directives and stakeholder expectations surrounding social and corporate governance factors impact their operational, cultural, reputational and financial performance.

The Disability Equality Index is an objective, reflective, forward-thinking, and confidential disability rating tool designed to assist business in advancing inclusion practices. It is a comprehensive benchmark that helps companies build a roadmap of measurable, tangible actions across five scored categories: Culture & Leadership, Enterprise-Wide Access, Employment Practices, Community Engagement, and Supplier Diversity. Participating companies receive a score, on a scale of zero (0) to 100, with those scoring 80 or higher earning the distinction of “Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion” for the benchmark year.

Findings from a two-year Global Disability Equality Index pilot informed the launch of a scored benchmark that opened in 2024 to seven new countries in addition to the United States. These include: Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom. Now in its 10th year, the Disability Equality Index has grown nearly 7x since 2015, expanding from 80 companies in its first year to 542 in 2024. Collectively, the 2024 edition received 753 submissions spanning the eight benchmarked countries.

About Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

For many individuals and families, homeownership is the key to building household wealth that can be passed down to future generations. That’s why creating equitable access to homeownership programs is a cornerstone of the U.S. Bank Foundation* Opportunity Fund**, which aims to increase wealth-building opportunities for low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities, including communities of color.

The foundation recently distributed nearly $3.5 million in Opportunity Fund grants to nonprofit organizations working to increase the availability of and access to homeownership. The first round of funding also included $4 million to organizations focused on affordable housing development.

“Safe and stable housing helps children, families and communities thrive, and supporting organizations that help create pathways to homeownership for more people is an investment that will benefit generations to come,” said Erica Opstad, managing director of the U.S. Bank Foundation.

That support extends to organizations like Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS), which serves more than 6,000 households annually to support homeownership and create thriving neighborhoods by providing homebuyer counseling and education programs, lending and real estate development services in LMI communities. The nonprofit was founded in 1975 to address redlining practices that impacted many Chicago neighborhoods, bringing together banks, regulators, residents and city officials to seek collaborative solutions to neighborhood disinvestment. Since then, NHS has helped more than 7,500 families buy a home, which has helped generate more than $1 billion in sustainable financial assets for its clients, who are largely members of communities of color.

“The needs of the community are constantly changing, but the heart of what we do has not changed. Since our inception 50 years ago, NHS has remained committed to the ideals of social justice and the liberating impacts of homeownership,” said President and CEO Anthony Simpkins.

“Safe and stable housing helps children, families and communities thrive, and supporting organizations that help create pathways to homeownership for more people is an investment that will benefit generations to come.”

– Erica Opstad, managing director of the U.S. Bank Foundation

In recent years, high interest rates and construction costs have contributed to putting homeownership further out of reach for many people in Chicago, Simpkins noted, with prices for single-unit and multi-unit buildings increasing dramatically in the past 20 years. NHS will leverage the Opportunity Fund grant to provide down payment and closing cost assistance to working families so they can become homeowners.

“Down payment and closing cost assistance is often the critical factor for leveling the playing field and getting people into homes. The Opportunity Fund grant enhances our lending and education services by providing this critical resource for clients across Chicago’s South and West sides,” Simpkins said.

U.S. Bank and the U.S. Bank Foundation have worked with NHS over many years, providing Community Possible charitable grants, corporate contributions and volunteerism. That includes supporting NHS’ comprehensive housing counseling program, which ranges from helping individuals and families start their homeownership journey to post-purchase counseling and foreclosure prevention.

“NHS is always trying to be innovative and expand opportunities to bridge generational wealth gaps,” said JeNyce Boolton, a U.S Bank community affairs manager based in Chicago who sits on an NHS committee. “Our support reaffirms the bank’s commitment to affordable housing.”

*U.S. Bank Foundation is a tax-exempt private foundation described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is funded primarily through contributions from U.S. Bank National Association and its affiliates and subsidiaries. The Foundation’s mission is to close the gaps between people and possibility in the areas of work, home, and play.

** The Opportunity Fund represents a financial commitment of the U.S. Bank Foundation; it is not a traditional equity fund, nor does it represent a form of ownership.

CAMDEN, N.J., July 17, 2024 /3BL/ – In a commitment to furthering its partnership with Cooper University Health Care and bolstering essential services for the Camden community, Subaru of America, Inc., has announced its continued support of $30,000 for durable medical equipment and transportation services to continue to fuel Cooper’s mission. This donation, part of the Subaru Loves to Care® initiative, aims to provide access to vital medical equipment to Camden City residents.

The funds are designated for durable medical equipment, including blood pressure monitors, glucometers, scales, wheelchairs, walkers, and canes to help patients manage their chronic health conditions at home and prevent the need for emergency department visits or hospitalizations. The funds will also provide hundreds of Camden residents with roundtrip transportation to assure patients who do not have medical transport get to their appointments safely on time to Cooper facilities.

“We are most grateful to our Camden neighbor, Subaru, for their support of Cooper over the years. We look forward to our continued partnership as we work together to be a positive force in Camden’s growth and prosperity,” said Anthony J. Mazzarelli, MD, JD, MBE, co-CEO of Cooper.

“This generous contribution by Subaru to Cooper’s community programs demonstrates our shared commitment to addressing health care disparities and making a tangible transformation in the lives and health of patients living in Camden,” said Kevin M. O’Dowd, JD, co-CEO of Cooper.

“Being able to assist in Cooper’s dedicated efforts to helping our Camden community get and stay healthy is exactly what Subaru Loves to Care is all about,” said Erica McLeod, corporate social responsibility manager, Subaru of America, Inc. “Too many neighbors with chronic health conditions can experience unexpected out-of-pocket costs associated with medical treatments, and this funding should alleviate some of the burdens on our community members most in need.”

The Subaru Loves to Care initiative is the health-focused philanthropic pillar of the Subaru Love Promise. Cooper has been the recipient of numerous charitable donations from Subaru over the years. The automaker has previously donated four vehicles to the Cooper EMS program, provided funding to the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper and contributed to The Cooper Foundation’s Pink Roses Teal Magnolias event for women’s cancer.

“Without corporate partners such as Subaru in our community, we could not do what we do at Cooper,” said Lisa Morina, senior vice president and chief philanthropy officer at The Cooper Foundation. “We are most grateful for the ongoing collaboration between our two organizations to help make a meaningful impact in the lives of our Cooper patients and the communities we serve.”

The donations to Cooper are part of Subaru Loves to Care, the health-focused philanthropic pillar of the automaker’s Love Promise vision to show love and respect to all people at every interaction with Subaru. To learn more about Subaru Loves to Care, please visit subaru.com/care.

###

About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company’s vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $300 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged nearly 88,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About The Cooper Foundation
The Cooper Foundation supports the patients, services, research and educational programs of Cooper University Health Care, one of the largest health systems in southern New Jersey. By partnering with the community, we help Cooper thrive and do more for the people of South Jersey — from the River to the Shore and beyond. Generosity allows Cooper to deliver research that leads to cures, growth and development that transforms communities and care that goes beyond the ordinary for patients and their families. Learn more by following The Cooper Foundation on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, YouTube, Flickr, and foundation.cooperhealth.org 

Diane Anton 
Corporate Communications Manager 
(856) 488-5093 
danton@subaru.com

Wendy A. Marano 
Cooper University Health Care 
(856) 904-1688 
marano-wendy@cooperhealth.edu

Adam Leiter 
Corporate Communications Specialist 
(856) 488-8668 
aleiter@subaru.com

CENTENNIAL, Colo., July 17, 2024 /3BL/ – Arrow Electronics is among a select group of Colorado businesses participating in a coalition supporting the state’s native pollinators. The Businesses for Environmental Excellence (BEE) Sustainable Partners Program was created by the Butterfly Pavilion to protect butterflies, bees, beetles and other insects that play a crucial role in the ecosystem.

“Butterfly Pavilion firmly believes that through collaboration with other important leaders we have the opportunity, resources and responsibility to make a meaningful impact for these all-important animals,” said Katie Johnson, director of partnerships at the Butterfly Pavilion.

This year, BEE member companies will help restore or conserve 300 acres of habitat in eight Colorado municipalities, protecting native pollinators and restoring prairie land.

As part of the initiative, the Butterfly Pavilion will provide experts to speak at BEE member sites about the importance of pollinators. Employees of member companies will also have the opportunity to work alongside horticulture staff in the Pavilion’s Discovery Gardens and help restore pollinator habitat in local open spaces.

Located in Westminster, Colo., Butterfly Pavilion’s mission is to foster an appreciation for invertebrates by educating the public about the need to protect and care for threatened habitats globally, while conducting research for solutions in invertebrate conservation.

About Arrow Electronics 
Arrow Electronics guides innovation forward for thousands of leading technology manufacturers and service providers. With 2023 sales of $33 billion, Arrow develops technology solutions that help improve business and daily life. Learn more at arrow.com.

###

MetLife Sustainability Report

Our Approach

MetLife’s commitment to building confident futures energizes colleagues and creates an environment in which everyone feels like they belong and can thrive. Our Employee Value Proposition (EVP), “All Together Possible,” is our promise to deliver on this commitment through comprehensive and inclusive benefits, services and experiences for our colleagues. All Together Possible is underpinned by three focus areas:

Guided By Empathy: At the heart of our culture lies a passion for people that guides us in everything we do and connects us to our customers.Winning Together: We believe that an inclusive culture where unique attributes, perspectives, voices and contributions are valued and respected—and where everyone has access to what they need to succeed—enables us to win together.Driven By Growth: We empower our colleagues to build a career, perform at their best and turn their ambitions into reality, all while focusing on our customers and growing our business.

MetLife’s 2023 U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study (EBTS) found that employee care—an employer’s genuine demonstration of interest in their employees’ overall well-being, both at work and outside of work—increases several measures of employee health and productivity. Employers that care for their employees promote financial wellness and holistic health across the workforce, ultimately realizing better talent management outcomes and increased business performance.

Our EVP is demonstrated through employee care which aims to better connect our people to the suite of benefits, services and experiences that differentiate MetLife as an employer of choice.

Highlights

Certified Great Place to Work® in 11 markets.Women comprise 53% of our workforce.Surpassed 9,500 career development opportunities globally.Achieved record scores on culture, flexibility, well-being and learning opportunities in our annual employee survey.Launched Coaching@MetLife to democratize coaching, support career development and accelerate skill growth.97% of colleagues accessed MyLearning in 2023.

MetLife: A Certified Great Place to Work®

MetLife is proud to continue to be named among the best workplaces globally. In 2023, all 11 MetLife markets that participated in the Great Place to Work® certifications process were certified including:

Brazil;Chile;China;Colombia;Cyprus;India;Lebanon;Mexico;Romania;United States; andUruguay.

The certification process considers a company’s culture, innovation, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and trust between employees and the company, asking and surveying employees about their experience.

Additionally, MetLife was named to Fortune magazine’s 2023 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For®.

Download the full MetLife 2023 Sustainability Report

MetLife Sustainability Report

Our Approach

MetLife’s commitment to building confident futures energizes colleagues and creates an environment in which everyone feels like they belong and can thrive. Our Employee Value Proposition (EVP), “All Together Possible,” is our promise to deliver on this commitment through comprehensive and inclusive benefits, services and experiences for our colleagues. All Together Possible is underpinned by three focus areas:

Guided By Empathy: At the heart of our culture lies a passion for people that guides us in everything we do and connects us to our customers.Winning Together: We believe that an inclusive culture where unique attributes, perspectives, voices and contributions are valued and respected—and where everyone has access to what they need to succeed—enables us to win together.Driven By Growth: We empower our colleagues to build a career, perform at their best and turn their ambitions into reality, all while focusing on our customers and growing our business.

MetLife’s 2023 U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study (EBTS) found that employee care—an employer’s genuine demonstration of interest in their employees’ overall well-being, both at work and outside of work—increases several measures of employee health and productivity. Employers that care for their employees promote financial wellness and holistic health across the workforce, ultimately realizing better talent management outcomes and increased business performance.

Our EVP is demonstrated through employee care which aims to better connect our people to the suite of benefits, services and experiences that differentiate MetLife as an employer of choice.

Highlights

Certified Great Place to Work® in 11 markets.Women comprise 53% of our workforce.Surpassed 9,500 career development opportunities globally.Achieved record scores on culture, flexibility, well-being and learning opportunities in our annual employee survey.Launched Coaching@MetLife to democratize coaching, support career development and accelerate skill growth.97% of colleagues accessed MyLearning in 2023.

MetLife: A Certified Great Place to Work®

MetLife is proud to continue to be named among the best workplaces globally. In 2023, all 11 MetLife markets that participated in the Great Place to Work® certifications process were certified including:

Brazil;Chile;China;Colombia;Cyprus;India;Lebanon;Mexico;Romania;United States; andUruguay.

The certification process considers a company’s culture, innovation, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and trust between employees and the company, asking and surveying employees about their experience.

Additionally, MetLife was named to Fortune magazine’s 2023 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For®.

Download the full MetLife 2023 Sustainability Report

The Port of Long Beach, California, is supporting an effort to reduce debris in the port with devices that collect trash from the surface of the water. Marathon Pipe Line installed two electric trash skimmers that continuously draw in water and trap debris.The skimmers are collecting roughly 500 pounds of trash every two weeks, and the port has agreed to handle disposal. 

The Port of Long Beach, California, is collaborating with a tenant on a 24/7 approach to collecting debris in the water. Marathon Pipe Line (MPL), a component of Marathon Petroleum’s midstream segment, MPLX, recently installed two electric trash skimmers at its dock in Terminal 2, and the port agreed to pick up the trash for disposal at a reduced cost.

“The skimmers are attached to the dock. They float and go up and down with the tide, using a system similar to a swimming pool skimmer to suck in trash,” said Marathon Petroleum Advanced Emergency Preparedness Professional Court Hemerick.

The skimmers have taken MPL’s trash collection efforts at the port to new heights. In the past, employee volunteers would conduct an annual trash cleanup around the dock in Terminal 2. Teams would spend hours manually gathering debris, accumulating as much as 500 pounds of trash during each year’s effort. The skimmers are now gathering more than 500 pounds every two weeks.

Each device has a 120-volt motor that allows for continuous operation, moving more than 300 gallons of water a minute. Floating debris is retained in a bin that is six-feet wide and four-feet deep.

“By helping to make the port cleaner, we know we are eliminating potential hazards for aquatic birds in particular. This illustrates our company’s commitment to environmental stewardship and making investments that help protect biodiversity.”

“The skimmers can each hold roughly 120 to 130 pounds of trash. Currently, employee volunteers from MPL engineering, maintenance and operations, as well as our emergency preparedness group, are helping manage this effort,” Hemerick said. “It takes one to two people to scoop out the trash into bags, using nets, and then dispose of the bags in a dumpster.”

The skimmers build on MPL’s existing sustainability initiatives in California, which include financial support for International Bird Rescue. This global conservation nonprofit has care centers in Los Angeles and San Francisco that help respond to wildlife emergencies, providing day-to-day care for aquatic birds that are injured, sick, abused or orphaned.

“Reducing debris in the water goes hand-in-hand with wildlife conservation,” said MPL Region Manager Tim Hayes. “By helping to make the port cleaner, we know we are eliminating potential hazards for aquatic birds in particular. This illustrates our company’s commitment to environmental stewardship and making investments that help protect biodiversity.”

This story first appeared on Baker Hughes’ Energy Forward Stories.

In August 2023, the Baker Hughes Foundation awarded a $100,000 grant to the University of Houston Energy Transition Institute (ETI) to support environmental justice research and workforce development programs. The grant has multiple beneficiaries, including undergraduates in the university’s Energy Scholars Program working on research around carbon management, hydrogen, and circular plastics. University of Houston’s (UH) Energy Scholars program enhances the professional development of students by having them work with research faculty and industry partners on projects focusing on energy matters.

We sat down with two students from the program, Mustafa Khan and Aaron Hinkle, to hear about their research project, Exploratory Analysis: Reducing Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) at the Port of Houston.

QUESTION

Could you please each tell us a little about yourselves?

MUSTAFA KHAN: 

I’m studying quantitative economics and have taken a diverse array of courses. I’ve had the pleasure of going pretty deep into the math and physics departments. Delving deeper into these multidisciplinary fields allows me to better understand the world around us today and to be a greater contributor to what we need to do to make tomorrow happen.

AARON HINKLE:

I am a sophomore honors mechanical engineer student specializing in robotics. In addition, I’m the president of the UH Robotics Club and I’m involved in the UH Energy Coalition.

QUESTION

What does the energy transition mean to you and how does that play into your everyday life?

KHAN:

When we think about the energy transition it’s ordinarily around the adoption of new technologies and more efficient ways to produce energy. However, when we get into the details, the transition is multidisciplinary. It’s about how we approach the environment, future work opportunities and public health.

As we think about what these new technologies look like, we’re spending a lot of time thinking about each individual element involved in the whole process. We need to consider how we maximize the efficiency, the technologies, the conversations, and the communications to make these projects happen. We’re connecting with our communities to understand people’s needs – what do they want, what do they like, what would they prefer to have compared to what they have right now?

What we’re looking at for the future is this massive collage of distinct specializations to approach new ways of handling everything that we do today, whether it’s water resource conservation and development or utilizing solar radiation to generate power. Whatever it might be, it all translates into things that we do every single day. It all translates to how we live our life, and to hone in on these technologies and methodologies that are conducive to the world we want to make. A world that is sustainable and allows people to live the way they want to live. It requires just an incredible amount of specialization to do this.

As we make that shift to decarbonize, we will see that it makes a major difference to people’s public health. The hope for me is that as we make progress, people will be able to work wherever they want in any city, along any coastline, and live a healthy life. You can come home to your family and smile – that’s what the energy transition means to me.

HINKLE:

The energy transition for me means a brighter future for my family and the next generations. What I really care about is making the world a better place for everyone.

QUESTION

Could you tell us about the research project you’ve been working on together?

KHAN:

Aaron and I have been collaborating on an incredibly interesting project that ties into the energy transition in terms of reducing emissions around operations at the Port of Houston. We’re in the early stages but we’ve made a ton of great progress and done a ton of great research. We’ve locked in on what are known as “yard hostlers,” which are fundamental to cargo operations at the port. Yard hostlers are miniature trucks that take freight from one location to the next within the port, and they’re diesel-powered. Because they’re used in all container translocation, they’re the second-largest emission generator for the port. We’re working on ways to identify pathways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and the viability of potential solutions.

HINKLE:

The Port of Houston Authority sent out a Request for Proposals (RFP) and Evolve Houston, a non-profit organization working to decarbonize transportation in the city, brought it to us at UH. They let us know that the port was looking for research into how it could reduce GHGs specifically around introducing yard hostlers using different fuel. UH works very closely with Evolve Houston and it seemed like a great project for us to work on. We’re looking at electric-battery, LNG-powered and hydrogen-fuel-cell powered yard hostlers. The next step is considering the infrastructure the port would need. For example, for LNG, you’d need LNG stored at the port and a way to get it there.

QUESTION

It’s early days but what have the challenges been so far in the project?

KHAN:

One of the bigger things that we’ve really been battling to understand is the operations component of it. Engines at different RPMs consume different levels of fuel and therefore a different output of emissions. We can gather that data easily, but we need to dive into the why – why are the yard hostlers idling or creeping, which is traveling at less than 4 mph? How can we make this more efficient? We’d like Aaron and I to get down there with our feet on the ground with stopwatches to gather more information, but understandably there are issues around getting non-Port Authority people access. But we intend to ensure that we do have quality data that we collect ourselves, to give us insights that we can then use to bolster our ideas.

HINKLE:

We can look at different fuel sources, existing technology, leasing programs and an implementation timeline. These are all things that are within our scope. What is exciting is that our entire research team is talking about developing our own type of technology to meet the port’s needs for the yard hostlers. The challenge is that the lead time of developing a new technology, testing it, getting the proper funding to build a prototype, would take this project timeline out to be years! We’re trying to figure out the most effective approach and how far we go.

QUESTION

How have you found communicating with the actual operators at the port?

KHAN: 

That has probably been the biggest hurdle to be honest. Operators don’t always want to change their ways or learn about a new technology which could be more efficient. We’re academics coming in with no experience in these operations trying to convince them to inform us about the decisions that they make when they’re operating in a typical shift. We would like to find out why they choose to stall versus accelerate or choose to lock themselves in slower traffic as opposed to taking a more efficient route. This is information we so far have not been able to gather.

QUESTION

Are your mentors from the University of Houston able to help?

HINKLE:

Our mentor Doug Erwing has been working with us to keep us on track and advocating for us, getting us meetings with Evolve Houston and trying to help us organize the boots on the ground research going. He’s been really helpful.

QUESTION

You talked about a multidisciplinary ecosystem needed to drive decarbonization.

How important do you think it is for companies from across different sectors, NGOs, and academics to collaborate to help drive the energy transition? Can they make a difference?

KHAN:

Giving the university the opportunity to collaborate across divisions and have these research opportunities for students to get engaged is great. It could be interesting to develop a survey course, which could be offered to specific majors, a college, or a whole-of-university initiative, where an interdisciplinary program would see the professors in constant collaboration with companies.

For example, they could work with specific divisions within Baker Hughes and the company could talk to the professor about what they’re finding in their work and where they want it to go. Then that survey course becomes a conversation around that, with projects that directly tie into the necessary skills students need when they get out there and start looking for jobs. That kind of collaboration could be incredibly valuable. There’s a big opportunity to build a pipeline of talent through collaboration of industry and universities – it’s about identifying the best way to do that.

HINKLE:

I agree. If universities can work with companies to help train students and build pathways for them to get into specific lines of work after graduating – for me, I’m really interested in robotics. So, anything my university can do to help connect me with prospective employers in this field, will also mean that in turn I can share my knowledge from my studies with them.

QUESTION

What are you most excited about for the future?

HINKLE:

I’m looking forward to learning new things and setting up connections where people can teach me new things. I want to learn as much as possible because I love learning. I want to continue learning forever.

KHAN:

University students are all gluttons for learning. What really excites me is that as we go out there and as we start contributing and making an impact, the constant flurry of new learning will not be like anything we’ve seen before.

We have these real problems that are going to take real effort to solve and once we do solve them, the innovations and the opportunities that will be created and the new doors that will open will be so incredible. That’s what I’m looking forward to.

For Priya Agrawal, health equity has been a lifelong concern and a guiding principle in the work she’s done across industries. 

As a young girl growing up in central London, Agrawal saw firsthand how inequities even within her own extended family could drastically impact health outcomes. 

“I watched my father’s side of the family — who lived in London — live with diabetes, but I watched my mother’s side of the family — who lived in North India — die of diabetes,” Agrawal said. “It took me a while to figure out that it was my father’s family’s access to the National Health Service that made the difference.” 

That early insight propelled Agrawal into a career as an obstetrician and gynecologist before moving into public health. She first joined Merck to help launch Merck for Mothers, a global initiative to help create a world where no woman has to die while giving life. From there, she went on to a variety of roles — from lead of the company’s vaccines and contraceptives business in the U.K. to managing director of South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa to global head of HPV vaccines. She currently serves as vice president of health equity and partnerships. 

Agrawal’s work — and the passion that fuels it — continues, and she has no plans to stop. 

“My purpose in life is to advance health equity. I want to be able to say that I did all I could to ensure more people could both survive and thrive because they had easier access to health.” 

View original content here.

New Holland, a brand of CNH, has honored the work of women in forestry in Brazil by delivering 10 pink tractors.

The idea came from Empreiteira Costa Pinto, the company that bought the New Holland TL5.90 tractors, and the Ottoboni dealership in Mato Grosso do Sul.

The tractors were delivered to the contractor’s headquarters where employees hired to work in the forestry sector were waiting to catch a first glimpse of them.

“We lead the #ÉTEMPODEMULHER movement, not only as a way to support them, but also to strengthen female entrepreneurship and establish a position as a brand close to farmers, which speak to the whole society and seeks to bring solutions that help producers to increase productivity in a sustainable way”, says Eduardo Kerbauy, New Holland’s Vice President for Latin America.

Mikelly Fernanda Silveira Redero, one of the operators recently hired by Empreiteira Costa Pinto, says that she never imagined that one day she would operate a tractor in the forestry area, especially in pink. “Every woman has the ability, and the company gave us that opportunity. Today I feel very happy.”

According to Adilson Costa Pinto, owner of Empreiteira Costa Pinto, the company realized that it could invest more in female labor. For this reason, they decided to expand the range and encourage women to be operators. “We believed it would work. And it did. Today we have a differential within the company. And our operators helped us break this taboo,” he says.

For Renato Stevanato Ottoboni, partner-owner of Ottoboni, the pink tractors are a way to symbolize and spread the movement for women’s appreciation. “Wherever they go, these tractors attract attention, in addition to further stimulating the sector to bring women to the field,” she explains.

Created four years ago, New Holland’s #ÉTEMPODEMULHER movement has helped to give a voice to the female public by developing actions to encourage women’s participation. The objective is to stimulate and value the importance of women in the field with engagement actions, encouraging and recognizing diversity in agribusiness as an engine of innovation, especially because today women and young people are taking the lead in the field.