Fighting Racial Injustice
"To realize our Mission to Save and Sustain Lives, it is our shared responsibility to fight racism, end marginalization and advance social justice for the Black community – within Baxter and beyond. A growing wave of actions is underway building on our longtime global embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion. There is hard work ahead, but we must dedicate ourselves to shaping the future we want for ourselves, our children and generations to come."
– Joe Almeida, Chairman, President and CEO
Racism, intolerance, marginalization and discrimination are not bound to U.S. borders. They affect our colleagues, families, friends and communities worldwide in countless forms, overt and veiled.
Baxter is a tapestry of difference. We comprise a vast, magnificent spectrum of employees united in a single Mission: Save and Sustain Lives; and it rests on a strong foundation and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion globally.
Working in close collaboration with our Black Professional Alliance business resource group, we launched ACT: Activating Change Today, a multidimensional and multiyear initiative to advance inclusion and racial justice within the workplace and within the communities and markets we serve.
As the name suggests, our commitment through ACT is about taking action and driving results. We want to achieve meaningful, sustainable change within and beyond Baxter to be part of the solution to the complex, longstanding, multifaceted societal issue of racial injustice. We are acting with a sense of urgency, prioritizing initiatives that we believe will provide the biggest impact. We will share updates on our progress.
Recent Examples of ACT:ions in Flight
Talent
Baxter addresses issues related to hiring, retaining, and advancing diverse talent
- Baxter's attraction strategy for Black talent in the U.S. includes partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with strong engineering programs; Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs); and national organizations with diversity recruitment fairs including the National Society of Black Engineers, National Sales Network and National Black MBA Association
- Baxter partners with McKinsey & Co. to help accelerate the careers of key Black talent in the U.S. through the Connected Leaders Academy leadership development programs
- The Baxter MultiCultural Network business resource group is launched to support diversity, equity, and inclusion across the EMEA region and to maximize the impact of Baxter’s work toward addressing racial injustices
Communities
Baxter addresses needs of communities affected by systemic racism and aims to cultivate meaningful diverse supplier partnerships
- The Baxter International Foundation commits $3 million in grants to organizations in the U.S. who are working to advance racial justice. Funding includes $1 million each to the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago and NAACP to increase capacity and support ongoing operations
- The Baxter International Foundation commits $3.5 million, the largest single investment in its history, to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Through this fund, the Baxter HBCU STEM Scholars Program is able to support 40+ scholarships for U.S. students pursuing STEM degrees over the next three years (2022-2025); and it also assists with mentorship opportunities which extends impact. The TMCF fund supports Black and Brown teachers to boost retention and quality in the classroom
- Baxter joins more than 1,100 corporate, government and not-for-profit organizations to make a formal commitment to reconcile with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations People of Australia) communities across Australia and New Zealand
- Baxter donates $100,000 to the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council (NMSDC) Academy which connects 170+ Black women executives in the U.S. and provides them with meaningful networking opportunities and learning solutions
- Baxter donates $50,000 to the Rebuilding Fund, which was designed to invest in minority businesses struggling to recover from the economic downturn resulting from COVID-19 and damage during protests, benefiting 80+ Black owned businesses in the U.S.
- Baxter supports the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council (NMSDC) Emerging Young Entrepreneur's (EYE) program which is designed to provide the next generation of minority entrepreneurs in the U.S. with support to enhance their growing businesses; benefited 20+ young Black business owners who along with other Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) peers generate $500 million in annual revenue
- The Baxter International Foundation leverages its Product Donations Program in partnership with Direct Relief to support select Community and Federally Qualified Health Centers that serve medically marginalized Black communities in the U.S.
- Baxter's on-going 2:1 ACT Matching Gift program includes funding for YWCA of Metro Chicago, Equal Justice Initiative, NAACP, American Diabetes Association and Thurgood Marshall College Fund
Marketplace
Baxter addresses healthcare disparities that disproportionately affect racially diverse communities
- Baxter commits $200,000 to create the Baxter Nursing Scholars Award at Tennessee State University's (TSU) School of Nursing and $200,000 to establish the Baxter Healthcare Scholarship at the Howard University College of Pharmacy. The announcement follows a $1.2 million commitment established by Baxter in 2021 to support similar programs at Tennessee State University, Meharry Medical College and Morehouse College
- Baxter provides a one-year grant to the ConnecTeen program, which helps vulnerable pregnant and parenting teens on Chicago's West Side. Funding enables the ConnecTeen program to add a home visitor to their staff to provide short-term support before families join longer-term programs
- Lurie Children's Hospital Visiting Medical Student Program seeks to increase diversity in their workforce by increasing diversity in its resident physicians. Baxter's contribution enables 12 underrepresented minority medical students to visit Lurie Children's and explore a pediatric residency program
- Baxter establishes the Critical Care Racial Disparities Advisory Board to understand why Black patients are disproportionately impacted by health disparities in critical care and identify what actions to take to address health disparities
- Baxter sponsors the Henri Ford Junior Faculty Research Award through the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) Foundation; it provides annual early-career research support to junior faculty members of the AAS Foundation who are considered underrepresented in the academic surgical community
- The Black Kidney Awareness, Resources and Education (K.A.R.E.) educational toolkit, developed in partnership with The National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, includes actionable tips and guidance for improving kidney heath and managing kidney disease; and has already impacted 51,000+ community members
- The Links, Incorporated and the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois partnership expands in its second year from the Midwest region to a national presence, and cumulative funding totaling $1.4 million. These funds are directed to programming efforts that increase awareness and education in Black communities about kidney health and how to navigate the unique barriers associated with managing chronic kidney disease
- Baxter sponsors the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference, and specifically supported the CBCF General Health Session: "A Sweet Tooth and a Bitter Pill to Swallow: The Impact of Diabetes on Black Communities"
- Baxter sponsors a 12-month fellowship for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which includes two six-month rotations, and enables participants to receive hands-on public policy training in supporting Congressional Black Caucus members in the U.S. federal legislature
Fostering Open, Honest Conversations
"How can you honor, and take pride in, the experiences of your fellow Black colleagues? And how can you champion them to ensure that we have diversity in every crevice of our marketplace?"
– Nosa Eguae, Territory Business Manager, Advanced Surgery
People Of Baxter
Our organization is enriched by people with diverse backgrounds and experiences that work together to drive better healthcare options for patients around the world. We strive to create an inclusive work environment.