News Release

February 27, 2023

Ahead of International Women’s Day, Organon Canada Spotlights the Importance of Supporting Women’s Equity While Highlighting the Cost of Not Investing in Their Health

170 employees across Canada will receive paid time off and join 10,000 Organon employees worldwide in dedicating International Women’s Day toward investing in women’s health

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Kirkland, Quebec, February 27, 2023 – For far too long, women’s health issues have been underfunded, under researched and underserved. Leading up to International Women’s Day on March 8, Organon Canada, a subsidiary of Organon (NYSE: OGN), a global women’s health company, is challenging the healthcare ecosystem – along with academia, investors, policymakers, researchers and others – to consider the consequences of the growing health disparities that women are currently facing. In Canada, for the second consecutive year, the company is also providing its 170 employees with paid time off to shine a light and speak out in service of making women’s health a priority.

Women account for more than half of the Canadian population but according to a survey conducted by the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation (AWHF), almost two-thirds of women found it difficult to talk to their primary healthcare providers about their health concerns. In fact, only 24% of women felt their physician is very knowledgeable about gynecological and reproductive health. Moreover, delays in treatment were commonly reported, and where a diagnosis is more complicated or specialized, such as endometriosis, a delay was reported by as many as 85% of respondents. All in all, one in five respondents felt that their gender is a barrier to receiving care.1

To further demonstrate Organon Canada’s investment in women’s health, the company is also launching a landing page, hereforherhealth.ca, which aims to provide employees with activities as well as tips and tricks for taking care of their holistic health. Organon Canada has also expanded its commitment this year to efforts outside the company, having conducted outreach to other stakeholder organizations, driving them to the website and encouraging them to consider joining the movement.

“At Organon Canada, we believe in health for every woman, and we are committed to demonstrate our investment to both our employees and partners while raising greater awareness around gender equity through health,” said Michael Casia, President and Managing Director at Organon Canada. “This year’s International Women’s Day’s global campaign theme – Embrace Equity – is an opportunity for us at Organon Canada, our government and other organizations to act and adopt gender-specific initiatives to help women achieve equity in all spheres of their lives, including health. Taking these concrete steps will enable us to create a more equitable and inclusive society and ultimately, actively support more positive outcomes for current and future generations of women and their health.”

Organon’s mission is to support the advancement of care and research in women’s health. In pursuit of its efforts to continuously learn more about and understand key health issues, Organon Canada partnered with the AWHF to conduct a survey which explores the impact of taboo topics and seeks to bring attention to gender-specific medical conditions affecting women’s lives.

“We are grateful to continue our partnership with Organon Canada this year to raise awareness around key women’s health issues,” mentions Sharlene Rutherford, President and Chief Executive Officer at Alberta Women’s Health Foundation. “The culture of silence around gender-specific health conditions has taken a direct toll on women. With Organon Canada’s support and leadership, we can truly make a meaningful difference in the name of women’s health. Additionally, with further research and awareness, we can collectively reduce the impact of these conditions on the health of women and encourage everyone to play a part in advancing equity, while engaging the support of family members, friends, and community health groups.”

Findings from the survey across numerous areas of women’s health reveal crucial gaps that impact nearly all stages of a woman’s life. For women with endometriosis, painful periods, pelvic floor issues, perimenopause and menopause, between 50-90% of respondents reported significant impacts on their career and personal life. Furthermore:

  • 39% of women reported experiencing menopause.1 
  • 17% of women reported experiencing endometriosis, whose associated symptoms have shown to have considerable impacts on attaining education, work productivity, career choices and success, as well as social life and activities.1

“We want to ensure our employees know that their well-being is a top priority, and as a company focused on women’s health, it is our role to demonstrate our ongoing investment in this area and lead by example,” says Litsa Spiridonakos, Director of Human Resources. “This International Women’s Day, we want to reiterate our commitment to women’s health, both inside and outside of our organization, and emphasize the fact that women should take care of themselves today and every day. As part of an internal engagement survey, we’ve learnt that 85% of our employees feel a sense of belonging at Organon Canada. This happens through action, which inspired us to create dedicated resources to offer suggestions on how women can look after their health and how others can they support the women in their lives, both of which are in line with this year’s theme of embracing equity.”

To access Organon Canada’s resources for this year’s International Women’s Day, visit hereforherhealth.ca. For further insights and to view additional data from the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation survey, visit albertawomenshealthfoundation.org/our-impact.

About Organon

Organon is a global healthcare company with a focus on improving the health of women throughout their lives. Organon has a portfolio of more than 60 medicines and products across a range of therapeutic areas. Led by the women’s health portfolio coupled with an expanding biosimilars business and stable franchise of established medicines, Organon’s products produce strong cash flows that will support investments in innovation and future growth opportunities in women’s health. In addition, Organon is pursuing opportunities to collaborate with biopharmaceutical innovators looking to commercialize their products by leveraging its scale and presence in fast growing international markets.

Organon has a global footprint with significant scale and geographic reach, world-class commercial capabilities, and approximately 10,000 employees with headquarters located in Jersey City, New Jersey

For more information, connect with us on LinkedIn.

About The Alberta Women’s Health Foundation

The Alberta Women’s Health Foundation (AWHF) aims to foster equity in women’s health, close gaps that exist in research today, and connect pathways from lab to life; all of which advance clinical care at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women and other women’s health centres across Alberta and beyond. An initiative of the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation, the AWHF supports over 160 researchers at the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI), whose research projects focus specifically on women’s health.

For more information, visit the AWHF at albertawomenshealthfoundation.org.

Reference: 1. The Alberta Women’s Health Foundation, “Surveying the Silence: Exploring the impact in women’s health“