Women have a lot of power. Women are fearless. Joy Fitzgerald, UnitedHealth Group’s Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, believes they deserve a seat at the table where they can be themselves. When it comes to gender equality in the workplace, however, some obstacles must be addressed for change to occur.
- At UnitedHealth Joy helps to build on the foundation of programs, partnerships, and strategic priorities across diversity, equity, and inclusion; and strengthen the equity of the workforce, so that everyone feels valued and empowered to reach their full potential. Fitzgerald shares her thoughts on how being bold and breaking boundaries leaves more room for gender equality in the workplace.
- She stressed the importance of breaking habits. For generations, gender inequality has made women believe they have to over-prove their worth in the workplace. Moving forward, the fallacy that women need to do the job before they get the job needs to be erased.
- When it comes to using her role to create change and work toward gender equality, Fitzgerald hopes to serve with togetherness in mind. “If there are 10 criteria for the role, men typically need three. Women think they need nine,” she says.
- I want to feel like when I am old and gray, that I can think back on the initiatives that women like myself and others have joined hands and come together to create change for the next generation”, she said.
- Joy Fitzgerald joined Eli Lilly, where she served as chief diversity and inclusion officer. She has also held other human resources leadership roles at companies including Rockwell Collins. In her tenure at Lilly, the company was ranked in the top three of Diversity, Inc.’s list of the top 50 companies for diversity over the past two years.