Celebrating Black History Month at Teva UK

I’m Stanley Ogunwa. I was born in Nigeria and moved to Belfast when I was 14 years old. Having progressed with my GCSE and A Levels in Northern Ireland, I moved to Liverpool to complete a Biomedical Science degree at Liverpool John Moores University. I acquired a role at Teva Runcorn straight after graduating. I now work as a Microbiology Technician.

Why is it important to celebrate Black History Month?

Celebrating Black History Month enables younger generations (from primary school level) and some older generations to learn about black history and to remember the men and women that fought for our human rights.

This year’s theme for Black History Month is ‘Proud to Be’. Who are you Proud to Be?

I’m proud to be black African/British and I am proud to work for a company like Teva that supports its BAME employees.

What is Teva doing to support its Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) employees and create a diverse and inclusive workforce?

Giving me this platform to share my view on Black History Month is enough to let me know that Teva supports its BAME employees. I have not experienced this with my previous employers.

I have recently noticed a lot of BAME employees on site, which is good for diversity and it’s good to see we employ candidates based on their qualifications and not the colour of their skin.

My name is Rina Joshi. I am 43 years old and was born in East London in the late 70’s. I am a divorced single parent and live with my 9 year-old daughter. I am of Indian origin but I consider myself British, and I am proud to be. My parents were born and brought up in India and East Africa. They came to this country in the 70’s.

I am an Associate Director in the Specialty Regulatory Affairs team and have worked at Teva for 13 years. I have a degree in Chemistry with management from Kings College London and have a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Imperial College.

Why is it important to celebrate Black History Month?

I think for me it should not only be one month to celebrate black history, or any other history if I am being truly honest. History is important to celebrate throughout the year regardless of colour and heritage.

As a human race we have many things to celebrate that belong to our history but I guess it will take a while before we get there, hence why it is important to have such months to highlight certain histories which have been neglected in the past.

This year’s theme for Black History Month is ‘Proud to Be’. Who are you Proud to Be?

I am proud to be ‘me’. I am a unique person and have lots of great things to offer in all aspects of my life.

However, I understand myself and I know I am not perfect and never will be, but I am open-minded and like to improve myself in every way I can. I am happy to accept criticism. Overall, I want to be a person my daughter is proud of.

Are you proud to work for a company like Teva who encourages everyone to be their true selves, irrespective of their individual differences?

Yes, I like the fact that Teva is encouraging this and hope that most people feel comfortable in being themselves and I hope people see that I really try to be myself. In fact, the Insights training that Teva offers is great in highlighting what kind of person you are and how sometimes you may change over the years or if you are like me, even after 13 years I have still remained as a sunshine yellow.

What is Teva doing to support its Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) employees and create a diverse and inclusive workforce?

We recently held Inclusion Week and there were many activities that encouraged employees to discuss various important topics, such as race, gender etc. Within my team, we did a food roulette where people brought in a food of their choice from wherever they are from – Covid-19 compliant, of course. We also held quizzes to learn more about each of our backgrounds. This was lots of fun and a great learning experience for me.

The fact that we are all talking about Inclusion and Diversity is great and I hope that it will continue moving forward, as it will only get better. Kim Innes is great role model in pushing this forward from a UK perspective.

I'm Reg Latouche, I am a first generation of British Black Caribbean descendant from the Wind Rush era.  My folks came to the UK in the 50’s from that gem of an island Grenada.  At a time when racism was a regular occurrence however, there was the call to come to help re-build Britain.

I was born in East London, though my stay was short as my parents moved back to Grenada when I was about 2 years old.  I grew up on the spice isle Grenada and what a buzz that was. I don’t believe words can truly explain what that was like but if you have read the books, Secret 7 or Famous 5, combined together they give you a little insight to what it was like. Growing up I was always taught to treat others as equals and with respect.

In primary and later high school education I can recall being taught about British history, and as I grew older I understood why, most of the Caribbean islands were British subjects.

From then I was intrigued as to what was my history. I moved back to England shortly after US intervention of Grenada and it was then the realisation of first and second-class citizens became apparent to me.

I work within the Regulatory Information Management (RIM) team in Harlow. Responsibilities are for EDMS and Registration Planning and Tracking systems ensuring that they comply with the various industry regulations. As part of my role I interact with colleagues from various countries, which is truly amazing and supports our One Teva culture.

Why is it important to celebrate Black History Month?

For too long history has been told by the victors and not given the true perspective of our own people globally.  It is of paramount importance that our younger generation is aware of the black involvement with history. 

This year’s theme for Black History Month is ‘Proud to Be’. Who are you Proud to Be?

I am proud to be a voice in promoting the history of my people and to be part of movement in re-addressing the dialogue that for too long has been left silent or told from another perspective. This in itself has been a distorted or a one-sided view.  To co-operate with fellow non-ethnic minority and ethnic minority colleagues to promote diversity and inclusion and raise awareness to racial inequality.

Are you proud to work for a company like Teva who encourages everyone to be their true selves, irrespective of their individual differences? 

I can truly say I have seen a tectonic shift in the way Teva is approaching a profound issue relating to diversity and inclusion.  There are members from all levels of the business who are not from any ethnic minority groups and who are prepared to call out and stand for decency for fellow colleagues and in the wider space.  That encourages me greatly. I am proud to be working for a company that is prepared to take significant strides on such wide-reaching issues.

What is Teva doing to support its Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) employees and create a diverse and inclusive workforce?

Over the years, we have come up with various schemes to enhance the company’s standing but until now, none has had a more significant affect than the Diversity and Inclusion initiative. Allowing each person to flourish, it is undoubtedly going to enrich lives and allow Teva to be a leading light in this sphere. We should strive with all our being to keep removing every hindrance that serves as a barrier to individuals from reaching their true potential.

I’m Kiran Dhillon, a fourth generation East African Asian, born and raised in Kenya. My great grandfather laid the foundation for us in Kenya as he came as a railway worker from the Punjab, India in 1895 and settled in Kenya once the railway was completed. India and Kenya were both British colonies at the time, hence the reason this migration was facilitated.

I was raised in an extended family with three generations under the same roof, including my grandparents, parents, two uncles and families. I grew up on a sugarcane farm not far from Lake Victoria. I moved to the UK for my university education and have lived here since. I am married and a mother to two teenagers.

I am an Associate Director in the EU Specialty Regulatory Affairs Team working on CNS, Oncology and Internal Medicine products. Teva has been an integral part of my journey as a working Mum, I’ve been here for more than 14 years!

Why is it important to celebrate Black History Month?

History in my opinion lays great emphasis on the triumphs of the western world. The BAME community have been marginalised as there appears to be little awareness of the ordeals that this sub-set of the population have endured in the past, and how they as a people, their lands, and their resources, were exploited to build western empires. We need to move away from the biases towards minorities and acknowledge that many find themselves in other parts of the world not out of choice, but because of being forced by the colonial structures. This is a part of history that many do not want to acknowledge but ignorance is no longer an excuse to continue with these prejudices.

There are phenomenal role models in the BAME community, and important life lessons to be learnt from their experiences to fit in the society and be equally recognised.

This year’s theme for Black History Month is ‘Proud to Be’. Who are you Proud to Be?

I am extremely proud of my cultural heritage and fortunate to have spent my childhood in an amazing country where there was great emphasis laid in the community spirit and acceptance of people from all walks of life regardless of their culture, race, religious background or status in society. This experience has paved my transition of living in the UK positively and enabled me to develop good relationships with my work colleagues.

Are you proud to work for a company like Teva who encourages everyone to be their true selves, irrespective of their individual differences?

Teva is committed to Inclusion and Diversity and I’m proud to be part of this.  I joined the I&D team when it was created two years ago and I am optimistic that great things will unfold from the open and honest dialogue that is encouraged. It’s rewarding to see that the UK leadership team are at the forefront of this initiative and paving the way for their EU counterparts.

What is Teva doing to support its Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) employees and create a diverse and inclusive workforce?

The creation of the I&D team in itself is a step in the right direction for Teva to provide a means to support everyone in the organisation.

It was acknowledged that we all have biases, therefore the Anti-bias training for employees was a great starting point. Further to a pulse survey undertaken in 2020, a race panel was created to see how employees from diverse ethnic backgrounds can be supported and various initiatives such as mentoring and coaching have been proposed.

The National Inclusion Week celebrations that were marked in 2020 and 2021, have provided a platform for employees to voice their opinions and share their experiences. There is still a lot for Teva to achieve but these are all small, positive steps in the right direction. We need to keep the momentum going so that there is fair representation of the BAME community across the organisation so that this group of employees are on a level playing field to the rest.