A Conversation with Jennifer Paine: Building Johnson & Johnson’s Legacy of Transforming Health for Humanity

This is a very brief summary: as a scientist by training, my career started in Research & Development, innovating in the biologics space to find solutions for traumatic blood loss and transfusion. As my career progressed, I moved into Regulatory and Quality roles that expanded my view and impact across the business and gave me additional healthcare experience across MedTech, drugs, biologics and combination products.

Much of my personal and professional growth has come through my willingness to step into leadership roles and venture beyond my comfort zone. Though the roles can be demanding, so the key skill I’ve developed over the years is to better recognize when I’m off-kilter and then build in more breaks or energizers to compensate.

When I am able to do that, I can capitalize on the energy that learning new things and knowing I am making an impact bring me. I’d be lying if I said I have the balance all figured out – I continue to make adjustments based on what I need, what my family needs, and what my organization needs at any given time.

My personal understanding of DE&I has evolved a lot in that time.  Early in my career I wanted to help women have higher representation in leadership roles than what I saw around me, particularly within R&D organizations. More recently I’ve worked to educate myself to be a better and more expansive ally. That has enabled much different conversations.

I don’t think there is anything more fundamentally human than the desire to feel a sense of belonging and value, and for me, I’m passionate about creating environments where everyone can come to work as their whole self, without feeling like they have to mask or alter themselves to better fit in. That is an environment that great talent wants to join, stay in, and contribute to, and where the perspectives of many can create radical innovation that meaningfully impacts health for the better.

It’s important to remember that having diverse experiences in your team can only create benefit when those voices are present where decisions are being made and that those voices are being heard. One way I helped keep this present in one of my teams was by creating an award to recognize team members who demonstrate inclusive behaviors, to both help people understand what we meant by inclusion and to demonstrate the value we had for those behaviors. 

Helping people understand that you don’t have to be a senior leader or even a people manager to play a role in improving DE&I means that we can marshal more support and ultimately have a bigger impact.

Maybe it’s my science background, but I think one of the most impactful initiatives I’ve seen is the research done by McKinsey on Women in the Workplace. They’ve generated over 9 years of data which have helped demonstrate the challenges faced by women, and particularly women of color, in obtaining appropriate representation in management positions. The work has also brought into focus the impact of microaggressions and the large and lasting impact they can have on women and their careers. This research, and others like it, provide actionable insights that we can use to evaluate and adjust our own policies, procedures, and practices.

I’ve also been impressed with the growth of major networking and sponsorship communities like WBL, Women50, and Chief, which are helping connect women, particularly those at the executive level, to increase their impact and derive some of the benefits of exposure for board roles and other C-suite opportunities.

It’s so hard to pick just one, but I’ll try to keep to the most comprehensive advice I can think: Educate yourself –You need to do our own homework to better understand bias, systemic inequities, and inclusion issues. To do that, you need to listen and observe: pay attention to what people are saying and what they are not saying. If you are in a room where decisions are being made, look around and make sure there is representation of diverse experiences.

Personally, I see our Quality & Compliance organization as part of the foundation for J&J to continue to build its legacy of transforming health for humanity. Our teams are responsible for ensuring that we can reliably and consistently provide high quality healthcare products that meet the necessary standards and regulations. We work to ensure that innovative solutions in our portfolio are carefully and timely evaluated for safety and effectiveness because we know patients are waiting for these life-saving and life-enhancing options. By demonstrating our capability in maintaining regulatory compliance and through the performance of our products in the market, we build trust with regulatory authorities and customers. 

And at the end of the day, by upholding high standards of quality, safety, and compliance, Q&C help build trust with patients, healthcare providers, regulators, and other stakeholders.