AbbVie’s cosmetics and skin care company Allergan Aesthetics is building on its long-term partnership with nonprofit Girls Inc. to further invest in women’s career trajectories in the Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field.
This year, Allergan will help support Project Accelerate, an initiative that aims to boost women’s careers through high school and college into career leadership, specifically in STEM.
The gender disparity in the STEM workforce has been a longstanding issue as the U.S. educational system has gravitated towards the field to ensure workers are ready for an evolving economy. Women currently account for less than 30% of the STEM workforce.
Project Accelerate – which provides career guidance and mentorship to women — aims to help close that gap.
Through the partnership, women involved in Project Accelerate will be given the opportunity to learn about and apply for internships and early-career positions at AbbVie and Allergan Aesthetics. There, they will be able to strengthen their business acumen and enter the Allergan talent pipeline.
“[F]ueling the STEM field with bright young minds is critical to our industry’s growth,” Carrie Strom, global president of Allergan Aesthetics and SVP at AbbVie, said in a statement Tuesday morning. “We are inspired by the work we are able to do with Girls Inc., ensuring college-aged girls of underrepresented populations have the education, skills and access to excel into positions of leadership as they navigate their professional lives.”
Lisa Ghartey Ogundimu, chief operating officer at Girls Inc., noted in a statement that the organization was thrilled to build upon its partnership with Allergan to “support young women in their educational attainment and careers.”
“[Project Accelerate]… drives cultural change toward equity in the workplace, most notably in fields where women, especially women of color, are underrepresented,” Ogundimu added.
Outside of extending its STEM push, Allergan has been active on the diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) front, too.
Late last year, the company partnered with Skinbetter Science and Shutterstock to launch the Driving Racial Equity in Aesthetic Medicine (DREAM) initiative to root out systemic racism in the industry and make aesthetic products more inclusive for an increasingly diverse consumer base.
The DREAM initiative involved Shutterstock creating a gallery of royalty-free images that showcased beauty across different racial backgrounds.
Allergan has also operated its Limitless initiative, which focuses on elevating the voices of women surgeons in plastic surgery. Partners on that effort include the American Society of Professional Surgeons and the Aesthetic Society.
