When young women in underserved communities are equipped with holistic skills, mentorship, practical experience and confidence, it can make a difference in their confidence, their employability, their role in society and their health.
Gender inequities and discrimination faced by women and girls puts their health and wellbeing at risk as they often face greater barriers to accessing health information and services. This can be for a variety of reasons including restrictions on mobility, lack of access to decision-making power, lower literacy rates, discriminatory attitudes of community and healthcare providers, and a lack of training and awareness among healthcare providers in the specific needs and challenges of women and girls.
Increasing employability for women can create better personal economic opportunities that can empower them to overcome some of these barriers and, in turn, may lead to better health.
AstraZeneca India, through its Young Health Programme (YHP), launched RISE, a development programme for young women aged between around 18 to 24 years old. The programme was designed by our Sustainability team, together with Human Resources, with the aim of upskilling and increasing the employability of young women from underserved communities across Chennai and Bangalore.
It started small with an invitation to a ‘takeover’ day at AstraZeneca offices in Chennai and Bangalore in 2021 as part of our ‘Girls Belong Here’ YHP initiative delivered in partnership with Plan International, designed to help girls and young women recognise and realise their potential across the world.
As part of the campaign, every year on International Day of the Girl, AstraZeneca welcomes girls from underserved communities who would not usually have access to leadership opportunities to take a seat at the board table and step into the shoes of leadership and try their hand at experiencing working at AstraZeneca for the day.
The AstraZeneca teams in Chennai and Bangalore saw potential in the girls and an opportunity to do something longer lasting, so it was made into an annual 12-month programme delivered by employee volunteers from AstraZeneca.
Named the RISE programme, and designed as part of our Young Health Programme (YHP), it now provides access to ongoing learning and support including mentoring, monthly training sessions in YHP Health Information Centres, experience in mock interviews, public speaking, confidence sessions and career workshops, culminating in graduation from the programme with the chance of an internship.
The programme helps the young women acquire new skills, as well as helping build a sense of confidence, hope and empowerment so they become able to advocate for themselves and others.
It not only creates opportunities for the participants, but it also opens up an undiscovered talent pool for AstraZeneca, increasing opportunities for diversity in the business and enabling us to better represent the community we serve. We are proud to have welcomed some of the RISE cohort into full time employment at AstraZeneca.
Similar initiatives have been expanded into other countries through YHP including France, Kenya, Mexico and Poland. Colleagues delivering the programme learn from the young women taking part too, creating a mutually beneficial opportunity for mentee and mentor. This is especially important given women are still underrepresented in senior positions in STEM industries.
Learn more about the RISE programme and AstraZeneca’s part in #GirlsBelongHere
Advancing equity for all is essential to our commitment to build a healthy future for people, society, and the planet. This programme is an excellent example of putting our commitment into action through partnership. We’re proud of the way we can put our resources into empowering young women while at the same time, inspiring our own teams to come together to serve the communities where we live and work.’
Creating a culture of collaboration helps solve interconnected challenges that can make a big difference to our health
Health is shaped by many interconnected factors, so transforming health can only come through working in an interconnected way. Diverse minds, perspectives, and skills are brought together in our dynamic internal teams and collaborations inside and outside of our industry. A shared purpose and partnerships crossing disciplines and borders helps co-create solutions that address the biggest health challenges people, society, and our planet face. Solutions that can be both equitable and sustainable.
Want to know more? Find out how AstraZeneca’s Young Health Programme (YHP) is working to #EmbraceEquity in women’s healthcare. YHP is a global disease prevention programme aimed at improving the health literacy of young people, aged 10 to 24, living in vulnerable environments and under-resourced settings so they’re better able to understand the risk factors for chronic diseases. You can also learn about how YHP nurtures promising young health leaders with scholarships and support via the YHP Impact Fellowship.
