Zoetis: Awareness & action drive impact: The Zoetis diversity, equity, and inclusion journey
Executive summary
Zoetis is driven by the purpose of nurturing “the world and humankind by advancing care for animals.” It makes sense that a company whose corporate mission is focused on caring would also prioritize the wellbeing and success of its colleagues, yet Zoetis has gone above and beyond in its efforts, ensuring that its Award-winning diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative reaches colleagues around the globe—from the front line to senior leadership.
Zoetis launched its Awareness & Action Drive Impact initiative in January 2020, when Kristin Peck became CEO. During her first month as chief executive, she worked to position DEI as one of five strategic priorities for the organization. To support this positioning, Zoetis created the role of Chief Talent, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (TDE&I) Officer as well as a team dedicated to TDE&I, which has expanded from an initial staff of three to thirteen.
Zoetis’ initiative has several governing bodies that work in concert. The TDE&I Center of Excellence, whose entire purpose is talent and DEI, is the primary entity providing oversight. The Executive Diversity Council consists of members of the Zoetis Executive Team (ZET) who oversee TDE&I, align their work with the company’s business strategy, and cascade goals throughout the organization. Zoetis also created a sustainability function that embeds DEI into its goals of Care and Collaboration for Communities, including reporting on how Zoetis prioritizes DEI in every talent decision across all business functions in the company.
Zoetis’ senior leadership team has driven and role modeled this initiative from the top. In addition, the company created systems that institutionalize DEI in business processes, embedding it in every corner of the business and ensuring that it is powered by colleagues at all levels. DEI progress is given the same weight as other business objectives, and a focus on equity is built into expectations around leadership skills.