Pfizer Culture Articles

Purpose & Ideals

Global Health Fellows: Partnering to Strengthen Health Systems

Recently, Ellen Gerstein, Pfizer's Senior Director of Digital Communications, visited Africa as part of our Global Fellows Program. She shares her experience in this article.At Pfizer, we’re driven by our Purpose—to deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. That Purpose has never been more clear to me than during my experience partnering with North Star Alliance through Global Health Fellows—Pfizer’s signature skills-based volunteering program.Since 2003, Global Health Fellows has...

Pfizer Sites Across the U.S. Commemorate Juneteenth

Last month, in recognition of Juneteenth, Pfizer’s Global Black Community (GBC) colleague resource group commemorated the recently enacted Federal holiday with a collection of events at Pfizer sites across the country. Colleagues from Bothell, Washington to Cambridge, Massachusetts fostered a sense of solidarity and honored our shared legacy by organizing activities such as barbecues, networking socials, flag ceremonies, drum circles, speaker events, freedom walks, educational booths, community...

Pfizer Launches 175 Days of Good—A Global Commitment to Community Volunteerism

Left to right: Dave Denton and Pfizer colleagues packing “Cheer kits” for veterans in the New York regionBuilding on Pfizer’s 175-year legacy to be a force for good in the world, Pfizer has launched 175 Days of Good—a global call to action to inspire and celebrate colleague volunteerism and Pfizer’s collective commitment to do good where we work, live—and beyond.From June 13 to International Volunteer Day on December 5, Pfizer colleagues around the world are hosting and joining volunteer events...

Programs & Initiatives

This Rotational R&D Program Allows Young Scientists to Experiment in Their Careers

Young scientists face some tough decisions when they graduate from college. Will they use their degree to enter a science-related field? Go to grad school? Forge a new path entirely?At Pfizer, a two-year program allows a handful of recent graduates to “try out” different jobs across the drug development process and learn more about career choices — and themselves. Associates accepted to the R&D Rotational Program immerse themselves in four rotations of their choosing for six months each. “I see...

2024 Pride Journal—Together in Pride

As an ally for the LGBTQ+ community, I am both honoured and delighted to have been asked to contribute the foreword for this year’s OPEN Global Pride Journal. In considering the words to share with you, it has given me time to reflect on this year’s theme of "Together in Pride" and what this means for our colleagues, culture and values, and the role I can play.Pride Month is an opportunity for us to come together in celebration of diversity, unity, and authenticity. Our commitment at Pfizer to...

Science & Innovation

In Celebrating 175 Years, Pfizer Challenges Itself to ‘Outdo Yesterday’

Image caption: Site of the Pfizer World Headquarters Building as it Appeared in 1861It started with a breakthrough.The year was 1849, and people everywhere were getting sick to their stomachs. In the days before widespread refrigeration, a simple meal of meat and potatoes could cause intestinal worms. A drug called santonin could kill the parasites, but it tasted so bitter many people avoided it.Charles Pfizer and his cousin, Charles Erhart, had just immigrated to the U.S. from Germany and...

Fostering Neurodiversity: A Pfizer Panel Discussion

At Pfizer, we are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where every individual feels valued and respected. As part of this commitment, our Disability Colleague Resource Group launched the Neurodiversity Colleague Community during Neurodiversity Celebration Week in March to ensure that we are inclusive of our colleagues who navigate neurodiversity, including those who are caregivers.An estimated 15-20% of the world's population experiences some form of neurodivergence...

Accelerating Equity Takes the Spotlight at Pfizer’s Global DEI Summit

On September 21, over 7,000 Pfizer colleagues and external DEI experts came together at Pfizer NYC headquarters and via webcast for the 2023 Pfizer Global DEI Summit. This annual event, hosted by Pfizer’s Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer Ramcess Jean-Louis, was an opportunity to discuss how to disrupt the status quo, accelerate equity, and to examine Pfizer’s DEI progress over the past year. External speakers included leaders from NYU’s School of Global Public Health and Pfizer...

Purpose & Ideals

Cancer Survivors' 'Butterfly Club' Network Fosters Support and Partnership

For many cancer survivors, life splits into two stages: before cancer and after cancer. That’s been the case for Lynette Bojko, Pfizer’s Head of Strategic Sourcing & Business Management. She was diagnosed with breast cancer just before her 40th birthday. “Unfortunately or fortunately, cancer is a lot of my identity,” she says. When treatment began, she didn’t want to hide what she was going through at the office, so she talked about it. That openness allowed her to connect with colleagues who...

Real People

The Butterfly Club: Stories of Volunteers that Colleagues with Cancer Can Lean On

When Nikki Shaffer was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35, she had so many questions. How should she tell her three young children about it? Should she keep working? Would she see her kids grow up?That was in 2009. As Shaffer went through treatment, a non-profit connected her with other cancer survivors, but she didn’t click with anyone. “They connected me to people who were in their 50s when they were diagnosed, and their questions and their concerns were not the same as mine,” says Shaffer...

Purpose & Ideals

Migraine in the Workplace and Creating a Safe Space

One billion people worldwide live with migraine; that’s about one in seven. At those odds, there’s a high probability that each of us works with someone who experiences migraine. And if you’re an employer, this could mean that migraine in the workplace could have a significant impact on your workforce.Migraine is a debilitating neurological disease that causes intense pain in the head, as well as other sensory and/or motor dysfunction. Migraine attacks usually include symptoms like nausea...

Behind the Migraine: Pfizer Colleagues Share Their Stories

We’ve all heard it before: “Migraine is more than just a headache.” But is it really understood? Some talk about the burden of migraine—the blur of pain, vice-like pressure, nausea, insomnia, and even vertigo—but most don’t. Migraine is a disabling neurological disease with different symptoms and treatment approaches compared to other headache disorders. An estimated 40 million people in the United States and more than 1 billion people around the world experience migraine attacks.1,2 So, at...