Update: For an updated version of this blog, please visit: "Women in Leadership at GOJO: A Rich History and Bright Future."
Women’s History Month has been celebrated annually in the United States for more than three decades, but with the dramatic changes caused by the pandemic over the past year, we are hearing more and more stories of women leading their companies through these challenging times or otherwise making significant contributions to businesses helping the world recover from the pandemic.
Women have a rich history of contributions and achievements at GOJO; to celebrate our 75th anniversary, we shared some of the stories of our co-founder, Goldie Lippman, and a few of our first female employees in our March 8th blog. As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we reflect on our present and future.
GOJO has grown a lot over the past year as we responded to the existential human need created by the COVID-19 pandemic, responding by making significant capital investments – adding four new facilities –and adding more than 500 new team members. Our current leadership is shaping the future of our next 75 years.
Women in GOJO Leadership Today
GOJO proudly and humbly marked our 75th anniversary on March 6, 2021, during an inflection point for society: a pandemic that has challenged the world to come up with new solutions to help save lives, support well-being, and facilitate the return of public life and the economy.
Today, GOJO leadership is in the hands of Marcella Kanfer Rolnick, third generation of family leadership and Executive Chair, and Carey Jaros, President and CEO. Under their leadership, the organization rose to meet the challenges of 2020, expanding our capability and capacity to better meet the needs of our customers, both during the pandemic and as we move into the post-pandemic “new normal” in which hygiene will play a more visible and vital role across society. At the same time, we continue to innovate to bring even safer and more effective solutions to the world that solve real problems – just as Goldie and Jerry did 75 years ago.
In addition to these important business imperatives, Marcella and Carey are leading us toward realizing our vision of “becoming a vital enterprise of flourishing individuals on a whole new scale,” which they describe as “being a role model for society,” saying: “We must rapidly transform our processes, systems, and tools to adapt to changing conditions. And we must nurture a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture of people who care passionately about our Purpose and each other.” Whether it’s what we’re doing inside GOJO or out in the world, we are deeply committed to be always learning and constantly innovating to deliver on our GOJO Purpose and live our Values.
Within GOJO today, there are women in significant leadership roles in Product Management Innovation, Research and Development, Market Research, Human Resources, Sales, and Supply Chain. And our enterprise’s significant efforts to advance DEI will continue to not only create opportunities for women, but for all team members, including other groups who have also been historically marginalized.
GOJO is a WBENC-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise
In 2020, GOJO became a WBENC-certified Women’s Business Enterprise. This certification supports our customers’ supplier diversity goals and connects us more directly with the diverse business community as both a supplier and a customer. Being a WBE aligns with our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to creating sustainable value (social, environmental, and economic) for all of our stakeholders. Our WBENC certification is a reflection of how we live our GOJO Values in real and impactful ways.
We continue to respect, admire, and appreciate the accomplishments of other women and women’s business enterprises within our community and the communities we serve.