March 17, 2023 3:30 pm EDT

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Organon Australia invited Alecia Wood – Vice Chair of the Board of Directors and  Welfare Manager Linda Beuzeville, from their  newest partner Sister2sister, to speak about the No Limits 4 Girls (NL4G) Program, which is a series of school-based workshops supporting young girls’ to develop the skills they require to navigate through challenging situations.

International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrates the economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity across a range of economic, education and social measures.

Organon – a company dedicated to the health of women, has joined with Sister2sister to launch the No Limits 4 Girls program, and invited Vice Chair Alecia Wood, and Welfare Manager Linda Beuzeville to speak about the importance of supporting girls as they develop their sense of place in society.

According to Ms Wood, recent studies indicate that from age 12, girls’ self-esteem and confidence begins to drop significantly, and continues to decline continues throughout their teenage years, and they become more susceptible to increased social and cultural pressures. This decline is compounded for girls who are living with disadvantage, trauma, abuse or neglect.

“The first year of high school is a significant transition period for many young people. For vulnerable girls, this transition can be very challenging with negative consequences in and out of the classroom. Supporting young girls at this stage has the potential to increase their resilience, emotional intelligence and the ability to recognise and manage stress.”

With Organon’s support, Sister2sister was able to re-launch the No Limits 4 Girls Program, which had been cancelled as a result of the pandemic.  2023 is its first year of programming, and NL4G Program will operate in five schools across NSW and Queensland. 

“The need is real and the impact on the students is noticeable”, said Linda Beuzeville.  “We are already receiving requests for the program to be extended and delivered in other schools.”

Organon’s support of Sister2sister announced in November 2022, is a demonstration of its purpose to support women and girls achieve their full potential by addressing gender-related disparities in health and education, and building a more sustainable future for women, families, economies and society.

“At Organon, we want to help women and girls achieve their promise by leading healthier, more empowered lives. We are working toward this purpose using multiple approaches, including innovating in women’s health, expanding access to needed medicines and other products, and advancing equity inside and outside the company,” said Nirelle Tolstoshev, Managing Director, Organon ANZ.

“Our partnership with Sister2sister in supporting No Limits 4 Girls Program aligns to our commitment to supporting healthy lifestyles and raising women’s voices through education and opportunity for participation.”

“With Organon’s support, we will have an impact on the lives of 100-150 teenage girls, giving them an opportunity to see themselves as worthwhile, strong, confident and hopeful.  We know that this program works.  Feedback from schools is that they are often surprised at the level of engagement the girls have, and the safety and trust that develops over the four sessions helps to de-escalate trauma behaviour and strengthen engagement, resilience and well-being. The schools we have delivered No Limits to have also noticed improvements in the girls’ relationships with each other and positive changes in their behaviour”, Beuzeville concluded. 

ABOUT

Along with the NLFG program, the Sister2sister foundation supports vulnerable teenage girls, termed ‘Little Sisters’ by pairing them with Big Sisters in a mentoring program across 8 months. The Sister2sister mentoring program is unique in Australia providing guidance, education, mentoring to vulnerable teenage girls, by equipping them with crucial survival and life skills, the resilience to overcome challenges, and an environment fostering self-worth, the Sister2sister mentoring program empowers them to make positive choices for a better future.

Organon

Organon (NYSE: OGN) is a global healthcare company formed through a spin-off from Merck& Co., Kenilworth, NJ, USA (NYSE: MRK) known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, focused on improving the health of women throughout their lives. Here for her health, the company has a portfolio of more than 60 medicines and products across a range of therapeutic areas. Led by the reproductive health portfolio coupled with an expanding biosimilars business and stable franchise of established medicines, Organon’s products produce strong cash flows that will support investments in future growth opportunities in women’s health. In addition, Organon is pursuing opportunities to collaborate with biopharmaceutical innovators looking to commercialize their products by leveraging its scale and presence in fast growing international markets.

Organon has a global footprint with significant scale and geographic reach, world-class commercial capabilities, and approximately 9,000 employees with headquarters located in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA.

To learn more about Organon, please visit http://www.organon.com/australia and connect with us on LinkedIn.