For the Reckitt company, the main challenge it faces in the field in which it operates is to ensure that girls, boys, women and men from Mexico have equal access to education, since despite the fact that the gender gap gender has been reduced over time, there are still multiple areas of opportunity in which women have a long way to go; for example, access to education for girls has improved in the last 25 years globally and the female enrollment rate has increased from 73% to 89% in that period, and yet they continue to be more likely to suffer educational exclusion .
In accordance with the foregoing and based on the historical context of Mexico, the firm detected that comprehensive education is the key factor in breaking the cycle of poverty, since it is the tool that enables skills to be enhanced, increases job opportunities and its time income.
“At Reckitt we have it very clear, educating translates into empowerment, just as we have 2030 initiatives, aligned with the UN agenda, such as PARESS and Embracing Life, we support projects in the health sector to help make the female voice visible, the most recent is the book “Mujer, Ciencia y Esencia”, a compilation of the experiences and challenges of the most renowned pediatricians in Mexico who share with us the issues that they have overcome as women throughout their professional careers”, highlighted Nathalie Darres , Director of Marketing at Reckitt.
Woman, Science and Essence, is a special recognition to all women health professionals, which not only focuses on scientific literature, but also takes into account the personal and emotional perspective of its authors. Qualities such as love, the ability to give and help brought these women together to make the book, which is a text of motivation and leadership to inspire future doctors.
Among Reckitt’s initiatives with the greatest impact is “PARESS”, an alliance between Reckitt, Fundación México Vivo, UNFPA, IPN, among others, which through a roadmap seeks to reduce unwanted pregnancy in adolescents and young people, one of the main public health challenges in Mexico, since the country ranks first on the subject among OECD countries.
Since its launch in 2019, PARESS has been growing to the point of having collaborations such as INEGI, OXXO and Savings Pharmacies.
Another initiative aligned with the 2030 agenda that has had a great impact in Mexican territory is “Embracing life”, a program in partnership with UNFPA Mexico and Fundación México Vivo that focused on the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca and consists of supporting midwives from indigenous communities with education components such as health and family planning, as well as an economic development component.
It should be noted that to date, Reckitt’s initiatives have positively impacted more than 15 million people, with more than 525,000 hours of education, around 4.8 million products have been donated and they have collaborated with more than 20 allies from different fields. National and international.
“We believe that the key to the success of Reckitt’s social responsibility strategy to make education a real long-term solution tool is to generate initiatives where the priority is the human factor and to do the right thing, with a proven and accepted model. At a global level, moreover, as companies we can no longer see social responsibility as something optional, but rather as a profound commitment to the future of our planet and society. We must take the initiative for change through education and subsequent empowerment”, said Nathalie Darres.