8 March is International Women's Day. A day when we honour the outstanding achievements of special women in our company. Starting with Goldie Lippman, who co-founded the company 75 years ago, to today's female management board members: Marcella Kanfer Rolnick, GOJO Executive Chair and grandniece of Goldie Lippman, and our CEO Carey Jaros.
International Women's Day: a special day for GOJO
International Women's Day is about honoring outstanding women who have left their footprints in history and in our society. For us at GOJO, International Women's Day is a very special day. Many strong women have influenced the history of our company and made it what it is today: one of the leading manufacturers of hygiene solutions around the world.
It all started with our co-founder Goldie Lippman, who worked in a rubber factory in Akron, America, during the Second World War. Time and again, she witnessed how the workers cleaned their heavily soiled hands with harmful chemicals such as paraffin or benzene after a hard day's work. This was the only way to get rid of graphite and soot.
Goldie Lippman: the driving force behind our hygiene solutions
Goldie thought there must be a way to bring a hand cleanser to market that would clean hands quickly - without any health risks. She talked to her husband, Jerry Lippman, who found a chemist to make a first prototype of our hand cleanser. Because the cleanser delivered what it promised and was a real innovation for the many industrial workers in Ohio, business boomed quickly.
That was 75 years ago. And what begun as garage sale has grown into a globally active company with a wide range of products. Today the company is headed by Marcella Kanfer Rolnick, GOJO Executive Chair and Goldie Lippman's great-niece. The second strong woman at the top of the company is Carey Jaros, President and CEO. Under their leadership, GOJO has been able to overcome the enormous challenges of the past two years: expanded capacity, launched new products and at the same time broke new ground in sustainability.
GOJO Industries certified as a Women's Business Enterprise
GOJO Industries has recently been officially certified as a Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). The WBENC certifies woman-owned companies in the USA and sees itself as an advocate for female owners, founders and entrepreneurs. To become a WBENC-Certified company, GOJO underwent a rigorous certification process, including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection. The certification process is designed to confirm that the business is at least 51 percent owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women.
The European GOJO departments congratulate their American parent company for being a WBE. "The WBENC certification underlines how deeply values like diversity, equality and inclusion are rooted in our corporate culture”, Sven Jäschke, Country Manager Nordic, Central & Eastern Europe at GOJO Industries, says. “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) is the creation and sustaining of a working environment that embodies these three distinct characteristics that together allow each and every GOJO team member to bring their best and most authentic self to work.”
DEI efforts at GOJO will enable the company to develop and execute strategies that power the pursuit of the GOJO Vision in pursuit of the GOJO Purpose of Saving Lives and Making Life Better Through Well-Being Solutions.