Work for a Company Where You Love What You Do and Don’t Have to Downplay Who You Are

When I moved to Washington, D.C., from Italy almost 12 years ago, I was overwhelmed, in a good way, by how much diversity I saw around me. Despite this, when I started my first job in health care market research and analytics, I felt the need to hide parts of who I was to avoid unjust pre-conceived judgment. Growing up in Italy as a Dominican immigrant in a small northeast town where I spent most of my childhood through early adulthood years, I saw and experienced firsthand a lot of microaggressions, direct racist or xenophobic comments. Over time, I downplayed in my professional life aspects of my heritage, culture and personality as a defense mechanism.

Prior to joining Real Chemistry in January 2021, I had the privilege of working on interesting global research projects in a variety of disease areas, including projects where we explored, among other objectives, inequalities in health care access among patients of all backgrounds. But despite doing such important work, I longed to work for a company that not only did work that mattered and made a difference, but where I could truly be who I am.

When I started working at Real Chemistry over a year ago, I was surprised at how many Business Resource Groups (BRGs) and Centers of Excellence (COEs) were available to employees where they could cultivate and make connections with people with shared interests or skills. To date, Real Chemistry has facilitated and encouraged the creation of seven (soon to be eight!) different BRGs that employees across the company can join based on their cultural background or heritage, who they identify as, their career aspirations, their roles outside of their careers, or because they seek to show their support as allies. Separately, COEs are hubs of deep subject matter experts (SMEs) within Real Chemistry’s Integrated Intelligence function. They were formed to bring together team members of all titles with similar expertise, skills, or interests to educate and innovate internally and externally.

Upon seeing all the different ways I could grow both professionally and personally, I joined the Multilingual Analytics COE, a group of multi-lingual SMEs who have a deep understanding of the cultural, health care, political and societal differences among some of the key global markets we serve, such as Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific. Members of the COE deliver successful multi-country, multi-lingual and multi-cultural projects for our clients. When the HOLA (Hispanic or Latino + Allies) BRG was formed in late summer 2021, it was a no-brainer that I would join as a communications co-chair where I could collaborate and network with staff across Real Chemistry who share a similar background and interests. Lastly, when talks kicked off around starting AVID, a BRG focusing on Awareness of Visible & Invisible Disabilities, I was delighted to join – both because I live with an invisible disability and because I have cared for family members with visible and invisible disabilities. Being a member of the Multilingual Analytics COE and the HOLA and AVID BRGs has enriched my skills as a researcher. Not only have I been able to bring my full self to work and collaborate with colleagues who share similar backgrounds or are interested in learning about my culture, but I see the impact these dialogues can have in my career as well. Real Chemistry’s culture has allowed me to blend my personal interests, skills and expertise to become a well-rounded researcher. Participating in HOLA and the Multilingual Analytics COE helps me in my work for clients and ultimately enables me to better deliver on work that is having a real impact on the communities that matter the most to me.

I am proud of working for a company where the work we do for our clients makes a difference and helps create a more equitable and healthier world for patients of all backgrounds, and that prioritizes and celebrates a diverse workforce.

I am a woman, I am Latina, I love languages and multicultural analytics, I enjoy working on projects that make a true difference in the future of health care, and here at Real Chemistry, I can unapologetically be, and do, all those things.