BJC Health System earns Newsweek honors for diversity, workplaces for women

Both regions of BJC Health System, BJC HealthCare in the East and Saint Luke’s Health System in the West, were named to Newsweek’s list of “America’s Greatest Companies for Diversity 2024” and “America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women 2024.”

BJC HealthCare and Saint Luke’s joined together in January 2024, bringing together a similar set of values that serve as the foundation of the integrated system, said BJC Health System CEO Rich Liekweg. Among the most central of these values, he said, is creating a culture where all colleagues can feel they belong, with the resources and support to thrive as their best selves.

“I’m so pleased to see both our East Region and West Region honored on these lists,” Rich said. “It’s recognition that we are an organization with a shared vision to improve health care across the Midwest, and a shared culture that emphasizes and celebrates extraordinary care, hard work, innovation and inclusion. To serve our communities, we need to represent and embrace the diversity of the people who make up our communities.”

Both listings required companies to undergo an intensive survey and scoring process for inclusion. For recognition as one of “America’s Greatest Companies for Diversity 2024,” the process included over 1.5 million company reviews and a thorough examination of publicly available data. Areas of interest included corporate culture, working environments and diversity ratios, among others. To be recognized as one of “America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women,” there was a five-part survey that included interviews with HR professionals, an employee survey for female employees, and scoring of more than 10 key performance indicators, including the number of women in leadership positions, a company culture that supports working mothers and fair compensation practices between male and female employees.

“At BJC Health System, we believe that having an inclusive culture not only encourages employees to do their best work for our patients and communities every day, but also provides the safe space for them to tell their stories and share their experiences,” said Jackie Tischler, chief people officer of BJC Health System. “That’s how we maintain this excellent reputation, and it’s also how we’ll continue to attract and retain the best talent and get even better in the years to come.”

For Newsweek’s full listings, click here for the diversity report and here for the list of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women.