FY23 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Progress Report

Building healthier communities

One of the most important parts of creating healthier futures is addressing the barriers that prevent people from accessing the care they need. Our commitment to fair and equal access to healthcare starts inside Cencora, on behalf of all team members and extends beyond our own community and beyond our daily work. Through partnerships and targeted initiatives, we are making an impact in communities to improve outcomes in healthcare.
Photograph of Robert P. Mauch. Robert, a light-skinned person with black hair and green eyes, is smiling at the camera. He wears a black suit overtop a white shirt and blue necktie. He is in front of a light grey background with no surroundings.
Photograph of Robert P. Mauch. Robert, a light-skinned person with black hair and green eyes, is smiling at the camera. He wears a black suit overtop a white shirt and blue necktie. He is in front of a light grey background with no surroundings.
“At Cencora, DEI is central to who we are and how we operate. In addition to our responsibility to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace for our team members, our commitment to promoting DEI also compels us to look beyond the walls of our offices, distribution centers, and facilities to address the systemic barriers within the healthcare ecosystem to create more equitable health outcomes for all patients.”

Robert P. Mauch
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Office
Photograph of Robert P. Mauch. Robert, a light-skinned person with black hair and green eyes, is smiling at the camera. He wears a black suit overtop a white shirt and blue necktie. He is in front of a light grey background with no surroundings.

NPhA/SNPhA Annual Convention

In July 2023, Cencora was the platinum sponsor of the National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA) and Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) Annual Convention for the second year in a row. NPhA, historically founded as the voice for Black pharmacists and the communities and patients they provided care for, is an organization of pharmacists in the U.S. committed to serving the underserved and promoting minorities in pharmacy. They are one of our long-standing partners, and their annual meeting is an opportunity for us to collaborate with pharmacists who are deeply engaged in helping patients overcome the barriers to care that are present in their community.

We sent 10 delegates to the 2023 Annual Convention, including eight Cencora pharmacists from underrepresented groups, and we sponsored several educational opportunities, such as the new New Practitioner Network professional development workshops and networking reception. This support helps young practitioners to establish solid foundations as the look to advance in their careers. We also awarded this year’s NPhA/Cencora Impact Foundation scholarship to Angel Edwards, who is pursuing both her PharmD and PhD at the University of Michigan.

Supporting this event and its attendees is one of the many ways we elevate diversity, equity, and inclusion within the pharmacy industry and practice.

Ten delegates from Cencora posing for a photo in a lobby during the National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA) and Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) Annual Convention. They each have dark skin and wear business casual attire.

Preparing future leaders to pursue their dreams

The Cristo Rey Network is a movement of 40 high schools across the U.S. that provides college preparatory education to students with limited economic resources, while also providing the opportunity to gain meaningful work experience alongside their classroom studies. In partnership with Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School, we host our annual Work-Study program to offer aspiring young people professional experience in the healthcare industry. We get students actively engaged in a wide variety of projects, ranging from order processing to customer support to talent outreach and diversification.

During the 2022-2023 school year, 8 Cristo Rey High Philadelphia students participated in the program in our Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, headquarters. This marks the 10-year anniversary of our Philadelphia program.

My Community, My Pharmacy™

As a part of our health equity initiative, we developed My Community, My Pharmacy — a powerful tool that uses geospatial analytics to display community demographics and pinpoint pharmacy deserts, which are areas with limited pharmacy services and higher barriers to care.

This interactive dashboard enables us to identify the specific barriers in a community that are impacting healthcare access, such as insurance coverage, disability prevalence, and transportation accessibility. Armed with this information, we can continue developing tailored programs for our Good Neighbor Pharmacy® members that deliver more inclusive patient care, prioritize resources, and ultimately accelerate outcomes.

We will begin piloting this new solution in FY24 with the intent to eventually scale it across our entire independent pharmacy network.
A light-skinned nurse assisting a dark-skinned patient who is using a walker outdoors.
Photograph of Dyisha Reliford. Dyisha, an African-American female with brown eyes and shoulder-length dark brown hair, is smiling at the camera. She is wearing pearl earrings and a gray collarless textured jacket. She is in front of a white background.
Photograph of Dyisha Reliford. Dyisha, an African-American female with brown eyes and shoulder-length dark brown hair, is smiling at the camera. She is wearing pearl earrings and a gray collarless textured jacket. She is in front of a white background.
“Addressing barriers starts by listening to and uniting around our customers. Independent pharmacists told us they desired more tools to support vulnerable patient populations and training materials to help them create an inclusive environment for their patients and staff. They also shared the importance of hearing best practices that are actionable. So, we responded."

Dyisha Reliford
VP, DEI Strategic Initiatives
Photograph of Dyisha Reliford. Dyisha, an African-American female with brown eyes and shoulder-length dark brown hair, is smiling at the camera. She is wearing pearl earrings and a gray collarless textured jacket. She is in front of a white background.

Health Equity Summit

In September 2023, Cencora hosted a two-day event in Indianapolis, Indiana, that gathered nearly 100 critical industry stakeholders to identify actionable takeaways for promoting equitable access to healthcare. Led by our ION Oncology Practice Network GPO team, the Health Equity Summit featured a combination of breakout sessions, panels, and keynotes, where we discussed some of the most common disparities in cancer care, including access to screening, biomarker testing, research, and care.

Conversations revolved around breaking down these barriers in community oncology, with representation from providers, payers, manufacturers, patient advocacy groups, community leaders, non-profit organizations, and Cencora team members. Although many innovative solutions were proposed during the event, this is just a first step, and we look forward to continuing our work with stakeholders across the healthcare system to develop strategies and find new opportunities for change.
Three people conversing and walking down a bright office hallway illuminated by windows on one side.
A diverse group of nine people standing on a city sidewalk as they smile for a photo. They wear casual clothing and most have name tags.

Partnering with our Innovation Community of Practice

To create healthier futures that are unhindered by barriers to care, we need to develop and execute novel strategies that many of us never thought possible. This requires us to tap into all the diverse perspectives, ideas, and skill sets found across our global enterprise.

In our fiscal year 2023 (FY23), our DEI team began collaborating with our Innovation Community of Practice, led by our Global Products and Solutions team. Together, these groups are focused on leaning into our creativity to optimize our innovation capabilities and develop new solutions that will empower our partners to increase access and improve outcomes for all.

Continue exploring our DEI Report

Delve into our FY23 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report