Addressing an Instance of Racism

June 18, 2020

To Church & Dwight Team Members:

We strive to create a culture of belonging within Church & Dwight. Our Company has made clear our support for racial equality and the importance of diversity both inside and outside our walls. I am deeply disturbed by a 2010 incident that has come to my attention today where a plant employee dressed inappropriately in blackface at an employee Halloween party at a local establishment. This action reflects the poor judgement of an employee and local management who were in attendance and did not address the conduct at the time.

While this happened in the past, all of us at Church & Dwight must recognize the pain that was caused, accept responsibility that it happened and call it out as being unacceptable. Behavior like this within our company is a violation of our Code of Conduct and contributes to and perpetuates cultural insensitivity and racial injustice.

On June 4, I announced that I would lead an evaluation of our diversity and inclusion practices and training protocols and seek the advice of employees and experts as part of our long-term commitment to diversity. This will include the appointment of a head of Diversity & Inclusion for the company. However, this incident has underscored the immediate need for additional intensive training for employees at the location where this behavior occurred, which will be followed by enhanced company-wide training which will be completed by the end of the year. Most important, this company-wide training will provide a forum to have the difficult conversations that need to be had.

We have and will continue to take steps to support racial justice, diversity and inclusion in our conversations and in our deeds to ensure we are modeling the behaviors, attitudes and actions we expect in others.