On International Women’s Day 2024, the PharmaSource community hosted an important debate, asking “how can the biopharma industry do better at supporting and elevating women into leadership roles?”
The panel included Elke Geysen, SVP Head of Global Procurement and External Supply at Grünenthal Group, Roxana Timmermans PhD, Supply Chain Procurement & Global Alliances Leader and was chaired by Alicia Ryan, Principal Consultant at Proxima.
Listen to the full debate on-demand here, or wherever you get your podcasts:
Where do we stand today?
The fact that 90% of Chief Executive Officers in our industry are male gives an indication of how much is still to be done.
To dig deeper, we asked the audience a series of questions, generating interesting insights into where the group felt women currently stand in their organisations. The results are as follows:
Only 33% said that women are adequately represented in leadership positions in their organisation
No Data Found
93% agree having more women in leadership positions positively impacts organisational performance
No Data Found
Just 21% feel that equal pay for equal work is currently being achieved in their workplace
No Data Found
70% have personally experienced obstacles or challenges in my career due to gender
No Data Found
Source: PharmaSource, Women in Pharma
What more can be done to elevate women in pharma?
Here is a summary of takeaways shared by the panel:
Organisations must be bolder
“Things are moving, but not at the speed that’s needed.” said Dr Roxana Timmermans.
“By 2025 I would expect HR and diversity to act boldly and ruthlessly. At the moment I keep hearing that departments have fewer and fewer females. Organisations should prioritise interviews with women and don’t give up until they find one.”
“I would like to see a policy for the Board of Directors to have a certain number of positions for women. There’s no compromise here. You have to be bold, and we have to be a little bit tough. “
Elke Geysen explained that in her organisation, “women are currently represent 35% of leadership positions, and we have targets to increase that to 50%”.
Value the strengths women bring
Roxana said that when she entered the workplace she had experience of being the only woman in a team of all men. She shared a story about going to a meeting where she was not allowed in because she was mistaken for an assistant. “Women were not allowed to negotiate in that culture.” she said.
This is a mistake as mixed-gender teams prove to be stronger, says Roxana. “In R&D, they know that men and women design and interpret experiments differently”.
At Bristol Myers Squibb, Roxana says that for the highest-level, multi-million dollar contracts, negotiation teams were designed based on gender parity with the opposite negotiation team. “That changed the entire dynamic of the negotiation, and in turn shaped my career.”
Elke agreed that negotiation styles can be different. “Women don’t think so much about the competitive ‘win’ as much as men, they tend to build relationships with vendors and learn about their private lives.”
This can lead to improved outcomes, says Elke. “Women tend to say ‘let’s make a deal that works for both of us’ and get it sorted within five minutes”.
Find the person who can help you get ahead
“In order to be successful, you need mentorship and sponsorship” says Roxana, quoting Carla Harris, who’s TED Talk (below) has been viewed over 5 million times.
Elke added that she has been “incredible supported by my male bosses, and they helped make sure I advanced in my career.”
PharmaSource members can find mentors and mentees through our members directory. For more information read Women in Pharma Mentoring
Help women achieve their work-life balance
“In order to elevate woman, we might need to approach them sometimes in a different way than just with titles and salaries.” said Elke.
“We want equal pay, for sure but it’s not only about salary for me. If I get promoted, will I have to travel around the world? Can I still be there for my family, my dog, my parents?”
Hybrid working is a positive way to support women, says Elke. “It has remained (in our company) since COVID-19 because both men and women benefit enormously from it. There’s so many calls that I have with my team where I men and women with the children on their lap. I think that’s amazing.”
“We need to remove the bias around working mums, and the idea that that woman with children work part time, or can’t re-enter the workplace after a break.”
Don’t hold back from self-promotion
“We need to remember that we are the best advocates for ourselves.” said Roxana.
“Early in my career, I always thought all I needed to do was work really hard and I would be recognised for that work and be promoted. Unfortunately self promotion is important and we need to push for ourselves and not expect it to happen.”
In order to be recognised and promoted, it is important to “speak up and be visible” says Elke.
“I don’t think that a lot of women do that. Whenever I had a success, I shared it with my boss or with the leadership. We need to do it to create awareness – don’t think that you’re bragging.”
“If you speak up, the others will, you’ll inspire others and others will inspire others, and this is how you change the world.” says Roxana. “The quality of your communication determines the quality of your life.”
Overcome imposter syndrome
“Don’t doubt yourself” says Elke. “If somebody comes to you with an offer, it’s because they believe you’re capable
“The biggest roadblock for myself is that I suffer from the imposter syndrome.” she confided, describing how when she began her role leading procurement at Grünenthal she had self doubt to overcome. “I asked myself if I would to manage men who are older than me”.
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