New collaborative project involving 15 large pharma companies will support diversity in executive roles and advocate a fairer working culture with more equal opportunities.
Boston, US, 30 November 2022: The Pistoia Alliance, a global, not-for-profit alliance that advocates for greater collaboration in life sciences R&D, has today announced it has launched a pilot for its new Women in STEM leadership program. The program is aimed at organizations seeking to develop leadership and mentoring skills and promote diversity in the life sciences work environment. It will bring together some 40 participants spread across 12 countries under the Pistoia Alliance umbrella. There are 15 companies involved in the pilot stage: AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, CSL, GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, Janssen, Merck & Co, Merck KGaA DE, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Takeda.
“While many companies may have their own DE&I schemes, the true value of the Pistoia Alliance is that it’s a collaborative space where best practices and ideas can be shared cross-company, and globally,” explains Anca Ciobanu, Program Lead. “Interest in this program has been overwhelmingly positive and really shows that companies are willing to commit to change. We are excited to open up the waitlist for the next stage, and encourage people from other backgrounds to get involved, including our tech company members.”
Despite women making up 53% of the world’s STEM bachelor's and master's graduates, they still only account for around 30% of the world’s researchers. Women are also more likely to leave the STEM career pipeline than men, leading to a wider gap at the senior level. Further, women account for only 16% of managers and 3% CEOs in this field, which is why the Alliance has chosen to focus its pilot scheme on leadership roles. The Alliance’s project will tackle the reasons behind these statistics. The pilot features four diversified groups of 10; each group has a maximum of two men, allowing male participants to experience first-hand being part of a minority group. The participants represent varied areas of expertise, including data scientists, industry regulators, and drug safety and development researchers; 45% are based in the US, and the remaining 55% span Europe and China.
During the application process, participants were asked what they believed was holding them back from progressing in their careers. Their answers will shape the program’s weekly training sessions, and include areas such as:
“I have recently moved to a more senior position in my organization from a local team manager to a global head of department. I am excited to be participating in a program that will allow me to build wider networks, learn about senior leadership from others in the field, and increase my confidence in my role,” comments a pilot participant from GSK. “I’m leading the inclusion and diversity activities for my department, and I think this program will help me to better support women in science at my own organization.”
The pilot scheme will end in June 2022, with the Alliance aiming to build a series of future programs using feedback and learnings from the pilot, so even more of its members can benefit. Going forwards, the Alliance wishes to create a community of leaders who share the same values and who contribute to change in the overall industry – either by directly changing or promoting equality in their organizations.
The Alliance is inviting members to register their interest for the next phase of the program. For further information about this initiative and to join the wait list or get involved in helping to fund this project (visit <link to be inserted> or contact anca.ciobanu@pistoiaalliance.org).