Lifting the Lid on Gender & Cultural Gaps in Life Sciences
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
As the world of life sciences continues to evolve, it is eminent that we, the people, continue to evolve with it. Equipping ourselves with a unison of knowledge and a diversified talent pool is key to staying ahead of the constant challenges the field has to offer.
Diversification and inclusion are no strangers in pharma. Life science companies today continue to strive to change the narrative of the lack of women taking on leadership roles that would expand their scope of capabilities, directing the new wave of millennial talent in the workforce toward sustainable change in both the public and private sectors.
Jointly, talent diversification with more excellent representation amongst minority communities has also become a cornerstone in shifting towards personalized medicine. Whether it be employees, leaders, patients, or communities, we must leverage and embrace unique talents from various cultures, sexualities, socio-economic groups, races, and religions to tackle the evolving industry barriers jointly.
In this blog, we tackle challenges facing pharma companies, including
- How do Diversity & Inclusion/gender gaps/women in higher management/cross-generational gaps look in life science companies?
- What are companies doing to create opportunities and drive awareness?
- Showcase companies who achieve this as great examples for the industry.
Looking at the landscape
Pharma companies increasingly recognise the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and are taking steps to ensure their workforce is more diverse and inclusive. A recent report by Fierce Pharma suggests the top 10 Big Pharmas for diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2022 are committed to increasing the representation of women, racial and ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ+ individuals in their management positions.
For example, Johnson & Johnson has committed to 50% of management positions being held by women by 2025 and is aiming to reach 35% racial and ethnic diversity and 50% growth in Black leadership across its management positions by the same year.1
Aside from setting ambitious goals, pharma companies are also taking steps to ensure their diversity and inclusion initiatives succeed. Smith Hanley notes that many pharma companies have Chief Diversity Officers and emphasise diversity and inclusion as part of their business strategies. 2
But how are pharma companies walking the talk? We took a deep dive into two pharma companies and broke down how they tackle gender and cultural gaps, respectively, exemplifying the change in practice and what both existing and future companies should do to navigate and thrive in the industry.
Progress is being made
Gender equality: Takeda
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report in 2020 indicated that, with the current pace of progress, reaching gender parity is not likely feasible for another 99+ years. Though pharma companies today are taking deliberate action to help rectify and level the playing field, it is simply not enough. Takeda, however, is taking extra strides toward gender equality, especially in the C-suite.
In a Takeda opening keynote session, Dr. Rana El Kailouby, an entrepreneur, mother, scientist, and CEO of Affectiva emphasized that “speaking up means stepping out of our comfort zone and challenging ourselves to manage self-doubt..”
2 https://www.smithhanley.com/2020/09/10/diversity-in-the-pharmaceutical-industry/
Japan, where Takeda is based, scored among the lowest in the global gender gap. A key factor contributing to the ongoing gender inequality is the disproportionate amount of time women spend on unpaid domestic work compared to men, by four times, to be exact, hampering career growth and advancement. Takeda, however, is proving otherwise as they managed to attain a 60% gender equality score, the highest in Japan across all industries. 3
Their framework for building a gender-inclusive culture was translated and implemented in Tadeka’s policies and processes. It goes against the status quo and supports women throughout life, enabling flexible schedules with access to childcare and extended benefits. This, in turn, creates the space and work/life balance they need as a mother and team member.
But the pharma company did not stop there; it began revolutionizing its hiring system by working on specific hiring initiatives, including implementing its bias-reducing tool and a rollout of its Candidate Relationship Management tool linked to an Applicant Tracking System in efforts to place inclusivity at the forefront of hiring candidates. 4 Takeda Singapore earned the title of top employer for the sixth consecutive year, earning the Great Place to Work award. Today, 41% of manager-level roles and 33% of Takeda’s executive team are women.
As part of Takeda’s unwavering commitment to changing the narrative of gender gaps, the pharma company has partnered with Pathfinder International on a joint project as part of a climate program to “foster gender equality and resilience to climate challenges by building leadership among women and girls” as stated by Takaki Ohyabu, Chief Global Corporate Affair Officer at Takeda, where women will be at the forefront of driving changes in the drought-stricken communities. Some of the project’s approaches include:
- Working with local community “champions” to build trust and carry out project activities.
- Conducting gender-transformative trainings with project participants and stakeholders to amplify the voices and contributions of women and girls.
- Using digital health and new technologies to connect people to health services 5
Takeda is a leading example of how pharmas approach the challenge at hand. It’s not just about the programs and partnerships but building an internal culture that supports and aligns with the company’s objectives and going beyond the bare minimum that will set one apart from the rest.
4 https://www.fiercepharma.com/special-reports/top-10-equality-diversity-and-inclusion-pharmas-2021
Cultural inclusivity: Merck
Health equity has been a silent battle the industry has been fighting against but hasn’t been brought to the front covers until recent years, especially regarding ethnicity and race.
There is a lack of urgency in addressing the root cause of the unequal distribution of access to proper health. The people directly impacted by this are essential workers with low wages who have limited access to adequate transportation, care, and the internet, causing the increased rate of infectious diseases. 6 Until everyone gets equal health accessibility, the road to health equity will be long.
A saying goes, “if you want to change the world, start with thy self,” which is exactly what Merck’s leaders are doing. To be able to speak and do diversity and inclusion, they must first be diverse and inclusive, understand its definition, communicate it across the board, and incorporate them into the business culture to then be able to breathe it to life through initiatives. Merck’s approach to racial and gender diversity includes the following:
- Strengthening the foundational elements of diversity and inclusion
- Ensuring accountability to drive an inclusive culture
- Continuing to leverage diversity and inclusion to provide business value
- Transforming the environment, culture, and business landscape 7
Diverse problems require diverse solutions from various minds, capable of tailoring the proper thought process and solution through a broader scope of insight and perspective from multiple backgrounds. Diversity is all about creating a safe space for everyone and anyone to contribute their ideas, perspectives, and insights. Therefore it is imperative to ensure employees are able to do so with a healthy state of mind and mental well-being, hence feel represented and included.
Merck intends to ensure this by rolling out their innovative Mental health First Aid program to triumph over mental health challenges. It is a skills-based training program aimed to equip employees across all levels with adeptness and knowledge on mental health and substance use issues, highlighting the importance of creating an inclusive, supportive, and emotionally safe work environment with compassion.
Another particular example case is in oncology, where there is an apparent racial disparity in the outcomes of breast, lung, and prostate cancer by the lack of access to screening, clinical trials, treatment, and resources to keep mortality rates low and prevent it in the first place. Cancer has a better chance of treatment when detected early; the only issue is that most people either don’t know when to seek care or are simply unable to afford it.
Merck, a pharma juggernaut is stepping up their efforts as they test out a solution with an external partner to assess and address social determinants of patient health, such as Black Health Matters, the National Urban League, and the Lazarex Cancer Foundation with the sole aim to recruit more diverse participants, pertaining to race, socioeconomics, and demographics to serve the community. 8
As of recent reports, 46% of Merck’s board of directors are women, and 23% are from underrepresented groups. Merck is an exemplary role model of how pharma companies can adapt to the dynamics of social developments and their impacts on the industry. Progress in both gender equality and cultural inclusivity starts from one common ground: the people within. Creating a diverse and inclusive industry needs to start from a company’s four pillars, from business leaders to employees, from business culture to policies, and from partnerships to forging communities to jointly tackle inequity in the pharma industry.
“Stakeholders have increased in strength, posing a challenge for organizations to tackle. Diversity & inclusion - lots of opportunities there. From a quality perspective, in the past, you could be a quality practitioner and focus on the quality aspect of business – nowadays, you need to wear multiple hats and be involved in other aspects – the expected competency has changed. Recently Zuellig restructured to have two clear streams – management and professional streams – some people are really good at their professional roles but do not want to be part of management.
The approach and mindset need to change. Their key principle is that the driver of development is the employee themselves. Individual development planning – two ways discussion between line managers and employees – values and their goals.
Plan more proactively instead of ad-hoc. D&I – gender gaps that need to be addressed; cultures and sexualities; cross-generational aspects. Drive broader awareness – there’s more we need to do and more opportunities we need to create. On a senior leadership level, we still have big gaps. Not enough c-level females.” - Brett Marshall, Corporate Head, Quality Assurance & HSSE, Zuellig Pharma
Stepping closer to diversity and inclusion
The importance of diversity and inclusion is clear, but the work still needs to be done. Life sciences companies must continue to prioritize these efforts and make progress across all levels of their organizations.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion have never been more critical than today; as the world continues to present new and more complex challenges, it calls for a fresh perspective, skillsets, and talent to innovate and power through how things have been done.
8 https://www.fiercepharma.com/special-reports/top-10-equality-diversity-and-inclusion-pharmas-2021
At LogiPharma Asia Summit 2023, we take you into an immersive approach to navigating diversity and inclusion as part of the “Women in Pharma Leadership” segment.
Learn more how this will be further explored during the conference by downloading the 2023 agenda here.