October 2022 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 10-11
// COVER STORY //
Is our industry really opening doors for women?
Since this Editor initially peered into the impossibly complicated and expansive pharmaverse, over ten years ago, our culture has shifted quite radically – I stress, ‘quite’.
When I first started looking around for different people to talk to beyond the dominating profile within industry (and, by that, I mean those who were not white, middle-class and male) I would virtually have to assume the role of a private detective.
Yes, I’m in a pretty good position to recognise that the ‘dimension of difference’ in industry is becoming, as the internet would say, ‘a thing’. And, make no mistake, it’s a good thing. On the subject of women, the number of positions in leadership roles has historically been either woefully inadequate or just plain laughable.
Credit where credit is due, there has been a tangible movement towards parity but, my goodness, there is considerable work to be done. In the meantime, I have the privilege of introducing perspectives from two women who are blazing a trail through the changing terrain.
I grew up and studied in Paris, where I gained a Doctorate in pharmacy and a Master’s degree in pharmaceutical marketing.
I had the opportunity to experience various roles and environments throughout my training, spent time working in community pharmacies and had placements in hospitals and also in industry settings.
After graduation I started out at a medical device company in Paris and then moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a career in pharma. I was attracted by the wide possibilities the industry offered, the breadth of careers – R&D, market access, medical affairs or even commercial functions.
Across industry, pharmacists can apply their knowledge and directly impact healthcare systems and patients. That’s why I chose pharma. And now I witness every day why it was the right choice – because I can see the positive impact my role has on people.
I now work in oncology medical affairs, specifically in the cell and gene areas. These therapies require a high level of personalisation and are used in areas of high unmet medical needs, so we always work closely in collaboration with treating clinicians. It is extremely gratifying to wake up and go to work every day, knowing there can be patients and families gaining quality of life and time together.
My goal as Medical Head is to promote cooperation across the business. In big companies people often tend to work in silos and my ambition is to make our medical team a trusted and innovative partner across the organisation.
‘Representation and visibility are so important, and this is something that leaders, especially men, must be mindful of’
I also focus on coaching and developing my immediate team and mentoring other colleagues. During my studies and at the beginning of my career, I never had a close role model or acquaintance with a pharmaceutical background – having role models and mentors is a great advantage to have, especially for women.
There is still poor gender representation at senior levels and seeing female leaders in action can be very aspirational. In 2021, through Novartis, I got involved with an initiative called the Red Shoe Movement. This was dedicated to women’s career and leadership development and hosted mentorship circles to discuss and empower female associates to grow. These are valuable initiatives that provide a safe environment and make our goals feel more achievable.
Representation and visibility are so important, and this is something that leaders, especially men, must be mindful of. To be allies they need to ensure there are women invited to the table. They need to listen, to hear, to acknowledge and critically share those ideas and stories onwards with their peers.
And for women in pharma and beyond, I’ll pass on a great piece of advice I once received – always trust your gut, and make sure you can create and foster an environment where others can trust theirs. Help create a world in which views can be expressed regardless of gender, role or seniority.
I grew up in Montreal, Canada and started working in the pharmaceutical sector through an e-communication agency at the time of the ‘e-bubble’. I fell in love with the purpose of having a meaningful impact on patients and society at large, and that is what has kept me going.
For the past 20 years, my different roles across Novartis and Merck have taken me to South Africa, North America, Europe and more recently the UAE where I was Head of Middle East and Africa for Novartis Oncology.
‘The biggest hurdle I have faced is imposter syndrome. The hurdle has been myself – aiming for perfection and questioning my own capabilities’
My latest move was to the UK in July to become the UK and Ireland Country President. I’ve always known pharma was the right choice because I – like most people – have witnessed first-hand the impact of different diseases on patients and their families, and the consequences of the disparities between what can and cannot be treated.
My ambition in this role, together with our team, is to deliver on our common purpose to reimagine medicine. This goes from enabling our scientists’ innovative work, to reimaging the processes and models by which we deliver these medicines to combat health inequalities. These inequalities don’t just exist across borders – here in the UK and Ireland they can exist within the same street.
To address this, we have pledged to work as a partner to the NHS to ensure our medicines are sustainable for society. Whether it is with the NHS, clinicians, or patient associations, partnerships are critical to ensuring medicine is patient-first and affordable.
In my early 30s, a senior leader advised me to determine what impact I wanted to have long term, make it bold enough that I would be uncomfortable and make this my career goal. I have lived by this advice since, and it has allowed me to remain impact focused and take risks. It is at the heart of me moving across continents.
Something I continue to see across all countries without exception, is a passion from the next generation of women about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The interest in the sector is not the challenge. We need to focus on having a diverse range of leaders at all levels to show the impact that both men and women can have on the sector.
The biggest hurdle I have faced is imposter syndrome. The hurdle has been myself – aiming for perfection and questioning my own capabilities. So, my biggest ask for women in the STEM sector is don’t wait to be perfect, to tick every box to apply for a role. Raise your hand, be bold, focus on the impact you want to bring. Today, I can say that whenever I discuss development, I have many men that raise their hand to be my successor while from many women I still hear the ‘I still need to do more, I am not 100% ready’.
Focus on your impact and raise your hand. This is how we will get more women to lead in the STEM sector.