For the pharmaceutical and biotech industries the need to remain future-focused has been a constant theme. Through the creation of innovative research methods to expedite drug development, the sector has been duty-bound to evolve at a rate unlike many others.

When it comes to the make-up of the industry, however, diversity of talent has not evolved at a similar pace. At first glance, the biotech sector may seem gender equal, with 49% of employees being female. But when we look closer, only 20% of CEOs within the sector are reported to be women.

When looking at the US and Canada for example, this decreases even further for women of colour, who represent only 5% of biotech and 4% of pharma c-suite roles.
With this year’s Black History Awareness theme ‘Saluting our sisters’, it’s important now more than ever to confront this issue head on.

Julia Smith has worked in the industry for over 20 years and has seen first-hand how important it is to build a diverse and equitable infrastructure within the pharmaceutical industry – not only to ensure strong business impact, but also to better reflect the diverse patients and communities this industry serves.

Julia, along with co-founder Eugene Osei-Bonsu, set up the Black Leadership Council (BLC) in Switzerland – an employee-led initiative at Takeda, created to challenge industry norms by prioritising diversity within the existing workforce.

Initially, the BLC came together in the US to provide a safe space for all colleagues from any background to learn, relearn, share their lived experiences and thoughts, and encourage opportunity for open dialogue on matters related to race and ethnicity.

Over time, the BLC’s role has continued to develop, using a bottom-up approach in order to provide a platform to underrepresented groups across the organisation.

Julia elaborated: “My vision is to foster an inclusive and equitable business, with a pipeline of talent that genuinely demonstrates an investment in DE&I. Personally for me, ensuring that women from underrepresented backgrounds have a seat at the table isn’t just an ambition, but a priority in creating a commercially and culturally successful business.”

From an organisational perspective, she reflected: “It’s all about the importance of partnerships. While meaningful, internal DE&I policies are a first step towards creating a diverse and equitable workplace that is accessible to all, the glass ceiling is still too high in many ways – especially for women from underrepresented communities.

“When it comes to talent, I believe that the pharma and biotech industry must do more to make itself accessible and attractive to talent from diverse backgrounds. The focus is not just on levelling the playing field within companies, but on introducing a new way of collaborating, with rules that enable the individual to thrive no matter what their starting point may be.”

Takeda – together with the support of the BLC – has applied its principles of fostering a more diverse and equitable pharma workforce by forging a partnership with the African Gifted Foundation.

This unique non-governmental organisation provides science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) focused educational opportunities to low-income young women and girls from across the African continent through its one-of-a-kind African Science Academy in Tema, Ghana.

Through education, training and mentorship, the African Gifted Foundation (AGF) is developing a network of empowered, gifted young women in STEM who will play a key role in the development of their countries and the African continent more widely.

Indeed, 95% of its graduates have been awarded scholarships to prestigious universities worldwide. This is only the beginning for the Foundation – and it is its work with engaged, committed partners that will support it as it unlocks it full potential.

Julia agrees that mentorship is a particularly important part of this. “I feel it is crucial to help our next generation continue to build solid foundations and foster robust preparations for navigating their future career paths and future leadership. It epitomises the essence of giving back to our communities, which in turn benefits our ecosystem.”

In time, Takeda and the BLC hope to support African Gifted Foundation to empower the next generation of leaders, providing them with the access and resources needed to unleash their individual and collective potential and support health systems within their own countries.

Inevitably, this must sit within a wider portfolio of commitments to health equity.  Takeda is demonstrating and building this across the continent through its work with the likes of Seed Global Health, which demonstrates over a decade of effort in driving education programming in communities and building trust in health systems to achieve this.

Additionally, its work with Last Mile Health demonstrates a commitment towards bolstering healthcare capabilities within remote, underserved settings that helped train and deploy over 3,900 community health workers and deliver 1.3 million treatments for malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea to children under the age of five.

Julia concludes: “When I think about myself and women more widely within the industry and beyond, there is consensus that building a career often comes with significant challenges, with a great deal more work to be done to address underrepresentation and unequal opportunity.

“For too long, the sector has needed more equitable access, to embrace a new way of thinking and to do things differently for its people, patients and planet.”
For the wider pharma industry, the focus should remain on the power and possibilities of partnership, investment in the leaders of the future and an ongoing commitment to go further.

This can only be achieved by recognising the galvanising nature of holistic approaches to creating and supporting meaningful change.

Go to takeda.com