According to a 2020 study, boards of UK life sciences include just 14.8% women and 7.3% racial minorities. Leadership teams below board level show a slight uplift with a quarter of companies having at least 30% of these leadership positions occupied by women. At the current rate, it would take until 2038 to reach 30% participation of women at board level.
In an article for Pharmaphorum, Paula Parfitt, Executive Vice President at Cielo, outlines the importance diversity, equity and inclusion (D, E, & I) among the workforce – detailing both the ethical and commercial case for building a team with a breadth of cultural experiences.
Beyond a moral responsibility, D, E, & I is proven to provide competitive advantage, and each individual within a team benefits from a diversity of cultural experiences within it. These experiences help teams to find innovative and creative solution to problems – which in the life sciences sector can help to save lives.
D, E, & I should be one of the most important focuses of modern recruitment, but there is no single solution. If companies are to build an authentic team which reflects society, efforts must be made to remove barriers and build new, impartial processes which remove unconscious bias.
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