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Women are significantly underrepresented in biotech leadership roles and confront the same gender gap within the larger healthcare umbrella.

Nonclinical careers appeal to many physicians. According to cardiologist Yasmine S. Ali, MD, MSCI, FACC, FACP, female doctors frequently seek work in the biotech industry, comprising most physicians in the life sciences. Nonetheless, women are significantly underrepresented in biotech leadership roles and confront the same gender gap that exists within the larger healthcare and academic-medicine umbrella.

Executive search firm Bedford Group/TRANSEARCH conducted a 2021 biotech industry report that revealed some alarming statistics: Fewer than 6% of biotech CEOs are women, and a mere 14% of board members are women. The Women CEOS in America report, published by the Women Business Collaborative, Ascend, C200, and Catalyst, noted that women comprised almost 8% of CEOs at S&P 500 companies in 2020. This statistic was sadly praised because it represented an all-time high. Despite studies that link gender-diverse leadership with improved business performance, the gender gap remains a massive issue, according to Dr. Ali.

A report from McKinsey & Company found that companies whose executive employees are in the top quartile for gender diversity are 25% more likely to experience greater-than-average profitability when compared with those companies within the fourth quartile. Diverse organizations are also better equipped to recruit and keep qualified employees. An article in Organizational Studies noted that gender diversity is directly related to reduced employee turnover rates, as do gender-diversity-related human resource policies. Additionally, researchers at the American Psychological Association found that female physicians were more inclined to view a company as “fair” if it had a significant female presence in top positions.

Many factors combine to create biotech’s gender gap. Dr. Ali notes that although women’s presence in the medical field has increased, the number of women in biotech remains low. Men comprise the bulk of biotech executive boards, which Dr. Ali suggests might perpetuate outdated biases and prevent the installation of more women into top positions by creating recruitment and promotion systems without transparency. This, in turn, makes unconscious gender bias more accessible and potentially denies women access to influential networks and leadership-development skill-building opportunities.

Speaking from personal experience, Dr. Ali has, on multiple occasions, been offered leadership positions that, due to her gender, came with lower base salaries than those offered to her male counterparts. Unfortunately, the biotech arena has a significantly poor design for caregivers, who are largely women. Dr. Ali points out biotech’s lopsided work-life balance, with travel requirements reaching absurd levels of 75% to 100% for medical directors. Without more flexible policies and caregiver reentry programs, the biotech industry will continue down this path. Upcoming female physicians will have few role models to mentor and inspire them to enter leadership positions in biotech, perpetuating a negative cyclical effect by fewer women joining the biotech field.

Companies must work to bridge this gender gap by reviewing their policies, procedures, and corporate culture. Dr. Ali suggests implementing unconscious bias mitigation training for hiring and reviews. Job postings and leadership criteria should be scrutinized for language that may unintentionally keep women from applying, and companies should offer women-centered mentoring programs and networking groups. Providing an inclusive and flexible atmosphere via family-friendly policies like work-from-home options is essential to destigmatizing caregivers taking career breaks.