September 25, 2019

Women in Life Sciences: Pathways to Success

Date: Wednesday 17th April 2019

Venue: Fora, 9 Dallington St, London

The purpose of this event was to discuss the current issues surrounding women in Life Sciences and the various ways women can succeed in senior positions.

We were delighted to be joined by our panel:

Charlotte Hood, Consultant of Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices, Practicus. The main topics that came up in our discussion were:
Chair:

Please see below a summary of thoughts and insights from both our panel and our audience. Please note, responses have been paraphrased.

MENTORING AND SPONSORSHIP

Mentoring is a valuable tool in supporting women in the industry as it enables them to learn and develop from experienced and respected senior figures, either within their organisation or outside of it. Our panellists discussed the role of mentor and how one can identify these influential individuals.

It is also important to act as a sponsor to female colleagues, leveraging your position within the organisation to advocate for their success. Our panellists offered us their thoughts on the importance of actively championing women, encouraging them to go for opportunities and make their voices heard.

HIRING PRACTICES

Many recruitment processes still rely on old fashioned approaches, favouring the ‘safe’ option candidate over (what could be considered) a higher risk candidate. Our panel acknowledge that it is not just about ticking the right boxes when it comes to hiring the right candidate, but also about hiring for potential. Women can be less forthright in ‘selling’ their skills and capabilities, and this must also be a consideration when hiring.

In fact, hiring managers often tend to ‘hire in their own image’. Given the disproportionate representation of males in leadership positions, this perpetuates lack of diversity and stifles development.

AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP

In a male dominated workplace, there is a tendency for women in senior positions to try to be more ‘masculine’, to mirror the qualities of their male colleagues. Our panel emphasised that authenticity is key:

WORK/LIFE BALANCE

The panel were asked how easy it is for women to obtain a ‘work-life balance’ and juggle family, home life and work responsibilities.

BECOMING CEO

Of course, perhaps one of the most key questions for aspiring leaders was advice on getting to the top and removing the obstacles on the path.

A massive thank you to our wonderful panel and to our audience for attending this event.

Look out for the next one coming soon!

About Practicus

Practicus provides problem solving and recruitment. To find out more about the company, see here

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