Today is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women. This year’s theme, #PressforProgress, is exactly that – an opportunity to recognize that we won’t reach gender parity overnight, but we are making progress every day, and must continue to push ourselves to do more.
At MassBio, we continue to #PressforProgress for improved diversity & inclusion in the life sciences. One way is to ensure more and more people see our report from last year. The good news is that it is still gaining traction and shaping the conversation in new and productive ways. A few recent articles from across the country use our data as the backbone of their examinations of gender diversity in life sciences:
- Silicon Valley’s (other) gender in tech problem: Women in Bay Area biotech are still waiting to break through
- Why can’t the drug industry solve its gender diversity problem?
- State’s top life sciences firms have few women on boards, exec teams
In case you missed our report, we’ve recapped its main findings and recommendations here: MassBio & Liftstream’s Gender Diversity Report: “Opening the Path to a Diverse Future”
There are so many great programs and organizations that support diversity initiatives already in existence in Massachusetts and around the country, so we’ve highlighted a select group we believe are doing great things in the life sciences and beyond for women as they seek to advance their careers. We’re now looking to expand this to include diversity programs and initiatives beyond just gender. If you have suggestions, we want to hear from you!
We’ve also continued to collect stories of those companies or individuals who are making progress in closing the gender gap at their organizations and/or the industry at large. Because the positive stories should be told – and we can all learn from them. Read the stories here:
- Sanofi’s ELEVATE Program Supports Women Leaders
- Erika Smith on Women Entrepreneurs & Overcoming Gender Bias
- Morphic Therapeutic: Creating a Culture of Diversity From the Start
- Alnylam: Networking, Hiring and Compensation Efforts to Improve Diversity
- Joanne Kamens Creates Culture of Diversity & Inclusion at Addgene
- Diversity in Diversity: Cultural Exchange and Global Perspectives Enrich and Enhance the Workplace
- Being Part of Culture Change for Women in STEM
MassBio will be ramping up its efforts around diversity & inclusion in the coming months, and we have an exciting announcement to make during our Annual Meeting. We also have a panel on “Diversity in Leadership” that you won’t want to miss. Register here – we hope to see you there!