Leading female scientists share advice on career advancement.
By Cathy Yarbrough
An inclusive work environment, innovative thinking, mentors and sponsors, and keeping healthy and taking time for oneself all contribute to professional success, according to speakers at the Women in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Power Hour: 4 Key Strategies to Avoid Falling Off the Glass Cliff career development session at the 2019 PharmSci 360 in San Antonio.
The speakers, four accomplished female leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, were: Annette Bak, Ph.D., M.B.A., who heads Advanced Drug Delivery in Biopharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca; Binodh DeSilva, Ph.D., VP, Analytical Strategy and Operations at Bristol-Myers Squibb and a former AAPS president; Amita Joshi, Ph.D., VP, Clinical Pharmacology at Genentech; and Nurulain Zaveri, Ph.D., FAAPS, founder, president, and chief scientific officer of Astraea Therapeutics.
AAPS’ annual meetings have included career development sessions focused on women in the pharmaceutical sciences since 2014, said Bak, a former member of the AAPS Board of Directors.
Zaveri opened the 2019 session by explaining that the topic was inspired in part by the comments of Tina Brown, founder of the annual Women in the World summit, during the Fareed Zakaria GPS program on CNN in April 2019. Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and New Yorker magazines, “commented that women often have an unconventional path to power,” said Zaveri.
For women in the pharmaceutical sciences, the unconventional path to power often includes sponsors, Zaveri pointed out. Obtaining mentors as well as sponsors was one of the four key strategies identified by the speakers. These strategies are relevant to both early-career female scientists as well as women in senior leadership positions in the pharmaceutical sciences.
Both Diversity and Inclusion Matter
The value of diversity in the workforce is now well-recognized, said Bak. Studies have shown that work environments that are diverse “make you want to show up every day,” she said. When employees feel like they belong, their work ethic improves.
However, work environments that are diverse can be non-inclusive because diversity and inclusion are not synonymous. In inclusive work environments, the views and recommendations of women and staff members who represent minority groups are valued.
“Diversity without inclusion is an empty gesture,” Bak said, quoting David Asai, Ph.D. In an article published in Nature, Asai also wrote that “scientific excellence depends on creativity, that creativity emerges from diversity, and that the advantages of diversity are realized through inclusion.”1
Bak and the other speakers recommended several steps that female scientists should take to improve their opportunities for leadership positions in non-inclusive organizations. “Getting in a leadership position in these organizations requires hard work,” said Bak.
Networking and Branding
Female professionals should network with like-minded individuals at work to discuss common issues facing women in the pharmaceutical sciences, said Bak. They also should develop professional relationships with scientists outside their organizations—for example, their fellow attendees at PharmSci 360 meetings.
In addition, women should build a brand that is based on and promotes their core strengths, “what they’re really good at,” said Bak. A brand refers to “how you are perceived in your current scenario,” she explained. Senior leaders pay attention to female professionals who have a good brand. “Support will come more naturally,” she pointed out.
The first step in creating a brand is understanding how “you’re currently perceived by asking for feedback from colleagues, supervisors, and mentors,” Bak commented. Self-insight is crucial to developing an effective brand, she said and added that she wishes that her younger self realized the importance of self-insight.
Mentors and Sponsors
In addition to providing advice and coaching, mentors can point out blind spots and serve as a sounding board. To obtain diverse viewpoints, a female scientist should enlist several mentors, Bak said.
How should a female researcher recruit a mentor? “Nothing is free, you may have to make the first step to make a connection,” said DeSilva. The first step could be asking a potential mentor for advice on, for example, project leadership. The female scientist could ask for guidance from a more experienced staff member who is highly skilled in leading projects.
DeSilva pointed out that sponsors, who typically are senior leaders at an organization, can be mentors and vice versa. However, the roles of mentors and sponsors differ. “While mentors can help you solve work problems, sponsors can take you under their wing and speak about you to other senior leaders in the organization,” she said. “Sponsors will stick their necks out for you to help make you successful. They can open doors for you and pull you up to the next level.
“Sponsors also can share information on the ‘inside’ about how to advance, make introductions to influential people, nominate you for high visibility projects, and truly be your voice and advocate for you when you are not in meetings,” DeSilva added.
Becoming a protégé of a senior leader is easier said than done, said DeSilva. First you must establish your credibility as a scientist. That is your baseline,” she said.
An individual’s professional reputation or brand is also based on how she interacts with people as a group leader or a manager with direct reports, DeSilva added. Thus, a female researcher should hone her soft skills as well as her scientific capabilities. She also can improve her reputation and visibility by participating in task forces or committees that are outside her daily job responsibilities, she said.
A female scientist should be strategic about what she wants in her career, DeSilva added. She also should plan how and when she will ask a leader to be a sponsor. However, a leader can become a sponsor without an invitation. “The sponsor may be impressed with your accomplishments or how you presented yourself at a meeting,” said DeSilva.
DeSilva added that a female scientist’s connections outside the company also could help attract the attention of a potential sponsor. “At AAPS meetings, you should strategically talk with senior leaders at other companies. You never know who knows whom at your company. And, they could one day be your sponsor,” she said.
Innovative Thinking
“Being able to think on your feet and quickly come up with solutions are highly valued skills,” said Bak. “In non-inclusive work environments, women demonstrate these skills often are asked to join discussions in which they otherwise would not be included,” she said.
Inclusive environments encourage innovative thinking, said Bak. Research has found that people who work in inclusive environments feel appreciated and as a result are comfortable sharing their ideas,2 she added.
In the workplace, creativity and innovation are influenced by both the organization’s culture and the mindset—the ideas and attitudes that shape behavior—of staff members, said Joshi, whose career at Genentech began 19 years ago. Studies have shown that culture plays a greater role (70 percent) than does mindset (30 percent) in promoting novel thinking and problem solving, she added.
Changing the office culture and the mindset of staff members requires “really good leaders who are willing to see their staff members’ perspectives and can set aside selfish agendas to cooperate and benefit the entire team,” said Joshi. These leaders “see things from others’ perspective. They empathize with others.”
Joshi added that “leaders need to suppress their own conscious and unconscious biases.”
A leader can influence both the culture and mindset by changing the work model. Even small changes can boost workplace creativity, said Joshi. Of course, leaders can promote a creative, knowledge-sharing culture by hiring staff with a creative mindset. However, leaders also can change the mindset of staff members by encouraging them to be comfortable with ambiguity, risk taking, and not being in control. Staff who listen, speak up, and are curious should be rewarded, she said.
Joshi was curious about whether diversity drives creativity. As a result, Joshi conducted a literature search, which identified a Harvard Business Review article3 emphasizing the role of deep level diversity, which encompasses “the most interesting and influential aspects of diversity. They are psychological factors such as personality, values, and abilities,” she said. “Such deep level diversity along with gender bring creativity to the work environment.”
Taking Time for Yourself
“Be kind to yourself,” said Bak. “Taking time for yourself helps maintain high energy levels.”
DeSilva recommended that female scientists “carve out time to think about their careers. You should be strategic about what you want in your career.” At least once every three years, DeSilva said she reviews her personal and professional goals.
Have a Plan B
When Bak was studying for her Master of Business Administration, a professor told her and other students to “always have a plan B.”
Zaveri said that she did not have a Plan B when she decided to resign from an organization at which she had established and maintained an externally funded research program for 13 years. However, several months after resigning, her Plan B evolved. Zaveri launched a biotech company, Astraea Therapeutics, in 2009.
“I wish that I had attended a session like this one 15 years ago,” Zaveri said.
References
- Asai D. To learn inclusion skills, make it personal. Nature World View. 2019;565, 537. Published January 29, 2019. Accessed December 2019. doi 10.1038/d41586-019-00282-y
- Washington E and Patrick C. 3 Requirements for a Diverse and Inclusive Culture. Gallup. Published September 17, 2018. Accessed December 2019.
- Chamorro-Premuzic T. Does Diversity Actually Increase Creativity? Harvard Business Review. Published June 28, 2017. Accessed December 2019.
Cathy Yarbrough is a freelance science writer.
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Women in Pharmaceutical Sciences: An Interview with Annette Bak