Gender equality in Pharma/Med-tech

  • While the Pharma/Med-tech industry has one of the most equitable gender distributions across the different management levels, women are still underrepresented at the top. The decrease in female representation between lowest and lower management is especially steep. Moreover, at these levels, women are also underrepresented in positions with personnel responsibility.
  • The Pharma/Med-tech industry does a better job utilizing its talent pipeline than other industries. However, promotions into lowest and lower management are underutilized in terms of diverse talent management. The age group between 31 and 40 deserves particular attention, as it is at this age that the promotion gap between men and women widens.
  • A full-time culture persists across all management levels and, to a lesser extent, age groups. This may explain why women are better represented in management in this industry than elsewhere – women are not held back from promotions by part-time work.

 

Women are underrepresented in positions with personnel responsibility

At first glance, the Pharmaceutical and Medical technology (Pharma/Med-tech) industry seems gender diverse. However, while women in the Pharma and Med-tech industry are nearly equally represented in lowest management and non-management (at almost 50%!), their representation drops sharply at higher management levels. In top management, only 23% of employees are female. Many women get lost between the lowest and lower management and again between the middle and top management.

Gender distribution by management level - Pharma/Med-tech

Women
Men
Top management
23%
77%
Middle management
33%
67%
Lower management
37%
63%
Lowest management
47%
53%
Non-management
48%
52%

One possible reason: While women are promoted into low-level management functions, these are often not the kinds of positions that set talents up to climb the career ladder further. For instance, while 47% of employees in lowest management are women, they hold only 33% of positions with personnel responsibility. It can be assumed that women in lowest management are mainly in expert or administrative functions, which are unlikely to lead to further advancement. But: The underrepresentation of women in positions with personnel responsibility is less pronounced for Pharma/Med-tech than in the full sample of industries.

 

The Pharma and Med-tech industry utilizes its talent pipeline well

The Pharma and Med-tech industry does a better job utilizing its talent pipeline than other industries, though some women still get lost on the way to the top. Women make up 48% of non-management employees, but their share in lowest and lower management promotions is only 40%. Women’s shar on these levels currently is 41%. Therefore, promotions don’t contribute to increasing the percentage of women at these levels. The share of new hires is slightly higher.

By contrast, hires and promotions contribute to increasing the share of women in middle and top management significantly, which is a hopeful sign for an actual increase in leadership diversity in the pharma and med-tech industry. Moreover, women’s share in middle and top management promotions is higher than in the talent pipeline of lowest and lower management – the internal pipeline is utilized very well compared with the other industries.

 

Overview Pharma/Med-tech industry

 

But why are the promotion rates so low for women in lowest and lower management? What talents are getting lost along the way? The promotion gender gap primarily begins at age 31. This gap is particularly pronounced for lowest and lower management promotions, where more than half of all promotions fall into the “family primetime” between ages 31 and 40. For new hires, this is also the case, though to a slightly lesser extent. Broadening the conception of promotions and career steps to accommodate lifecycle-oriented steps may help more women advance.

 

New management hires more “international”

Newly hired managers are less likely to be Swiss than managers already employed in the Pharma/Med-tech industry. 27% of newly hired female managers and 38% of newly hired male managers are Swiss. The share of newly hired female foreign managers is higher than that of foreign men, which is more pronounced for senior managers (where only 11% of newly hired women are Swiss). In addition, female managers already working in Pharma/Med-tech are more diverse regarding nationality than male managers.

 

A full-time culture persists

Employment percentages in Pharma/Med-tech are exceptionally high compared to the average of all industries. In this industry, there is no strong correlation between age and employment percentage, meaning that women (or men) between the ages of 30 and 45 do not reduce their employment percentage as much as in almost all other industries. This indicates a full-time working culture that may be unattractive to those who would like to reduce their employment percentage. In fact, the turnover rates of both men and women are higher in Pharma/Med-tech than in the full sample of all industries, which may point to some dissatisfaction.

Employment percentage by gender and management level - Pharma/Med-tech

Women
Men
Top management
Middle management
Lower management
Lowest management
Non-management

Recommendations: Removing diversity obstacles in leadership

Although companies in the Pharma/Med-tech industry are already utilizing their diverse talent pipeline very well, certain obstacles remain for women and employees with diverse needs. How can companies address these?

  • “Diversifying” leadership pathways: While women are represented in management, many of these positions seem to be unlikely to lead to the top (expert and admin roles). Detailed analyses of the gender breakdown by role type (back office, research, profit-and-loss responsibility, personnel responsibility, communications, and other corporate functions) may help pinpoint where women get stuck, and diversity goals for key roles can help.
  • Put mental health and flexibility front and center: Very high employment percentages persist in the Pharma/Med-tech industry, and turnover rates are higher than in other industries. Therefore, we recommend focusing on nurturing the mental health and well-being of existing talents. Do they have the flexibility they need? Are there tools in place for mental health and stress management? Are managers sensitized to these issues?

 

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