Representation

Gender, cultural and ethnic diversity throughout organizations

Representation

Representation of Women

How well represented do you think women are in the different areas of your organization?

62% of respondents believe that women are underrepresented in senior management and C-suite positions within their organizations.

72% of respondents believe that women are underrepresented in board-level roles within their organizations.

Most respondents believe that women are about equally represented in non-management, entry and mid-level roles within their organizations. However, the respondents also show a stronger belief that women are either hugely or slightly underrepresented in senior management, C-suite and board-level roles within their organizations.

Representation of Cultural and Ethnic Minorities

How well represented do you think cultural/ethnic minorities are in the different areas of your organization?

70% of respondents believe that cultural/ethnic minorities are underrepresented in senior management and C-suite positions within their organizations.

75% believe that cultural/ethnic minorities are underrepresented in board-level roles within their organizations.

56% believe that cultural/ethnic minorities are underrepresented in supervisor and manager roles in their organizations, while just under half of respondents believe cultural/ethnic minorities are about equally represented in entry and mid-level roles within their organizations.

What do you think is the industry’s biggest problem with diversity and inclusion?

Responses to what is the industry’s biggest DEI issue are closely split across the survey, with the largest number of respondents believing that a lack of a diverse candidate pipeline is the biggest problem.

This is the top answer among respondents working in pharma and biotech companies and consultancies.

What do you think is the industry’s biggest problem with diversity and inclusion? (Continued)

Lack of diverse leadership representation follows closely behind, also the top answer across European respondents and among respondents working in CROs, CDMOs, CMOs and medical device companies.

Other option verbatims include:

"Most of our racially diverse employees are entry level and are hired as contractors. This makes it very difficult for them to advance because little to no mentorship is given to contractors."

"Focusing on DEI issues for the sake of checking the box. Not because they want to do it."

"Lack of appreciation, motivation and confidence for diversity at all work levels."

"We need to hire the most qualified people regardless of their gender or other status. We are harming society by forcing managers to choose by these rules to fit a profile vs the best candidate."

"Keeping diverse people happy and helping them grow -- less about some HR driven initiative (superficial as most HR efforts usually are) and more about the "in the trenches" process of onboarding managing mentoring people with diversity-minded support"

"Because leadership comes from the top: leading by doing, not what is being said ("walk the talk")."

"Too much focus on perceived diversity versus focus on realizing peoples development at all levels of all colors and identification status"

"Engaging in outwardly facing diversity initiatives - diversity in research (e.g. genomics databases clinical trial participants and even which diseases to study) and communication (making sure that communications resonate with diverse audiences)."

"Lack of knowledge and openness to diversity"

"Rather than making sure that diverse people with the appropriate skill sets were given an opportunity to interview and prove themselves capable of a responsible position, the expectation is now that if we have a minority (in any sense of the word) candidate they will always be given the position even if they are not the best qualified."

Why do you think this is the industry’s biggest problem? (Selected responses)

Common echoes among the respondents are that DEI initiatives in the life sciences industries are either unnecessary, not treated as a priority, unfit for purpose or are simply to fulfill diversity quotas without nurturing a fully inclusive environment.

What is noticeable is a divide in beliefs on what is the cause of diversity issues: a blame on a lack of diverse leadership in the industry, and that educational institutions are failing to produce suitable diverse graduates in STEM.

"Diversity is a very good asset in the companies but unfortunately due to several reasons that cannot become a priority."

"Having a diverse leadership will offer different perspectives about recruitment which can lead to a more diverse workforce. Importantly it is crucial to see representation in senior leadership to feel that there is a potential career path and career growth across the board... Not seeing sufficient representation at the senior level tells me a lot about the company's priorities and whether I might see myself working there long term."

"Lack of accountability"

"A type of person hiring the same types of people results in an echo chamber of their own creation....it's unhealthy"

"It's largely "our" fault for not looking harder to identify qualified candidates; we need to stop using it as an excuse"

"The hard sciences are just that, hard. Some minorities tend to be underrepresented in the hard sciences. The reasons for this are manifold. From the earliest ages, people need to be identified for immersive training in the hard sciences. Not an easy task given that many minorities live in sub-optimal living conditions."

"We can't hire people who aren't prepared. Preparing for STEM careers starts in elementary school, not at age 25."

Why do you think this is the industry’s biggest problem? (Selected responses continued)

"Lack of diversity in STEM programs, which leads to pipeline under-representation."

"There aren't enough programs targeted at minorities and education and through training to be qualified and diverse pipeline"

"There are fewer diverse candidates in the industry that fit the very high bar we have for hiring (academic background, top tier consulting background)"

"The culture of science, discovery and innovation and our communication of that success needs to shift to include and retain women and minorities...The way we think of innovation systemically is ripe with bias that ultimately leads to real differences in advancement and wealth."

"Not enough development of Manager-Director level staff to provide a path to senior and c-suite leadership opportunities."

"Bias, diversity is not a priority, diversity is not part of leaders KPIs, priority is profit"

"So many successful Biotech execs/senior people were mentored/sponsored early in their careers and vast majority of senior sponsors were white male, we need diversity in senior sponsors."

"A complex issue/challenge. There is a clear shortage of diversity among the investor pool, board roles and C-suite that is difficult to address rapidly without thrusting inexperienced individuals into such a role."

"I think people tend to hire similar people, so it is hard for minority groups to break into higher leadership roles. Negative bias and perception about minority groups also means someone from a minority group has to work harder than someone else to land a senior position."

"Many job opportunities are still heavily dependent on "who you know" or candidates the decision maker is familiar with, which can unintentionally exclude minorities and people who are trying to make their way in a relationship-based industry."

"People dont see the ROI or Value add"