Building on the success of last year’s inaugural event, CPhI North America will feature the 2018 Women in Leadership Forum, which will take place on Thursday April 26, from 8:00 am to 11:30am at Pennsylvania Convention Center.

There is a full schedule of proceedings, including a keynote address by Lynn Taylor, head of corporate and government relations in the U.S. and head of healthcare global government and public affairs for Merck KGaA, and a panel discussion, “Empowering Women to Thrive,” also featuring Taylor plus executives from Chromocell, DSM and Pfizer, who will discuss the vitality and importance of women leaders and progression within the pharmaceutical and specialty chemicals markets, as well as challenges women still face. Moderated by Alise Cortez, podcast host and a consultant at Insigniam, an international management consulting firm, the panel includes keynote speaker Lynn Taylor, Tina Garyantes from Chromocell, Hugh Welsh from DSM, and Mike Kosko from Pfizer.

According to the most recent data from the National Science Foundation, 57.2 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, 59.9 percent of all master’s degrees, and 50.1 percent of all doctoral degrees are all earned by women. Yet today we still see a discrepancy in employment in many places, the pharmaceuticals industry included. To put it into perspective, among the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the Fortune 500, only 17 percent of executives in those companies are women, and three had no women in an executive position at all. Furthermore, according to a Glassdoor report, even after adjustments to account for factors such as age, experience, and occupation there’s still a notable and unexplained wage gap of 5.4 percent between men and women. On the bright side, however, the adjusted wage gap is amongst smallest in the biotech and pharmaceuticals companies.

The Women in Leadership forum seeks to address these issues head-on and provide constructive dialogue where experts in this industry share experiences and strategies helpful in establishing equality for everyone and unleashing untapped potential in the pharmaceuticals industry. As DSM’s High Welsh has said, “It’s pretty well understood that when you’re in the majority culture-it could be by gender, by race, by national origin-you’re completely blind to your privilege. And I was blind to the privilege that I enjoyed until I built up a relationship with those who are part of the minority culture in the company who could help enlighten me.”

“The 2018 edition of the CPhI North America Women in Leadership Forum will focus on ‘leveraging support systems,’ from mentoring to exploring inspiring corporate initiatives,” said Joseph Marks, brand director, CPhI North America. “This year’s speaker line-up-a highly experienced and diverse panel of Pharma experts-will share wisdom, personal experiences and advice throughout the discussion, enabling attendees to take away tangible tools to benefit both their own career and to help others’ career growth. The Women in Leadership Forum is an important opportunity for networking, personal development and promoting diversity in Pharma, issues that we’re passionate about.”