Do You Know What Working Like A Woman Means?

I am going to share a story with you, before I do that here is a perspective on our industry in our country

In pharma and biotech, entry level positions are around 50:50 male and female, some data suggests 54% female. When we look at senior positions it's dropped to less than 30%. Of the top 20 Pharma companies in the UK only 1 is female, Reshma Kewalramani at Vertex. Emma Walmsley who did head up GSK has now departed the company and her successor is a man

We have the Discrimination and Equalities act, equal pay via the Equality Act, we have practices, policies and guidance. The gender pay gap is not closing.

Something is not working. Why?

Men are significantly more likely to be promoted out of entry-level roles into management than women. Because fewer women reach the first rung on the ladder the pool of female candidates available for senior and C-suite positions is vastly smaller from the start

We are the tip of the spear ladies, we are all pathfinders. How many years do you think it is going to take to reach parity at every level ? We are not even close.......yet!

I want to share a story about a woman who took a very long time to find her voice. I have her permission to share her story

Alison (not her real name) was (still is) bright, positive, capable, effective,  well educated and ambitious.  She worked in a big Pharma Co we all know 

Her first job in our industry was a Medical Sales Rep. She loved it. Passed her ABPI exam with distinction. She delivered over and above, she was recognised. She was in the top performing 10% reps year after year. She was invited to present at ITCs, and new reps shadowed her. She was doing great. She was well trained and by year 2 or 3 she was at the top of her game. 

She waited politely for the next role, she waited for her potential to speak for itself, she waited to be asked to do the next thing. All the while she relentlessly produced and delivered the numbers and hit all her KPIs, she was very good at her job.

She stayed in the role for 8 years. You could say she was static for 6. 

Then due to big expansion plans and a new team build of KAMs she got the next role, of course she did, she had a great track record. The same pattern emerged, she was in that job for 8 years, she learned some new skills, updated her knowledge and she smashed it. She worked really hard. She worked harder than was necessary.

Good things come to those who wait right ?

Patience is a virtue, yes?

For 16 years she had no voice. She did not advocate for herself. This as not her fault she didn’t know it was a thing. She was a solid, reliable performer. She was also confused, frustrated and resentful. How was it that others who were not as skilled or 'good' as her were getting promoted after a couple of years? 

She assumed it was because she wasn’t quite good enough. So she worked harder, took on extra responsibilities and projects and ‘development opportunities’. She didn't need more work, she needed a voice, to advocate for herself, to see the bigger picture and really feel the truth of her worth and value. 

Again she waited to be picked, waited to be invited, waited to be given permission by another.

As we all know Pride comes before a fall, don’t get ahead of yourself, slow and steady wins the race, Rome wasn’t built in a day…………………………

Expansion and opportunity arrived in the form of a Trainer's job. She applied, she got the job. She was in the Head Office a lot of the time. It was really hard, completely new skills needed, she had a higher profile. She felt isolated and didn’t ask for help because she didn’t want to appear out of her depth or lacking in competence.

One evening she was working at the office until security asked her to leave… It was 9pm and she was so stressed out trying to produce a compliant set of slides and get them signed off. BUT the hard work paid off because that is what hard work does doesn't it ?

A sales manager’s job came up in her geography and she got it. At last! Woo Hoo, a leader, one of the bosses, brilliant. More money, better grade of car. It had only taken 17 years. Seventeen bloody years!

Was she ready for this job, yes.

Did she realise that what got her to this point was not what was needed to keep her there? No

A year later she and around 500 others were made redundant. After 18 years with next to no voice just hope and belief that if she worked hard enough they’ll find her. The effort expended, the tactics deployed would tell her story for her. Don’t brag Alison….

Could she have done this differently, hell yes. Did she know how, no, why? Because she believed the problem was her, she thought she knew how to get on, hard work and persistence and patience surely ?

Her belief that the problem was her meant that she kept searching for answers alone. She didn't ask for help, guidance, or support. It was her problem to fix. She had unconsciously built an identity of ‘ I am dependable, responsible and hard working.' She truly believed effort alone would lead to her fulfilling her potential. She was wrong.

She didn’t see herself as a leader, she waited for someone else to say she was one. 

Finding her voice meant learning about positioning and visibility and more. She had been trying to solve the wrong problem. She had the lock but the wrong key and no amount of jiggling in the lock would open it. 

Also she thought because she hadn't worked out what was actually needed to ‘get on’, things like being more visible, having more gravitas and greater presence, big vision, better boundaries, being smarter not working harder, all this meant she wasn’t ready. No one else was asking her to step up which meant they could see she wasn’t ready either. Or so she thought

This is why it is now my mission to change the way we as women in pharma and life science lead, and I mean all of us.

All of you reading this are leaders. At every level we lead ourselves and others. Do not confuse a job title with the need for us all to lead and lead well. 

The future is bright for us as long as we Work Like Women (not like men.) Not that this is wrong, it's just not optimal for many of us

Most of us need to learn what this Working like a Woman means and what it looks like and feels like.  How effective it is, the impact it can make and how endlessly sustainable it is. 

Alison knows this now and it has transformed her life at work and home - for the better!

It takes courage to step up and courage one of my favourite words, from the french word 'cour' which means  'from the heart'

I have a programme that does exactly this. It's called 'Start Flourishing' It has 12 x 75 minute sessions and is delivered 1:1 online.

It can transform your life at home and work, it gets you unstuck, it opens up your energy and increases your impact. Come and take your power back

Twelve sessions over three months for an investment of £1800. Message me if you'd like to know more (payment plans are available