The Indian pharmaceutical industry has a solid presence in the global pharma industry, being the biggest supplier of generic drugs across the world. Despite the industry showing rapid progress and development, women's participation has always been dismal. The industry has a meagre 7.69% of women executive directors. However, with studies highlighting the advantages of women in positions of authority and a more prominent push towards gender uniformity, things are taking a turn for the good.
Current scenario and trend
Generally, men dominated working environments have not been obliging to women. Be it related to child care within the workplace, working hours’ flexibility or safety, women were not supported, encouraged or made to believe that they have the equal capability to handle tasks as men. On top of that, there is a scarcity of leadership pipelines that'll encourage women to occupy senior positions as leaders.
The majority of the recruitment occurs at the entry level, which indicates that it will take a long time for the pharmaceutical industry in the country to have women leaders. The focus is on entry and mid-level recruitment, which makes it imperative to take adequate measures to hire women for senior levels and develop leadership strength.
However, owing to the constant focus on gender diversity in the pharmaceutical industry, things are slowly beginning to change. Skill development councils training institutes, as well as organisations, are bracing up to reduce the demand-supply gap by including more women in the pharma sector. Skill enhancement councils like the LSSSDC (Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council) are working in collaboration with the industry and academia to nurture industry-ready candidates.
Trends like women being made a part of the field force of various pharmaceutical companies are taking place as corporates collaborate with institutes to foster talent and some companies are also resorting to recruiting women candidates through in-house assessment centres.
Women who paved the way in the pharma industry for others to follow their footsteps:
Zahabiya Khorakiwala, MD, Wockhardt Hospitals: She has played an immense role towards making Wockhardt Hospitals Rs 250 crore business. In 2010, she entered as a director of Wockhardt Hospitals, right after the completion of her post-graduation. Similar to most mothers, Zahabiya also had to deal with numerous challenges in her life while balancing work and personal life. However, that didn't stop her from pursuing her dream. She learned every aspect of the business and remoulded it from a tertiary healthcare provider to a quaternary healthcare provider. She plans to capitalise on the opportunity that the high cost of healthcare in the country coupled with low bed count offers and is intent on opening more speciality hospitals across India.
Samina Vaziralli, Executive Director, Cipla: She is the granddaughter of Cipla's founder, Dr KA Hamied and is credited for the rapid growth of the 75-year-old pharma company. As a mother of two, she is well aware of the struggles women face while maintaining a work-life balance. To assist women to manage their personal as well as professional demands, Samina brought huge changes in the way women employees are taken care of in the organisation. Up to 50 per cent of Cipla’s management council is constituted by women.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Founder and Chairperson, Biocon Limited: Regarded as one of the top and most influential women entrepreneurs in India, Kiran is the founder of the country's largest biopharmaceutical firm – Biocon. Established in 1978, Biocon today has emerged as India’s largest biotech giant and Asia’s largest producer of insulin. It is for her relentless efforts to produce, manufacture and supply life-saving biopharmaceuticals at prices that are affordable and accessible to people, she has been honoured with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan award.
There is no reason to believe that women cannot make their mark in the pharmaceutical industry. Even though things were different when the industry was first established in the country but a lot has changed over the years. In order to bridge the gender gap within the pharma industry, there is an urgent need to create a culture that advocates diversity and inclusion. Some organisations have already stepped up their efforts and it won't be long before women will have the same representation in the pharma workforce as men.
Written by Anjula Masurkar, Clinical Director, ENTOD Pharmaceutical
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