Women in Pharma: Reflections from Behind the Scenes

In this instalment of our monthly series, the team that brings you the Women in Pharma series each month sits down for a heart-to-heart on what the series means to them, and how they hope to continue their work in the future. 

Xie: Sofia, I’m wondering what the most memorable part of working on this series has been for you. After all, you were the one who came up with the idea and have seen it from its very inception. 

Martinez: I think the most memorable part is just starting. We all need to start somewhere, and this series was the first stepping stone towards implementing a diversity programme at CPHI. We wanted to start a diversity initiative, so we started online. It’s like the first stone when building a house, or a path. Women in Pharma started all of the DE&I initiatives we have now at CPHI. I think another memorable part of the whole series is, of course, the women who have participated. You learn everything about them and their work and it is so inspiring.   

Xie: So Women in Pharma came first? Or did the Diversity & Wellbeing track come first? Or was it all together? 

Martinez: Women in Pharma came first. My first day at this job was the first day of CPHI Frankfurt in 2022. That for me was a bit of a shock, as I had no experience with the pharmaceutical industry. After coming back, our manager mentioned she wanted to do a video series of women in pharma so I thought, wouldn’t it be nice for us to really push this? She was already doing these videos with the marketing department, and the conversation sparked from there. We have a tab on CPHI Online for sustainability, why don’t we have one for diversity as well? My manager then mentioned if we could have a Women in Pharma series of interviews and that’s how it started. We didn’t want this to just be an online initiative, so we reflected this at the CPHI events. We decided to push for the first ever diversity event at CPHI Barcelona in 2023, and the rest is history. 

Xie: I remember when our manager asked if we could work on the series together and I definitely felt that there was a great chance here to start something new at CPHI and on CPHI Online. From an online series to a whole theatre dedicated to Diversity and Wellbeing, it’s quite a testament to the impact of the work on not only the pharmaceutical industry but also the events industry. 

Martinez: How did it feel for you to work on diversity-related projects alongside your work on more industry-focused work? How have you seen your work change or evolve? 

Xie: It’s great getting to put a spotlight on the people within the pharmaceutical industry. A lot of my work focuses on the technical aspects of the supply chain, drug development and manufacturing, and such. But the people who drive the industry forward are incredible, and especially writing about the women behind some of the most innovative projects is great. For me, it’s exciting to learn about and from all these women. 

Martinez: I think that’s one of the nice things about this series – we don’t just focus on the technical expertise behind the pharmaceutical industry, but we also focus on the broader pharmaceutical value chain. We’ve had interviews from HR professionals and the wonderful things they do to support and encourage women from all walks of life to advance their careers. We also have people who work in regulatory in regions like Africa, and a whole spectrum of women at work. That’s the beautiful thing about this series. 

Xie:  I learn so much not just about the women we interview, but also about the wider pharmaceutical industry – the different jobs and roles available and all the great initiatives companies have put in place to advance DE&I in their workplace. What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned during this series? 

Martinez: I take little nuggets of wisdom out of each interview we do. I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned from the women in this series is to not stay silent. For example, Alaina Kupec discussed her work pushing for trans rights, or the interviews with HR executives pushing the industry forward by hiring women from all walks of life. These women raise their voices to fight for others, they don’t stay silent. The inspiration I got from these women is the biggest thing I learned from series as it helps me in my work life.  

Xie: And we’re going to see more of this inspiration at other CPHI shows, right? 

Martinez: Definitely. Like I said, this series was the stepping stone. We now have Diversity & Wellbeing programmes at other CPHI shows such as Pharmapack, CPHI North America, and the most recent one will be at CPHI Middle East in Riyadh. We have one full theatre dedicated to women in pharma and how to empower women. It’s great to give a platform where women have the freedom to be heard, and it’s wonderful to see not just women but everybody participating at these sessions. Hopefully, we can see this theatre expand to other CPHI shows in India, China, South Korea, and more. 

Xie: Leading on from that, how do you see the women in pharma series going forward in the future? 

Martinez: Hopefully we can make it a little bit more dynamic. We’ve done a lot of articles and interviews, and the series is definitely picking up speed. I would love to do in-person interviews, either at our events or elsewhere, on camera or with a podcast. On a broader scope, I would like to see a more global representation for women in pharma, expanding on my previous hope to see this initiative develop worldwide. 

Xie: I remember speaking to our manager and she asked me this question, and I said it’s great that the articles are getting a lot of attention, but from an editorial perspective, it would be so wonderful to expand the type of content we produce, and where. Whether it’s a webinar, a podcast, or a video series, it would be great to meet these women in-person to deliver great content. I guess this interview is different, giving our audience an insight into who actually produces this series. 

Martinez: Exactly! We’re women and we’re working, we should spotlight ourselves too. 

Xie: Definitely! All jokes aside, is there anything else you hope for with this series? 

Martinez: I hope that the series motivates or ignites other people's passion. We have the privilege to have a platform to push initiatives like the Women in Pharma Series forward. Even if it causes one person to reach out about something they are working on, or triggers someone to begin their own diversity initiative at their workplace, then it demonstrates that series has a real-world impact.  

Do you have a story to tell about diversity? If you'd be interested in being featured in our Women in Pharma series, please reach out to [email protected]