iSpeak Blog

Host a Women in Pharma Discussion Event

Stephanie K. Thatcher
Women in Pharma Breakfast Panel 2019 FOF Conference

We provide a complete toolkit for you to easily host a successful event

The Women in Pharma® toolkit is ready to help you host an event for your ISPE affiliate or chapter. Incredible events with thought-provoking topics have already been hosted across the United States, Ireland, and Singapore. We have seen topics that cover career development, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, productivity and innovation, and the rewards of mentoring.

Most recently at the 2018 ISPE Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Conference in Huntington Beach, CA, Women in Pharma hosted a roundtable breakfast discussion entitled “Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” Last week, we hosted a successful Women in Pharma "Powerful Leadership" Discussion Panel at the 2019 ISPE Facilities of the Future Conference in San Francisco, CA. 5 Powerful Leaders and over 100 attendees came together to discuss the pursuit, requirements, and preparation for leadership roles in our industry today.


  • Audience img 1
  • Audience img2
  • Audience img3
  • Panel img4
  • Speakers img5
  • Speakers img 6
  • Panel img 7
  • Volunteer img 8

The Women in Pharma® toolkit provides you a complete checklist and timetable for an easy step-by-step guide for hosting a panel discussion. It provides sample communications and document templates. The Women in Pharma® toolkit also provides the visual guidelines established by ISPE to be used for any and all marketing materials to use for any promotion. And finally, the toolkit also defines the infamous Button Fundraising program.

Below are all the links to the complete Women in Pharma® toolkit so you can get started with planning your next event in blue (Note: an ISPE login is required to access). A description is provided for a quick reference.

General Resources

  • Brochure
    The Brochure is the guiding document for the Women in Pharma® toolkit. It provides an easy to follow guideline and with one click you access the live documents, templates, and samples. Just look for the underlined blue titles and click to download the related document for your own use.

  • Affiliate Chapter Policies
    Defines the ISPE Women in Pharma® policies for affiliates and chapters.

  • Button Fundraising Program
    Provides an overview of the ISPE Women in Pharma® Button Fundraising Program; the goals, the steps, and contact information for more information.

Panel Discussion Resources

  • Panel Discussion Planning Checklists
    The Panel Discussion Planning Checklist provides an Excel template to define all steps to host a panel discussion and a proposed timeline. Links to supporting templates and samples is provided. In addition, a separate tab for logistics is included to make sure everything will be in place to support your event.

  • Five Steps to a Great Panel LinkedIn Article
    The “Five Steps to a Great Panel” was published on LinkedIn by Joanne Kamens and is recommended to read as you start planning your first panel discussion event.

  • Panel Discussion Samples
    The Panel Discussion Samples includes questions for a panel discussion, an abstract, key takeaways, bio for a panel speaker, and ideas for a social media posting to promote your event.

  • Panel Discussion List Templates
    The Panel Discussion List Templates include an attendee list and a list format for notes, key takeaways, suggestions and lessons learned recommended for future panel discussions.

  • Panel Discussion Presentation Template
    The Panel Discussion Presentation Template is a powerpoint slide deck to get you started.

  • Panel Discussion Invite and Thank You Templates
    The Panel Discussion Invite and Thank You Templates are proposed email communications to invite attendees, request a moderator and panelists to participate, and thank you communications to all attendees, moderators, and panelists.

  • Skills Matrix
    The Skills Matrix identifies all the skills of Women in Pharma members. This is a growing list that initially includes the first 10 members which will be expanded. So far, 86 skills are defined. It also rates the skill level, 1=Some Experience, 2=Done Some Project Work, 3=Experienced, and 4=Subject Matter Expert (SME). This will be a great resource to identify panelists and speakers as well as matching mentors up with other ISPE members.

Marketing Resources

  • Flyer
    Sample Flyer for the ISPE Women in Pharma group.

  • General Marketing Presentation
    The General Marketing Presentation provides an introduction about Women in Pharma, including sections for About, Button Program, Organization, and Events.

  • Logo
    The ISPE Women in Pharma official logo to be used in accordance with the ISPE Visual Guidelines.

  • Photos
    Sample photos available for use. Note: these images are low resolution for web usage. If high resolutions images are needed, please reach out to Tracey Ryan.

  • Visual Guidelines
    This document is intended for all those who use the ISPE visual identity in communications and supporting documents. Instructions provided in this guide will ensure consistency in the use of the branding elements throughout ISPE’s communication tools.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about this toolkit or have recommendations to improve these tools.

In addition to the tool, the Women in Pharma are interested in developing a mentor circles program and would like to gauge your interest. Mentor circles are a way to promote growing relationships and career development for women scientists and engineers in the pharmaceutical industry. These circles will consist of 10–15 people who will meet roughly four times per year either in-person or via teleconference. One to two of the people will function in the mentor role. When a mentor circle meets, they will spend time networking and discussing a relevant career advancement topic with a guest speaker (who may be a mentor or invited participant).

The discussion topics will rotate throughout the year based on speaker knowledge and feedback from group members about challenges they may be facing.

Please complete the survey by 28 February. Thank you in advance for your feedback!

We look forward to using the Women in Pharma Toolkit to host tremendous events around the world in 2019 and your feedback on mentoring circles.