Women in Pharma® Editorial: The Return of In-Person Events Brings a Personal Touch
Over the last two years, ISPE’s Women in Pharma® (WIP) initiative remained undeterred in its mission to connect women throughout the global pharmaceutical industry. Through virtual engagement opportunities—including book clubs, Mentor Circles, webinars, and Sunrise to Sunset events—Women in Pharma® has continued to create a forum for women to engage and inspire professional and personal development.
In recent months, life for many of us has taken a turn for the better. Slowly but surely, we’ve welcomed back a sense of normalcy and found ourselves with the deepest sense of appreciation, understanding what a privilege it is to be together once again. With this deep sense of gratitude guiding us, we’ve wasted no time in leveling up our ISPE’s Women in Pharma® programming efforts.
New Initiatives
Under the leadership of Tanya Sharma, an ISPE’s Women in Pharma® Steering Committee Member, we piloted the Think Tank concept at the 2022 ISPE Facility of the Future Conferences in February. This interactive, fully immersive concept is the latest ISPE’s Women in Pharma® initiative and is meant to elevate and influence intellectual strength and leadership for pharmaceutical industry professionals of all backgrounds.
At the 2022 ISPE Biotechnology Conference, ISPE’s Women in Pharma® sponsored an important panel discussion and workshop that successfully allowed for collaboration, synergy, and real-world problem-solving. A post on the iSpeak blog on 7 July provides a recap.
Delving further into real-world problem-solving, we doubled down on ISPE’s Women in Pharma®’s mission to bridge gender, cultural, and geographic barriers with our latest webinar, “Imperatives for Actionable Inclusion: Opportunities in the Workplace.” Held on 14 June 2022, the webinar was moderated by Women in Pharma® Steering Committee Chair Jennifer Lauria Clark and included a conversation with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) experts Heather Rae Martin and Mishaune Sawyer. The webinar touched on DEI within the workplace as it applies to gender orientation, race, and unconscious biases.
Annual Meeting
We continue to prepare for the 2022 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo in Orlando, Florida, on 30 October–2 November. ISPE’s Women in Pharma® will be hosting a professional development workshop entitled “Career Connections—Developing your Personal Brand” on 30 October.
This session will be led by Phil Gerbyshak, a LinkedIn Sales Trainer, sales expert, and talk show host of “The Sales and Leadership Show” on sales, leadership, and digital strategies and Kara Kirby, a leadership consultant, CEO of the Insights Leadership group, and podcast host of “Pop! On Leadership.” The immersive, hands-on workshop will teach attendees how to evolve as a leader and develop their personal brand, including taking their personal LinkedIn profile to the next level. You’ll discover how to create psychological safety allowing you to pursue your leadership potential, expand your confidence, and hone communication skills. We will explore the key components of psychological safety to establish authenticity, allowing for inclusivity to drive a more powerful work experience.
We’ll also be hosting other networking events throughout the week including an evening event on 31 October and Morning Yoga on 1 November. These will be great opportunities to connect with new and old friends while recharging.
As we close out the year, we look forward to 2023 with high hopes and continued focus to elevate and empower women in the pharmaceutical industry worldwide. We encourage you to stay up to date with the latest ISPE’s Women in Pharma® initiatives through our quarterly e-newsletter, The Bridge, where we provide important recaps and future engagements.
Vivianne J. Arencibia is Vice President, Global Quality Systems and Compliance, at Moderna, Co-chair of Women in Pharma®, and a member of the ISPE International Board of Directors and the ISPE Foundation Board. She has been an ISPE member since 1991.
We look forward to 2023 with high hopes and continued focus to elevate and empower women in the pharmaceutical industry worldwide.
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