International Day of Women and Girls in Science: Fostering STEM Careers for Women

As part of our coverage of theInternational Day of Women and Girls in Science, Pharmaceutical Technology® sat down with Agnes Cwienczek, director of Product Management at ArisGlobal, to talk about how women can be supported in the pharmaceutical industry and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

PharmTech: Is there sufficient investment in promoting STEM career paths for girls? Should the pharma industry invest in these types of promotions?

Cwienczek: A science-led, R&D-intensive pharmaceutical industry is host to a wealth of opportunities for STEM professionals, with a continuous upward trend, in my opinion. Looking at the ever-growing competitive and global environment, it seems to me to be crucial to further foster science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and careers to secure our technological growth and future innovation. While more and more pharma companies have established dedicated STEM programs and are fostering related career paths, men continue to outnumber women in this field across the globe, particularly at the higher levels.

It should be in our collective interest to invest further in these kind of promotions—not only for purposes of equality but also to capitalize on the skills and significant contributions made by women to science and research.

PharmTech: Artificial intelligence (AI) is a fast-growing technology in the pharmaceutical industry. Are there unique and specific skills and/or viewpoints women in STEM jobs bring to this area?

Cwienczek: Personally, I prefer not to gender-stereotype, but if pressed to emphasise specific areas, I would say women bring emotional intelligence, resilience, approach to problem-solving, critical thinking, [and] creativity. While some of these are perhaps less directly relevant to defining and developing AI-based solutions, they can be important to the implementation of those solutions within an organization.

PharmTech: How can access to grants for women scientists and to jobs for women working in STEM fields be increased and/or nurtured?

Cwienczek: I believe that everything starts at an early age. So early exposure to scientific options, early provision of opportunities, as well as continuous encouragement and support while we learn, study and grow along the way, are essential.

Secondly creating a supportive workplace is vital, with active promotion, by example. Also, ensuring a degree of flexibility and allowance for a heathy work-family balance—though this is not relevant only for STEM fields.

It’s worth noting that this is viewpoint is from someone who grew up and lives in Europe. The situation might look different in developing countries, where access to education is hindered by limitations with funding or other resources, so that financial support becomes key.

Click the video above to watch the full interview.

About the speaker

Agnes Cwienczek, director of Product Management at ArisGlobal

Agnes Cwienczek is director of Product Management at ArisGlobal, specializing in Regulatory Information Management, Document Management, Submission Management, and Labeling Management.