When I wrote this newsletter, I was sitting on a flight from Chicago heading back to Boston. It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and I was decked out in a shamrock shirt, six green bracelets, and bright green shamrock socks, barely peeking out of my conservative black Hokas. I am NOT typically that girl, but here I am.

The purpose of my trip to Chicago was to hang out with two of my sisters and fully experience St. Patrick’s Day Chicago style. (Yes, I know Boston has a truly competitive event, but it does not dye the Charles River green or have a sister who will curate a perfectly grown-up experience – no BORGs for this crew.)

The lens I am tasked to write about as a female leader/entrepreneur is Women’s History Month. So please hang in there with me as I tortuously connect these two topics…

As regular readers of this newsletter will know, I have reflected on challenges in leadership, toxic work environments, mentoring, momtoring (mothers who mentor), and the evolution of our roles as female leaders in biopharma and beyond.

When I first began to think about an angle on Women’s History Month 2025, I had a feeling similar to the one I had 91 newsletters ago when we first started to tackle the topic of commercialization in biopharma. What could I offer on this topic?, my self-doubting inner dialogue asked. There is so much amazing content already. What can I possibly say that is meaningful? To that end, I am following the advice I received over the past seven years of publishing these newsletters: write about what is meaningful to you (or, in this case, me).

As women in biopharma leadership, we know…

… we have come so far, and still have a way to go to achieve diversity of all types

… some fields are incredibly balanced, and some are embarrassingly behind (VC, PE, commercial real estate, investment banking – you know who you are)

… some leadership levels have strong representation, and some (C-suite) are not yet representative enough

… some men still don’t get it – and some women are not helping the cause

I am optimistic, though. I am often in meetings that are more balanced in male-female participation – sometimes, they are 100% women. This is incredible and still remarkable – and remark I do. Just ask my team as they roll their eyes when I say, “Do you know how remarkable it is that this meeting is all women or mostly women or all women in leadership?

So, as we reflect on Women’s History Month and today’s environment, it makes sense to ask ourselves, what is our responsibility now?

  • Should we focus on increasing the ranks of more women in all these positions, especially in biopharma?
  • Should we focus on strengthening our power and voice?
  • Should we lift others who are coming up the ranks with a specific focus on those who may not have the same opportunities (e.g., Project Onramp)?

My answer to all of that is a resounding YES! In my view, this is a continuation of the incredible work three-plus generations that I can see have been doing: the one before mine, mine, and the one after.

More Work to Be Done

But I don’t believe it is sufficient. As female leaders, drivers, and nurturers, we can accomplish more. We need to expand our pool of supportive, caring, and badass leadership talent to assist young women AND men emerging in their careers.

Over the past decade (throughout the five years leading up to COVID and the five years since), young people have experienced significant setbacks. This challenge is not confined to women alone. Our industry requires diverse talent: scientists, medical professionals, businesspeople, investors, marketing specialists, service providers, technical experts, introverts, extroverts, and more.

We must recognize this demand and work hard to identify those individuals who can contribute, giving them a voice. We also need to ensure that young men have the space to acknowledge their vulnerabilities while mentoring them to work in a professional world that is likely different than the one their fathers worked in when they were young.

The St. Paddy’s Day Event

My sister had reserved a table overlooking the green river, with a lovely buffet and limitless sparkling toasts to the season. But we arrived 90 minutes late for our reservation due to an Uber snafu where we were dropped off on the wrong side of the river. Lo’ and behold, Chicago’s finest WOULD NOT BUDGE to let some cute middle-aged biopharma sisters cross the river to get to the hotel that was “literally just over there.” The resulting run through the throngs of green-attired people of all shapes and sizes wearing my Hokas and green socks is not the point of the story, but it was memorable and makes me chuckle every time I think about it.

Once we arrived and told literally EVERYONE about our drama, our table was still available, and calm set in. After about an hour, one of the young people at the table beside us leaned over and asked, Why were you so late? We were thinking you would never get here.

Well, that started the repeat of the story all over again. We soon became a party of six vs. a party of three, and, OF COURSE, in a world of minimal degrees of separation, one of the young men at the table next to us happened to be a biopharma consultant – commercialization no less – working for one of the big Boston firms and having worked in well-known biopharma companies before that.

It was clear he was torn meeting a table of three biopharma leaders. Should he hide the green hash marks from all the drinks he had already consumed, or should he “be professional and network?” We assured him no one wanted to work that day. Nonetheless, I found his intrigue, drive, and eagerness to learn more from us especially charming!

As we spent more time together and another round of the signature margaritas arrived, he and his husband shared their story. They came from Mexico, had green cards, hoped to grow in their careers, and were building their savings so they could help their families back home. They plan to return to Mexico in five years. Fascinating on all levels.

As I participated in this scene while watching it from the wider aperture of Women’s History Month, I found myself energized by the incredible talents my sisters (family and broader network) have to share with the young generation of professionals, both women and men. They need us to help them navigate both the stated and unstated career paths ahead of them. At the same time, I worry our industry will struggle to achieve its vision to deliver innovative therapies for patients unless we see the new obstacles for this generation, work to break the obstacles down and provide trusted, supportive guidance to help them.  

To those who ask, why is it the role of women to take this on, especially since more work is needed to further establish women in leadership roles?

My answer is…because we can!