Diversity in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

According to Universum Communications and THE BLACK COLLEGIAN’s report “The Top 100 Diversity Employers 2006” healthcare surpasses financial services as the most popular industry among diverse students overall. Healthcare was also determined to be the top industry among undergraduate students.

Undergraduates listed top pharmaceutical companies including Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Mayo Clinic, Glaxo Smith Kline and Merck in the top 40 desired companies. Pharma companies that were on the top 100 list in previous years have moved up in preference. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals rose in undergrad preference from 186th to 64th, Eli Lilly from 95th to 80th, Novartis from 140th to 130th and Roche from 154th to 140th. Even newcomers that were not ranked the previous year such as Hospira, Bayer and Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America made it in the top 200 list.

So what is causing diverse students to migrate towards the healthcare industry and hold a better opinion of pharma companies as potential employers?

These are conditions explored in a recently posted feature article on the Healthcare Channel, Diverse Talent Recognizes Pharma’s Efforts to Create More Diverse Workforce. This guest contribution presents the insider's perspective of Kristin Rand, JD, Director of Education Strategy in the Professional Education Support Department for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Her exploration, focusing particularly but not exlcusively on the representation of women in the industry, thoughtfully examines the benefits of diversity to industry organizations -- both to the customers and to the organizations. It also examines how smaller, more nimble companies in the biotechnology sector are succeeding in raising the representation of women in their ranks, and how Big Pharma -- despite its strides -- can still learn a thing or two from these companies.

The feature appears on both the Healthcare Industry Careers Channel and the Pharmaceutical Industry Channel at IMDiversity.