The gender gap in the life sciences and healthcare sector: status, challenges and recommendations

The gender gap is clear in aspects like salaries, permanent contracts, unemployment, access to executive positions, and workplace participation. Female employment is more susceptible to being impacted by recessions and is benefited by times of economic expansion, so if we don’t encourage women to study technical degrees, their presence in the industry could decline. 

Biocat drafted this report for the Catalan Ministry of Equality and Feminisms under the framework of the PNI 2022-2025. The report falls under the PNI measure, which seeks to carry out a participatory process on the impact of gender on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, identifying both the challenges and the opportunities and good practices for women in the sector. The goals are to describe the situation of women in the sector, identify good practices, carry out a participative process with key stakeholders, draft an action plan, and act as a driving force for the companies and stakeholders involved.