Gender Pay Inequity

Press Release

10/3/2024

For more information:
Rebecca Stauffer
AAPS Communications Manager
[email protected]

Four AAPS Authors Address Gender Pay Inequity in the Pharmaceutical Sciences
Research Paper Published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Arlington, VA— Within the pharmaceutical sciences, gender pay inequity is worse at later career stages, though there are proactive steps women can take to reach their full potential and pay equity.

This was the finding of a commentary written by AAPS Executive Director Tina Morris, Ph.D.; AAPS Board member Cynthia A. Oksanen, Ph.D.; AAPS member Adeola O. Coker, Ph.D., who will join the Board in October; and AAPS Content Manager Kristen Kalmann.

The paper, “Is Access to Leadership Roles Contributing to the Gender Pay Gap in the Pharmaceutical Sciences?”, has been published by the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences as an invited Special Topic Commentary.

Using data from multiple sources, including the annual AAPS Salary Survey, the authors identified some potential causes of pay inequity in later career stages for women. The paper concludes with recommendations for addressing gender pay inequity, such as identifying a senior leader to act as a sponsor/advocate within an organization and avoiding taking on too many non-promotable tasks.

“Reading the literature on the gender pay gap opened my eyes to the opportunities available for achieving gender parity in the pharmaceutical sciences,” Dr. Coker said. “These include serving as a mentor or sponsor or advocating for institutional practices that reduce the gender pay gap. Working on this paper, also helped me reflect on what I can do to assess and work towards parity for myself.”

The article is open access for 90 days following its September 10 publication date.

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American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit association of more than 7,000 scientists and professionals employed in academia, industry, regulatory, and other research related to the pharmaceutical sciences worldwide. Its mission is to advance the capacity of pharmaceutical scientists to develop products and therapies that improve global health, which members pursue through four peer-reviewed journals and a variety of events in person and online. www.aaps.org