LEADING THE WAY:
How women are redefining pharmacy leadership
Women make up around 63% of the UK pharmacist workforce, yet this representation is not reflected in positions of influence. Just 36% of senior pharmacy leaders are women and only 2% are pharmacy owners.
The figures raise important questions about barriers preventing women from progressing into the highest levels of pharmacy. Yet things are starting to change, across the profession women are creating their own opportunities and reshaping what leadership looks like. Networks and grassroots mentoring communities are championing gender equity by providing support, visibility and development opportunities for aspiring leaders. Rather than waiting for change, women across pharmacy are increasingly taking it into their own hands by building supportive communities, challenging traditional career pathways and demonstrating that leadership comes in many forms. We spoke to two Scottish pharmacists involved in this work.
Susan Patterson is the owner of Argyll Pharmacy in Lochgilphead. She was one of more than 60 female community pharmacists, pharmacy leaders and pharmacy technicians from across the UK who attended a recent event at the House of Lords for the NPA’s Women in Community Pharmacy reception. The event was held to celebrate the vital contribution women make to healthcare and local communities every day.
Hosted by Baroness Redfern, the reception brought together influential voices from across pharmacy, Parliament and healthcare to recognise the achievements of women working throughout community pharmacy and to encourage the next generation of female leaders.
Susan said she had been surprised by the disproportionate number of women in senior and leadership roles. “It was a privilege to be in a room with so many inspirational and motivated female pharmacy professionals. Preet Kaur Gill MP, Minister for Health Innovation and Safety, described how women take action and get the job done and naturally fulfil a role that is nurturing and caring. So, applying this to our profession, we are efficient at what we do and better placed to understand the care for the needs of others. It is imperative to have a seat at the table to have a say in what is required in terms of female health and how budgets should be spent to have the biggest impact,” she said.
Providing a Platform
SUSAN PATTERSON, IS THE OWNER OF ARGYLL PHARMACY IN LOCHGILPHEAD
She added that these type of events matter to the profession as they are not only a celebration, they are a platform to continue to promote the capabilities of women working in the pharmacy sector and harness the enthusiasm and desire to improve health and wellbeing in the communities they serve, listen to their ideas and work collaboratively to make improvements.
Susan said things were changing and moving in the right direction. When she first qualified, almost 25 years ago the Scottish Chief Pharmaceutical Officer and Associate Director of Pharmacy at her healthboard were male, but the two that followed were female.
“I am unsure if these changes are indicative across all healthboards but there has certainly been a change in my area,” she said.
AYSHA AHMED IS A PHARMACIST BASED IN SCOTLAND AND A MEMBER OF THE FEMALE PHARMACY LEADERS NETWORK.
“I think some sort of mentoring programme would be useful, using experienced pharmacists to help navigate and support the younger generation to give them the confidence and capability to represent the profession more proportionately.
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Susan said if she could give her younger self some advice it would be: “Surround yourself with those who inspire you, watch and learn, ask questions, take advice, take the chance, you are your only limitation.”
Supporting Women’s Health
At the event speakers highlighted the unique role of community pharmacy in supporting women's health, from prevention to early intervention. Susan believes the opportunities in women’s health are vast, ranging from contraception, planning for pregnancy, symptom control in endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome and menopause.
“Providing care through each stage of life will build improvements in their health, wellbeing and lifestyle which will then be carried on through each generation so simply focusing on one would be a short term gain,” she said.
Speaking at the event was pharmacist Sukhi Basra who spoke passionately about the important role community pharmacy teams can play in recognising and supporting victims of domestic abuse, something that Susan has had some experience of dealing with in her own pharmacy.
“I treat all my patients with the same level of respect no matter who they are. I have found the travelling community use my services far more than seeking help from other healthcare professionals as they don't see me as authoritative. I always engage with children so when they grow up they know the pharmacy is a friendly, safe place to come if they ever need help.
“As we are accessible six days a week, and no appointment is necessary, it is important that people know that we can be used as a route to the right help and support for wider public health issues. But again the infrastructure has to be available for us to signpost to the most appropriate services which sometimes is sadly lacking,” said Susan.
She went on to say that engagement like the Westminster event was needed to recognise what community pharmacies already do and see how much more it was capable of delivering.
“There are many motivated, enthusiastic pharmacists out there who care deeply for their communities. They have the skills and knowledge to support in building a healthier nation but are under utilised.
“We need more collaborative working, an efficient IT infrastructure, access to patient notes and timely and appropriate remuneration for services. Community pharmacy makes a massive impact on the nation's health on a daily basis, not just through medicine supply, but there is so much more potential to be unlocked.”
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