Celebration of women in pharmacy

Our inclusion and diversity focus for this month has been on gender equality.

Starting on International Women’s Day, we launched Celebrating women in pharmacy, a new online exhibition from our brilliant RPS Museum. It tells the fascinating stories of women who helped create the profession we know today.  

We’ve had four fantastic livestream events with inspiring speakers facing up the challenges they’ve experienced as women pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in science, in technology and digital health and as leaders in our profession. We’ve also reflected on the impact of the pandemic on gender equality and the extra issues women have faced as carers during Covid-19.

We’ve posted some brilliant blogs too. Chief Executive Paul Bennett explained his view that ‘there's a moral obligation on leaders to promote equality of gender”, whilst Chair of our Advanced Pharmacist Assessment Panel Ramandeep Kaur Sandhu highlighted how women can overcome challenges to achieve a goal of leadership. The unique Viv Ryan took us on her life journey and how she became a 60 year old pharmacy student.

RPS President Sandra Gidley talked to two amazing women as part of her PrezCast series of interviews. Professor Jayne Lawrence MBE, Head of Pharmacy and Optometry at the University of Manchester, discussed her career and how there’s still a lack of senior women leaders in science. Victoria Rutter, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association, explained how she came to her position of leadership and what it’s like creating change in pharmacy across the Commonwealth.

However, further progress needs to be made in ensuring we have true gender equality, in particular from an intersectional view, across the profession. Join our Action in Belonging, Culture and Diversity group and help us shape the future for pharmacy. Got a question? Find out more about our inclusion and diversity work or get in touch via [email protected]