Some of India's largest pharma companies are spearheaded by women, and yet reports suggest that women make up just about 11 percent of the pharmaceutical industry, something the industry is now actively trying to change.

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Cipla for instance is targeting 20 percent gender diversity by 2024. As part of CNBC-TV18's on-going campaign "Future Female Forward: A Women's Collective", Shilpa Ranipeta of CNBC-TV18 reported from Cipla's Baddi plant that a big driver of that change will be breaking stereotypes and getting rid of unconscious bias.

Surrounded by quant villages and towns, most of the residents in Baddi area are land owners. They prefer agriculture or working in local banks and schools. In such a socioeconomic setup, working day-long jobs that involve travel, especially for women, has never been encouraged. But that is changing.

21-year-old Suman Lata is the first woman from her village Malpur in Himachal Pradesh's Baddi Tehsil to work for a large corporate house. The job has meant that she has been financially independent for over a year and has become a key contributor to her family's income. She is a part of Cipla's Neev program, which allows students to study pharmacy at BITS Pilani while working at the company.

Lata said, "When we started here, there were no female operator or engineer. It's not true that women can only do documentation work, we can also run machines. I thought I couldn't do it earlier but I am telling you today I can do it."

The financial independence from such jobs goes beyond helping women run their households. It has made dreams for many women, a reality. Renuka Gautam, for instance, has been able to buy herself a car and land.

Gautam who works at Cipla's Baddi Plant as lead of packaging said, "Financial independence means a lot for me. I saved a lot of money and bought land and bought a Fortuner car which is very valuable for me. I am proud to say yes I have purchased all those things."

Cipla has 13 packaging lines operated entirely by women across its manufacturing units including Baddi, Sikkim and Goa. The company said this has become possible because it has given these women the option to study while they work.

Geena Malhotra, Global Chief Technology Officer at Cipla said, "We have curated a lot of educational diploma, as well as now, graduation programs, for both women and men. But that is an opportunity that women continue to pursue their education while they are working. That in itself encourages women to come forward and, and take up a job."

Also Read: Future Female Forward | 50-60% of trainees hired in last couple of years are women: Nestle India

Raju Mistry, President & GCPO at Cipla said, "Even in the pharma industry, for example, field force - traditionally stereotyped to be an area where you often find men, and even a lot of women have actually very successfully broken that stereotype and actually risen the levels. So more and more pharma companies are actually doing that. It's a slow process, it's a journey."

Women-friendly policies are helping. Case in point, Cipla's Flexi Field Days policy which gives female sales executives a better chance to balance their home and work life... and its Women@Cipla platform that allows female employees to connect with their peers, share ideas, and network beyond work. But women empowerment exercises are incomplete without support from male colleagues -- and to this end, Cipla has been conducting workshops for its mid-level and senior leaders to get rid of unconscious bias. Creating an inclusive and equitable work environment for all employees, the company believes, is the best way to create a future that puts women employees first.

First Published:Mar 31, 2023 10:01 PM IST