Closing the Gap on Gender Parity in the Workforce

In 2016, the World Economic Forum estimated it would take 83 years to achieve parity in the workplace on a global scale, and in its 2017 Global Gender Gap Report, the estimate increased to 100 years.

Global business leaders have long debated how to accelerate and sustain gender parity throughout our industry. While we’ve made progress—with millions spent annually on diversity & inclusion initiatives—we believe the rate and pace of positive change could and should be better.

Medidata is proud to join the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) as a founding member of the Gender Parity Collaborative, along with 11 other companies like Celgene, Sanofi, and Advanced Clinical who share our sentiments and are equally committed to advancing the influence and impact of women in life sciences.

The Collaborative will accomplish its goals primarily through:

• Benchmarking—collect, analyze and track data and perceptions that feed industry or company performance, in partnership with McKinsey & Co.
• Gender Parity Council—define strategic priorities in line with our goals and business results
• Solution Summits—meet with all leaders to share and evaluate proposed solutions  

Far beyond just talk, the HBA Gender Parity Collaborative is an interactive, passionate consortium of companies taking an active role in achieving parity via real systemic change.

I am proud and excited that Medidata is a founding member of this industry-wide initiative. We believe that diversity and equality in the workplace are catalysts for deeper growth and discovery. Ultimately, the HBA Gender Parity Collaborative is a bold industry commitment that will amplify our collective gender parity actions and open new doors for future leaders.

Read more about the Collaborative at genderparity.hbanet.org