You may have heard how bleak the numbers of high-ranking female executives are in the pharmaceutical industry - only 8 percent of corporate officers are women - but it's refreshing to hear from one woman who has made it to the top and is willing to speak candidly about what it takes.
Tamar Howson, the first woman to be named to SmithKline Beecham's (SB) corporate management team, fits this bill. Howson is SB's SVP and director of worldwide business and corporate development and has decision-making influence in all sectors of the company, including pharmaceuticals and consumer healthcare. Last month, she was named "Woman of the Year" by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) and will be honored in New York April 14 at the organization's annual award luncheon.
Howson shared with HPRMN her career strategies for boosting the low representation of women in top pharmaceutical positions, but her advice has application for women in any healthcare field. She advocates possessing career passion and finding the right work/family balance. She can be reached at 215/751-6510.
HPRMN: What are some of the perceptions about women you have to overcome to get your job done?
TH: I think that if you respect your "opponents," they tend to respect you. There might be a need initially to impress your colleagues that you do know what you are talking about and that you will not crumble under pressure.
HPRMN: What are some of the key career skills and business strategies women have to develop and/or master to advance to the executive ranks?
TH: First of all, you have to LOVE what you do. Then there is a need for a real commitment. Nobody - male or female - gets anything handed to them on a plate. It is a lot of hard work, commitment and long hours. It is important to identify your priorities involving career and family and then find your own balance. It is also important to master the job, be flexible and be willing to take risks and stick to your convictions. I believe that these apply equally to men and women.
Many men have support systems at home: a partner who is willing to be there to do the mundane, everyday tasks, especially if they have a family. When I look around me, many of my peers have spouses at home taking care of the family. I am lucky in this respect; my husband quit his job five years ago to take care of the children and the home. This gave me an almost unlimited freedom to get my job done. But I still bake brownies and sew Halloween costumes. Everybody has to find the balance that works for them.
HPRMN: How many women are on your business development team and what are the key areas in which you provide mentoring/career guidance?
TH: At the moment, 30 percent of my professional staff are women. I tend to be very careful choosing my staff and once they join my team, I try to make sure that they are given the opportunities to become experienced business development or scientific licensing team members. Because I believe that breadth of experience is important, I encourage rotations in the operating functions or in our venture capital group. I help them to get exposure to other functions and if they find them exciting, I encourage their promotion into other businesses. If they want to come back to business development that is great, but if not, I love watching them succeed in their new environment - even if it is at another company.
HPRMN: As the first woman to be named to SB's corporate management team, how do you handle the pressure to perform in a predominantly male environment?
TH: I do not think about it as a male environment, but as a "job to be done!"