Empowering Women in Biotech: sharing stories and successes

Following the success of Bionow’s first-evet Empowering Women in Biotech event in April this year, the HGF Leeds office was once again packed with 75 delegates, ready for a day of networking and inspirational storytelling.
 
The agenda was filled with opportunities for women in the industry to share their expertise, celebrate their achievements and vent their frustrations, as well as highlighting how to help others achieve their potential.
 
Starting the day with a presentation about innovation in the region, West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Interim Head of Business Support, Sarah Bowes highlighted how women were being encouraged to innovate, including a £6 million fund for entrepreneurs to help stimulate an entrepreneurship revolution in the region, the success of the Women in West Yorkshire Network and the appointment of West Yorkshire’s Inclusivity Champion. The presentation also celebrated the success of See.AI, co-founded by Saile Villegas, winner of the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award 2022, as a great example of a young woman successfully shattering glass ceilings in the health sector.
 
The first panel, Women Leaders and their Stories, drew some key conclusions: that women are not as confident as their male counterparts when applying for roles, with women feeling the need to tick all the boxes before applying whereas men feel more empowered to apply even if they aren’t as qualified. It was also noted that sexism at the interview stage compelled a panellist to say they weren’t going to have children in the future to be seen to be on the same level as male colleagues. And going even further back, another panellist noted that she went from an all-girls’ school to being the only female on her course at university. There was a positive note, however, with a young panellist mainly facing positive scenarios where gender hasn’t been seen to be an issue in her story so far, which suggests that the workplace environment is starting to change for the better for the next generation.
 
The Investor Insights panel discussed the importance of gender diversity in companies’ boards as an indicator of company success, with more diverse boards increasing the chance of success in early-stage businesses. The panel also covered Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed EIS funding, government-sponsored programmes that gives investors tax relief when they invest their money in smaller businesses, and risky companies that would otherwise struggle to get funding, and why they are so important for female-led startups and SMEs.
 
Commenting on another successful event, Bionow’s Executive Director of Business Development, Stella James, said: “Once again, I am blown away by the enthusiasm, candour and expertise of the speakers and attendees today, with some great discussions and insightful questions from the audience. I have already had delegates asking me when the next session is, so rest assured we will be announcing the next Empowering Women in Biotech event soon!”
 
This Empowering Women in Biotech session was partnered with HGF.