#WomenPharmacistDay: Why empowering women is good for the future of pharmacy

The rising influence of women in healthcare – and in pharmacy, specifically – is a topic that can’t be overstated.

When it comes to new entrants into the pharmacy profession, women continue to outpace men – earning 61.9% of the professional pharmacy degrees in 2017. Looking more broadly, women also comprise nearly three fourths of the overall U.S. healthcare workforce.

While women are gravitating toward healthcare (and pharmacy) careers in record numbers, they’re also taking the lead when it comes to making healthcare decisions for their families, at home.

In honor of #WomenPharmacistDay celebrated on Oct. 12, Cindy Pigg, vice president of Managed Care and Business Development for Cardinal Health, talked about why more progress still needs to be made when it comes to women’s representation in leadership positions within the field of pharmacy – especially when it comes to pharmacy ownership.

Pigg: The majority of practicing pharmacists are now women – which means that women now play a truly vital role in the delivery of pharmacy care to patients. Our ability to support and empower the professional growth of female pharmacists is now inexorably linked to the future of the profession. We can’t have a thriving profession if we’re not empowering the more than 60% of practicing pharmacists, who are women, to pursue leadership roles.

Pigg: Independent pharmacy ownership is one of the pharmacy leadership tracks with significant opportunity for improvement when it comes to female representation. We know that less than 25% of all independent pharmacies are female-owned – even though pharmacy ownership provides pharmacists the opportunity to drive change in the profession and practice at the top of their license. It also provides pharmacists the chance to have daily interaction directly with patients, and to be reimbursed for delivering clinical services.

Pigg: Simply put, more female pharmacists need to be aware of pharmacy ownership as a career option – and they need more support when it comes to pursuing that career path. It’s also important to remember that representation matters – and the truth is that pharmacy ownership has always been dominated by men. Female pharmacists also need to see, and hear from, more female pharmacy owners.

That’s why Cardinal Health launched the Women in Pharmacy initiative in 2012 to help support women pharmacists on the path to ownership, dispel the myths around ownership and partner with organizations leading change. We’re connecting female pharmacists and student pharmacists with the support, encouragement, mentoring and guidance they need to pursue leadership in pharmacy, including pharmacy ownership.

Pigg: #WomenPharmacistDay is an inspiring and easy way to recognize the significant gains that women have made in pursuing careers in pharmacy, and to honor the trailblazers who have made such progress possible. It’s also a great way to celebrate important contributions that women pharmacists make, every day, to deliver quality care to patients nationwide.