Closing the Gender Gap in Pharmacy Ownership
Published Online: Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
Laura Enderle, Associate Editor
Laura Enderle, Associate Editor
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Women make up half the pharmacy workforce, but ownership is still largely male dominated—a fact the Women in Pharmacy initiative aims to change.
More than half of all pharmacy students and about half of all practicing pharmacists are women, yet statistics show that comparatively few among their ranks are pharmacy owners. Fortunately, the gap is steadily closing—in 2009, 11.6% of male pharmacists and 8.1% of female pharmacists were owners or partners, compared with 10.3% and 2.1% in 2004, respectively.
Still, the figures suggest there's room for improvement, and a new project aims to speed the process by focusing on the future of pharmacy practice—student pharmacists. In partnership with the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), Cardinal Health announced the "Women in Pharmacy" initiative, which encourages female pharmacy students to consider ownership as a career path.
Although women's numbers are growing in every branch of the profession, pharmacy ownership is one area where women haven't staked their claim. "Today, the vast majority of community pharmacy owners are men," said Mike Kaufmann, chief executive officer of Cardinal Health's pharmaceutical division. "To support the growth and long-term viability of community pharmacy, we need to do more as an industry to encourage women to consider owning their own pharmacy."
The program will use NCPA's student chapters as a medium for sharing inspiring stories of Cardinal Health's 20 most successful female pharmacy owners. The goal of the stories, Kaufmann said, is to "capture the imaginations of future pharmacists." The awareness campaign will also bring women's success stories to the pages of pharmacy trade publications that target students.
The program does not explain why barriers to pharmacy ownership exist for women, but insights from the Pharmacy Manpower Project's 2009 National Pharmacist Workforce Survey provide some clues. In 2009, 29.8% of women worked part-time, compared with just 18.4% of men. Previous studies have also showed that turnover for pharmacy jobs is much higher among women than among men, with more women seeking new jobs due to family obligations.
Despite these imbalances, pharmacy remains an attractive career option for women. Pharmacist consistently ranks in Forbes.com's top 10 best-paying jobs for women, and each year the difference between men's and women's salaries gets smaller. Women currently earn 83% as much as their male counterparts—approximately $83,500 annually, Forbes reported in its annual ranking. Women also comprise 48% of the pharmacy workforce.
Statistics suggest it may just be a matter of time before pharmacy ownerhsip follows suit. According to figures from the Pharmacy Manpower Project, 37% of practicing pharmacists are older than 55 years of age. As pharmacy owners retire, they are expected to leave doors open for newly minted female pharmacists—making projects like the Women in Pharmacy Initiative more important than ever.
"Entrepreneurial pharmacists come in all genders and nationalities," said NCPA chief executive officer Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA. "NCPA is pleased to work with Cardinal Health's new Women in Pharmacy Initiative to inspire a new generation of female pharmacist entrepreneurs."
For other articles in this issue, see: For other articles in this issue, see:
More than half of all pharmacy students and about half of all practicing pharmacists are women, yet statistics show that comparatively few among their ranks are pharmacy owners. Fortunately, the gap is steadily closing—in 2009, 11.6% of male pharmacists and 8.1% of female pharmacists were owners or partners, compared with 10.3% and 2.1% in 2004, respectively.
Still, the figures suggest there's room for improvement, and a new project aims to speed the process by focusing on the future of pharmacy practice—student pharmacists. In partnership with the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), Cardinal Health announced the "Women in Pharmacy" initiative, which encourages female pharmacy students to consider ownership as a career path.
Although women's numbers are growing in every branch of the profession, pharmacy ownership is one area where women haven't staked their claim. "Today, the vast majority of community pharmacy owners are men," said Mike Kaufmann, chief executive officer of Cardinal Health's pharmaceutical division. "To support the growth and long-term viability of community pharmacy, we need to do more as an industry to encourage women to consider owning their own pharmacy."
The program will use NCPA's student chapters as a medium for sharing inspiring stories of Cardinal Health's 20 most successful female pharmacy owners. The goal of the stories, Kaufmann said, is to "capture the imaginations of future pharmacists." The awareness campaign will also bring women's success stories to the pages of pharmacy trade publications that target students.
The program does not explain why barriers to pharmacy ownership exist for women, but insights from the Pharmacy Manpower Project's 2009 National Pharmacist Workforce Survey provide some clues. In 2009, 29.8% of women worked part-time, compared with just 18.4% of men. Previous studies have also showed that turnover for pharmacy jobs is much higher among women than among men, with more women seeking new jobs due to family obligations.
Despite these imbalances, pharmacy remains an attractive career option for women. Pharmacist consistently ranks in Forbes.com's top 10 best-paying jobs for women, and each year the difference between men's and women's salaries gets smaller. Women currently earn 83% as much as their male counterparts—approximately $83,500 annually, Forbes reported in its annual ranking. Women also comprise 48% of the pharmacy workforce.
Statistics suggest it may just be a matter of time before pharmacy ownerhsip follows suit. According to figures from the Pharmacy Manpower Project, 37% of practicing pharmacists are older than 55 years of age. As pharmacy owners retire, they are expected to leave doors open for newly minted female pharmacists—making projects like the Women in Pharmacy Initiative more important than ever.
"Entrepreneurial pharmacists come in all genders and nationalities," said NCPA chief executive officer Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA. "NCPA is pleased to work with Cardinal Health's new Women in Pharmacy Initiative to inspire a new generation of female pharmacist entrepreneurs."
For other articles in this issue, see: For other articles in this issue, see:
Michael Tooel July 26th, 2011 07:07:3707:37:07 PM
Anyone can own a pharmacy. Women will just have to hire a PIC when they are gone for 18 years to raise a family. Or marry a house dad.
CW Lee July 27th, 2011 01:07:1801:18:08 PM
Mr. Tooel is completely correct.
Another point I would like to point out is that a person's career direction is intimately related to his/her family situation. One must not look at one number with a tunnel vision; one must examine the situation with boarder considerations in order to develop an insightful answer to the question.
Given that 50% of the American public has undergone marriage dissolution and 85% of the mother gets custody of the children involved, this situation per se presents a practical constraint that limit how those mothers can stay for long hours at work to perform managerial and leadership guiding functions without having to sacrifice quality time with their children. The exception of the rule is when they have significant family support; namely, a "house dad" as Mr. Tooel had pointed out. Other examples may include grandparents support or daycare.
Another factor (or question) to inquire include the percentage of female pharmacy students who enter the profession because of the good possibility to work only part-time while still generating a decent income as future mothers compared with their male counterpart. I do not mean that's the primary reason they enter they profession but rather a consideration they have in the backdrop of their minds.
Of course there are other factors such as psychological, cultural and physiological ones. But I will leave those for others to explore and research on.
The social culture has shaped itself such that women are the preferred caregiver of children, as shown by the custody decrees in the family court system. Untill the societies across different nations (at least in western industrialized countries) truely grant men an equal role as caregivers of their children as women, the gender imbalance in pharmacy leadership, or other leadership role will not resolve. Mathematically, one cannot solve of a system of inequality equations with mutual exclusive constraints. If you have the right numbers, you can approximate the gender share in the leadership role with certain mathematical techniques. The vigor required is beyond the scope of this comment but may certainly make a good sociology paper that focus on the pharmacy workforce.
Another point I would like to point out is that a person's career direction is intimately related to his/her family situation. One must not look at one number with a tunnel vision; one must examine the situation with boarder considerations in order to develop an insightful answer to the question.
Given that 50% of the American public has undergone marriage dissolution and 85% of the mother gets custody of the children involved, this situation per se presents a practical constraint that limit how those mothers can stay for long hours at work to perform managerial and leadership guiding functions without having to sacrifice quality time with their children. The exception of the rule is when they have significant family support; namely, a "house dad" as Mr. Tooel had pointed out. Other examples may include grandparents support or daycare.
Another factor (or question) to inquire include the percentage of female pharmacy students who enter the profession because of the good possibility to work only part-time while still generating a decent income as future mothers compared with their male counterpart. I do not mean that's the primary reason they enter they profession but rather a consideration they have in the backdrop of their minds.
Of course there are other factors such as psychological, cultural and physiological ones. But I will leave those for others to explore and research on.
The social culture has shaped itself such that women are the preferred caregiver of children, as shown by the custody decrees in the family court system. Untill the societies across different nations (at least in western industrialized countries) truely grant men an equal role as caregivers of their children as women, the gender imbalance in pharmacy leadership, or other leadership role will not resolve. Mathematically, one cannot solve of a system of inequality equations with mutual exclusive constraints. If you have the right numbers, you can approximate the gender share in the leadership role with certain mathematical techniques. The vigor required is beyond the scope of this comment but may certainly make a good sociology paper that focus on the pharmacy workforce.
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OTCGuide
PainLive
Pharmacy Times
Physician's Money Digest
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Building 300
Plainsboro, NJ 08536
P: 609-716-7777
F: 609-716-4747
Copyright HCPLive 2006-2011
Intellisphere, LLC. All Rights Reserved.