Trailblazing female pharmacy professionals hailed in ‘Women to Watch’ list

The phenomenal work of 12 female pharmacy professionals who are breaking boundaries in the profession has been recognised in the publication of The Pharmaceutical Journal’s ‘Women to Watch’ list for 2021.

The list is the final result of a nationwide search to find women in the pharmacy profession who deserve greater recognition for their work.

Finalists range from a pharmacy student campaigning for greater diversity in the pharmacy degree curriculum, a community pharmacist championing research skills in the profession, to a pioneer in reducing the effect of anaesthetic gases on climate change.

The ‘Women to Watch’ initiative was launched in 2020, with the aim of showcasing the incredible work that women are doing in pharmacy and to identify future female role models within the pharmacy profession who can inspire others. It is designed to help identify and provide a platform to help tackle the historical deficit of women in senior positions in pharmacy.

An external advisory panel of 9 pharmacy experts, chaired by The Pharmaceutical Journal, judged all 70 nomination entries based on criteria such as drive, potential, influence, impact and diversity.

Panel member Amandeep Doll, head of professional belonging at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: “These women show what great work is being done in pharmacy and it was a real pleasure to read about them. All of them have shown such drive and determination, and have achieved measurable results in their respective fields. I hope they are encouraged by this recognition and will inspire others to follow in their footsteps.”

Diane Ashiru-Oredope, member of the advisory panel and lead antimicrobial resistance pharmacist at Public Health England, said: “It was such a privilege to read their stories and hear about the amazing work they are doing to make a difference to patients and/or to our profession. I look forward to us watching them as they continue to trail blaze and represent the pharmacy profession wherever they work.”

Alison Tennant, chief pharmacist at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, also sat on the panel. She said: “The stories of personal commitment and improvements achieved were inspiring and showed the breadth of areas that pharmacy is involved in and having an impact on. An amazing array of women that the profession should be proud of.”

Rahul Singal, chief pharmacist at North East London NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This was my first time being a panellist for this brilliant initiative, and I was left feeling privileged in keeping this company in the profession. I hope this initiative encourages others to think about their visibility to inspire others.”

Also a panel member, Mohammed Hussain, senior clinical lead at NHS Digital, said: “This is a fantastic initiative from The Pharmaceutical Journal. Leadership comes in many forms, Women to Watch rewards and recognises those who have delivered impact, but do not shout about it. Let us shout for them.”

Angela Kam, senior learning editor of The Pharmaceutical Journal, said: “It has been incredibly inspiring reading all the nominations and we are really thrilled to publish the final list of women, who are all in their individual ways changing the face of pharmacy from the inside out. We hope this list inspires others to nominate someone next year.”

This initiative is part of the #PJMindTheGap campaign, which aims to highlight social inequalities that exist in pharmacy and is part of a wider programme of work by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society on inclusion and diversity.