Supporting Women in Life Sciences: How Women in Bio-Greater Boston Empowers Members

Community is an important part of networking. Finding a place where someone can be themselves, welcomed, and supported to help with their career journey are important parts for any networking organization. And Women in Bio-Greater Boston is a space that provides women in life sciences opportunities for professional development, leadership, and mentoring. Women in Bio-Greater Boston, which has over 650 members, is the largest Women in Bio chapter.

In this wide-ranging interview, Lisa Hillman, Ph.D., J.D., the chair of Women in Bio-Greater Boston, shares how the chapter supports members and their career journeys and provides tools to address the challenges women are experiencing in life sciences. Hillman also discusses ways for women to transition into life sciences and success stories.     

Startup Boston (SB): Tell me about Women in Bio. What's the group about? Who's involved? 

Lisa Hillman (LH): We're an organization of professionals committed to promoting careers, leadership, and entrepreneurship for all women in life sciences. It's a national organization with 13 chapters in the U.S. and Canada. We have a really broad range of members. We have everything from benchtop scientists to CEOs to people who are in HR, marketing, and communications in life sciences companies. We also have service providers like me - I'm a patent attorney who serves the biotech industry in Boston. 

It's just a really broad range of people and that's why I really enjoy it. I first moved to Boston about nine years ago and I didn't really know anybody in the industry here. I looked around for different groups that promote women in life sciences. And I thought this one was just the most interesting because it had such a broad range of different types of people. 

SB: How does it help founders, entrepreneurs, and other leaders? How does it support members who are in different stages of their careers?

LH: We just had our Lobster Pot event, which was a pitch type event where we had five women founders of startup companies here in the Boston area present their pitch decks. Then we had  five women VCs from the Boston area give the founders immediate feedback on their pitch decks. It was just an incredible event - we had about 150 attendees. 

We also have other programs like our MAPS program (Mentors, Allies, Peers and Sponsors), which provides small group mentoring circles. We also have a Y-WIB program, which is Young Women in Bio and that committee promotes STEM to elementary age students up through high school. 

SB: What are some of the challenges women in biotech and life sciences are experiencing today? How does Women in Bio help women navigate these challenges?

LH: Often people come to Women in Bio when they are experiencing a job change or they just graduated and are looking to network. We have a lot of networking events that help people to connect. We also have a lot of programming geared towards providing tips for successful career mobility. 

SB: Do you think one of the biggest challenges is someone transitioning from academic to corporate? If so, why? 

LH: I think that is a really big challenge. We are thinking about having a program to address this issue. There are so many universities here in Boston and we have some professors at local universities who are really interested in helping out. 

I think one of the first challenges is that academics don’t necessarily understand all the different roles or careers that are available. Maybe it's a lab manager for a corporation or maybe, like me, I moved into the law and became a patent attorney. I knew I didn't want to go into academia and started looking around for other options. I have found patent law to be a very satisfying career because I can use my science education every single day. WIB can provide information and networking opportunities to those looking to switch careers. 

SB: Do you have a success story about someone who is part of this group? 

LH: Our boardroom-ready program is really incredible. It was created in 2016 and assists executive women in the life sciences to secure their first director role. The program is designed to enhance a woman's opportunities of finding a board appointment through classroom education and applied learning sessions. There are networking events and ongoing programming development opportunities, too. 

We want to see more women in board positions and the success of that program, which runs through the national organization, is fantastic. There have been nearly 200 program participants and more than 150 board placements serving in eight different countries. 

SB: Tell me about your leadership role for Women in Bio for the Greater Boston chapter. What does it entail?

LH: Initially, we are all volunteers at the local chapter level. We work closely with the Women in Bio national leadership, but we also work with other WIB chapters in other cities. For instance, the Montreal chapter just reached out about doing a joint programming event. It’s a great learning experience and I’ve met so many people all over the country. As the chair of the chapter I have learned leadership in a volunteer context, which can be very different from corporate leadership. Overall, it has been very rewarding. 

SB: What advice would you give to a woman looking to break into the biotech industry? 

LH: Move to Boston! I mean this is the center of the universe for biotech, right? 

Obviously, there's an educational component to it. But I have met women in Women in Bio who don't necessarily have a degree in biotech. They may be in the support services, for example, somebody in HR at a biotech company or an architect that designs lab space. Start networking,  especially if you don't necessarily have a life sciences degree; you could start with talking to people who are working at these companies in support roles. 

SB: Last question. What’s next for Women in Bio? What are some of the plans you have to support members in the coming year?

LH: Our MAPS programming has program registration open through April 18, and that only runs once or twice a year. On May 7, we have a webinar called, “From Layoff to Lift Off — Leveraging Your Network and Resume for Career Success”, and that’s for somebody who’s recently been laid off or looking to change positions at this time. Then we have our annual 9-hole golf tournament on May 19. And all of these events and more can be found on our website.

Finding a networking group like Women in Bio where you can grow, learn and be supported is essential, whether you’re starting your career or looking to take it to the next level. To help founders, entrepreneurs, creators, emerging talent and others, we launched The Startup Directory: Networking Groups. This list of networking groups across New England (including Women in Bio) is here to help you find your community. 

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About the author: Kathleen Ohlson is a Boston-based content writer with a background as a high-tech reporter and storyteller. With a passion for creating content that resonates with audiences, you can connect with her on LinkedIn.