DEI gaps persist at Boston-area biotechs
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Three years after 164 life sciences companies signed a pledge to make the biotech sector more inclusive and equitable, fewer than half responded to a survey about their progress, prompting a forceful rebuke from industry leaders.
Why it matters: Despite pledges in 2020 to make the sector more inclusive, Massachusetts' multibillion-dollar life sciences industry remains white- and male-dominated, especially in the boardroom, and the full scope of the racial and gender gaps remain unknown because companies aren't sharing demographic details.
Driving the news: The 81 companies that did respond to MassBio's second DEI survey reported 14% of their workers were people of color, excluding Asians.
- That's lower than the estimate in MassBio's 2021 report (15%) and far below the state's population of these groups (32%).
- The share of people of color in executive management was 6% in 2023, down from 8% in 2021.
Yes, but: The responses capture roughly 5% of MassBio's membership.
- Only 26 of the 81 respondents had taken MassBio's 2021 DEI survey, so the report doesn't offer a direct comparison of the same companies.
What they're saying: The report "fails to achieve the scale this topic truly deserves because of a disappointing lack of engagement from companies on the survey that we depend on to collect the data," MassBio President Kendalle Burlin O'Connell wrote in the report.
- "This is an indictment of our industry and a real concern for me personally because actions speak louder than words."
State of play: Tom Browne, MassBio's director of DEI, says the team plans to revisit its methodology to determine why Massachusetts life sciences companies are hesitant to respond.
- He said that could hopefully lead to more responses on the companies' efforts on diversity and health equity.
Zoom in: The companies that responded did report an increase in female representation over the past two years.
- Their executive management teams were 46% women, up from 37% in 2021, and they reported higher female representation in boardrooms and the overall workforce.
Plus: The companies reported a higher share of people of color on boards, 12% compared to 8% in 2021.
Of note: The findings analyze Asian employees separately from other people of color "to capture and celebrate the strength of this specific group … as well as call attention to the lack of representation from other communities of color," the report states.
Details: Companies are expanding their recruitment targets, with some working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and groups like Latinos in Biotech and Women of Color in Pharma.
Yes, but: The majority of respondents said they don't recruit from those organizations, and they reported major racial gaps.
- White executive representation reached 76%, up from 63% in 2021, and white business leaders outweighed every other group at the board level.
- Asians were the only racial or ethnic group that saw higher levels of representation across all levels in the 2023 report.