Women in Life Science Denmark launches leadership drive

Initiative has been designed to support career advancement for women across the life sciences

Women in Life Science Denmark (WiLD) has announced the launch of its ‘Female Leadership Mentoring Program’ for women working in life sciences in Denmark – a year after it was founded.

WiLD aims to inspire women in the Danish life science sector to reach for higher leadership roles by promoting female talent, through professional knowledge sharing and networking.

Denmark still has a gender equality paradox in spite of education and employment rates for women being among the highest in the world. Indeed, the country is rated in 102nd place when it comes to women in upper management, according to the World Economic Forum Gender Gap report 2023.

Furthermore, despite the majority of employees in the Danish life science industry being female –53% – only 20% of board and senior leadership positions are occupied by women. The central ambition of WiLD is to address those significant barriers that hinder women’s professional growth and advancement.

During the last 12 year, WiLD has grown into a network of 200 members – all influential women in senior positions who are keen to share their knowledge and insight with others. As a result, WiLD will now launch its Female Leadership Mentoring Program for women who have recently been promoted or who are aiming for higher positions of leadership.

Experienced members of the WiLD network with considerable leadership experience will work as mentors to support each mentee. The WiLD Female Leadership Mentoring Program is supported by a grant from The Lundbeck Foundation.

Lene Gerlach, co-founder and chairperson at WiLD, explained: “The program will support and inspire the next generation of talented women in the life science sector to further advance their career, boosting the number of women in leadership positions and improving gender equality.

She added: “As we continue to grow and expand, I am most delighted to welcome Henriette Dræbye Rosenquist, Gitte Lillelund Bech and Vibeke Bendix Didriksen to the board as we continue our focus on equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for females across life sciences.”

Lene Skole, chief executive officer at The Lundbeck Foundation, concluded: “Talent development and diversity are high on the Lundbeck Foundation’s agenda as they are a prerequisite for Denmark to be a leading life science nation.

“We need to ensure a strong pipeline of talented women within life sciences, who want to pursue a career at higher leadership levels, both in the industry and at universities. We know from experience that this does not happen overnight, which is why we support an important initiative like WiLD’s Female Leadership Mentoring Program.”