The life sciences industry stands as a testament to the beauty of human innovation and our drive for discovery. At its core, it weaves together diverse fields like biology, chemistry, and technology to unlock the secrets of life itself. From developing lifesaving medications to pioneering breakthroughs in genetic engineering, the industry pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in healthcare and beyond. 

Although the bounds of discovery in STEM are limitless, girls and women are faced with barriers to entry. The gender disparity begins early, with girls often receiving less encouragement to pursue science subjects in school. As they progress to higher education, the number of women in life science programs tends to decrease at the postgraduate level. Like a leaking pipeline, the underrepresentation continues into professional settings, where women are less likely to occupy senior positions or receive equal recognition for their contributions. 

Several factors contribute to the gender imbalance, including: 

• Stereotypes and biases that discourage girls from pursuing life science careers 

• Lack of role models, making it difficult for young women to envision themselves in similar roles 

• Work-life balance challenges disproportionately impacting women, who often bear greater responsibility for family care 

• Unequal opportunities in hiring, promotion, and funding decisions due to discrimination 

• Unwelcoming workplace culture in lab or research environments that are historically dominated by men 

To change the status quo, work is actively underway to create more opportunities and provide support for women in science. Women In Bio is a non-profit organization that is committed to promoting careers, leadership, and entrepreneurship of all women in the life sciences. Their organization consists of professional women from a wide variety of life science careers, and they volunteer their time to mentor and empower other women to reach the highest levels of leadership and fulfill their professional aspirations. Women In Bio’s core philosophy of “Women helping women” inspires women to serve as role models for others in the life sciences, showing members that it’s possible to rise to the challenge and be a leader in any field. 

Women In Bio supports girls and women through a variety of initiatives spanning from the classroom to the boardroom, and they take pride in the level of mentorship that their community provides at each career stage: 

• High schoolers can find support in the Young Women In Bio initiative that provides educational hands-on and virtual experiences in STEM with partners from universities, hospitals, leading life science companies, and other organizations, inspiring young women to become tomorrow’s scientific leaders.  

• Professional women in different stages of their professional and personal development can participate in the Mentorship, Advisors, and Sponsorship mentoring program to learn how to navigate career transitions, set goals, manage teams, and more. 

• For women interested in founding their own companies, the Women In Bio Entrepreneur Center provides peer-to-peer mentoring, educational programs, helpful resources, and even fundraising support. 

• At the executive and C-suite level, the Executive Women in Bio provides support via robust professional development programs, targeted networking events, and fostering exclusive communities for amplifying and uplifting each other.  

Women In Bio has thirteen chapter cities throughout North America that host monthly events to create engaging and inspiring spaces for women in the life sciences to come together to network and grow. They also offer scholarships and grants that can be used to advance the educational development of women and ensure that their initiatives promote equity and inclusion. They have a large library of video resources that can be accessed by their members to facilitate their career journey in STEM, as well as a dedicated Career Center that pairs job openings with career planning resources like resume writing and personalized coaching. 

Working Together to Elevate Women In Bio 

At Samba Scientific, we are proud to have women with advanced scientific degrees and industry experience on our team in areas such as client strategy, account management, content creation, and design. Each woman brings her unique skill sets and experiences to help our clients achieve their marketing goals. 

Jenna Gallegos, our Director of Scientific Marketing, offers a glimpse into some of the challenges she has faced during her professional journey. 

“Women tend to outnumber men in undergraduate biology programs, yet the top positions in academia and industry tend to be male dominated. Girls are interested in biology, and they know they can do it. The trouble is, they don’t know how to continue to do it while also balancing life goals, such as raising a family,” says Jenna.  

“It was important for me in my career to find female role models who supported my decision to move back to my home state so I’d have the local support structure needed to be successful in a life science career while also raising children. Remote work and commercial roles offer fantastic opportunities to scientists who are also moms. As I continue to grow in my career, it’s important to me to continue to foster relationships with these women who now occupy very senior level positions, while also mentoring young women in science on a career path that works for them.” 

Samantha Bond, Technical Content Specialist at Samba, is also empowered by the diverse community of women she’s found in the life sciences.  

“Women scientists have served as influential role models for me throughout my career, from the research bench to a laboratory directorship and now scientific marketing. The support I have received from other women has enabled me to deepen my technical skillset and given me the confidence to share my knowledge with others.” 

When we connected with Women In Bio at an industry conference, we quickly knew that their mission resonated with our team, and we were driven to help further their cause. Their central staff is small – seven employees, with two focused on marketing – so they rely heavily on their community and volunteers to assist with networking events, career fairs, and virtual community events. With respect to their digital marketing and online resources, they welcomed Samba’s support with open arms. 

We met with two representatives from Women In Bio to identify how we could best support them in increasing national impact, awareness, and sustainability. After discussion, our Digital Marketing Managers audited their Google Analytics account to determine what was being tracked before setting up additional conversion tracking to monitor user journeys on their website and provide insights on how to better connect with their audience. We then compiled a personalized training guide on Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to provide their team with clear instructions on how to use the platform to complement their goals. Additionally, our design team created new T-shirt designs that can be added to their webstore as a means of revenue generation to fund chapter events, programs, and initiatives. 

“A major challenge for nonprofits is access to technical expertise and resources, and we’re so thrilled to have the support of Samba Sci,” says Florencia Rago, Senior Communications and Marketing Manager at Women In Bio. “The team is very responsive and understanding of our needs and strategic priorities, and the work we’re doing together will make a notable difference in our digital experience and abilities to scale in the future.” 

Women In Bio’s Executive Director, Gina Ford, also expresses her appreciation for our efforts. 

“We’re grateful for Samba Scientific’s partnership and support in fueling our mission and helping us enhance the member experience, expand our impact in the life sciences and set the foundations for scaling our digital presence.” 

At Samba, we value the contributions of women in science – their unique perspectives, talents, determination, and passions that take the life sciences to the next level. As such, we support the mission of Women In Bio in creating opportunities and supporting women at all stages of their life sciences careers. 

We hope that the work that we’ve done for Women In Bio helps to further their mission by encouraging their team to dig into the data to understand their audience’s journey to facilitate more connections and memberships. We look forward to seeing more girls and women become engaged, educated, and empowered within the life sciences. 

If you would like to join us in supporting Women In Bio’s mission, you can visit their website to learn more about opportunities for volunteering, sponsorships, and partnerships or to make a donation. 

If you’re interested in discussing opportunities for collaboration or sponsoring a future project, please contact us.