3P Biopharmaceuticals reinforces its commitment to female talent with its participation in the programme ‘Lidera en femenino-STEM’
The Head of Quality Assurance & Qualified Person at 3P Biopharmaceuticals, Susana Santesteban, has attended ‘Lidera en femenino-STEM’, a course that aims to help promote the career advancement of STEM women.
The Head of Quality Assurance & Qualified Person at 3P Biopharmaceuticals, Susana Santesteban, has attended ‘Lidera en femenino-STEM’, a course that aims to help promote the career advancement of STEM women: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The course, organised by the Navarre Employment Service and AIN, was aimed at women in leadership positions in the region.
The ‘Lidera en femenino-STEM’ programme seeks to highlight female talent and, consequently, improve the participation of women in positions of responsibility in companies in the region of Navarre. In this sense, 3P Biopharmaceuticals, which employs almost 300 people, 60% of whom are women, supported this initiative through the participation of Susana Santesteban, who shared her experience with the community.
In a ‘women’s sector’ such as the biotechnology sector, “the company has from the very beginning focused on talented people to take on positions of responsibility, which has naturally led to the fact that 65% of these positions are now held by women. In the first half of 2021 we promoted 12 women to positions of responsibility,” says Elena Erroba, Director of Business Development at 3P. She and Aurora Solana, Director of Quality Assurance and Quality Control, are members of 3P’s Executive Committee and are highly regarded in their areas of responsibility.
Susana Santesteban says that participation in this programme has provided her with knowledge in different management skills that “will undoubtedly help me to achieve the professional challenges I seek“. According to her, in order to ensure the success of a department, it is crucial not only to have the right technical knowledge, but also to know how to manage the relationship with each person in the team, applying different leadership styles.
Biotechnology, a talented sector in which women stand out
The biotech sector is the STEM branch with the highest participation of women. The latest report by the Spanish Biotechnology Association (AseBio) indicates that the percentage of women enrolled in biotech degrees reaches 60%, much higher than in other STEM disciplines such as engineering and computer science, where only 25% and 15% respectively are enrolled. Furthermore, 59% of women in this sector are dedicated to R&D&I activities, compared to the 41% that represents the average for the Spanish economy as a whole.
Although Susana Santesteban does not believe that we have yet reached a balance in terms of the presence of women in management positions, she thinks that “we are on the right track” and encourages younger women to pursue STEM careers, since “as they are careers that focus on research, development and innovation, they are the future.”
