WIB-Metro New York: Holiday Cheers & Connections – Celebrating Women in Biotech, December 6, 2023

On December 6, 2023, over 100 of our chapter members and guests convened at the New York Genome Center to celebrate the connections we've made throughout the year and continue to expand our networks. The event started with mingling and snacks, followed by "roundtable speed networking." In this context, guests rotated around tables featuring speakers from diverse sectors of the life science industry.

Speakers shared their career stories, and guests asked questions and added commentary. Some key takeaways from the discussions included the realization that you're never too old to pivot in your career, there is plenty of good science done outside of academia (biotech and pharma), and if you are a scientist looking to get to the executive level, it is a great idea to spend some time in big pharma for perspective. The event was sponsored by Women.NYC, who explained that only 10% of biopharma executives are female and only 1% of VC-backed companies are wholly founded by women. Women.NYC is doing great things to change this. Attendees heard many testimonials that entrepreneurship is rarely glamorous but often rewarding, and women must support women. The hurdles in our career trajectories are more relatable than we might think. The event concluded with more mingling over dessert and wine.