Women accounted for 62 per cent of GPhC registrants in 2019, according to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Despite representing the majority of pharmacists
in the UK, only 2 per cent of women are pharmacy business owners compared with 13 per cent of men. Also, the majority of senior pharmacy leadership positions are
held by men, with research showing that only 36 per cent of senior pharmacy leaders are women.
Sobha Sharma Kandel, superintendent pharmacist and co-owner of Neem Tree Pharmacy, Abbey Wood, London, quoted these statistics while shedding light on the
representation of female leaders in the field of pharmacy.
So, what is stopping women from reaching leadership positions in the profession? According to Sobha, the barriers hindering female pharmacists from attaining
leadership positions include:
Gender Bias and Stereotypes
Lack of Representation and Role Models
Glass Ceiling and Double Standards
Work-Life Balance Challenges
Imposter Syndrome
Unequal Access to Opportunities
Negotiation and Advocacy Challenges
"There also continue to be gender and ethnicity pay gaps affecting women in pharmacy," said Sobha, who has been advocating for women in pharmacy by being a part
of the Female Pharmacy Leaders Network.
A groundbreaking study analysing data from nearly 600,000 cancer patients in England has shed light on the increased risk of second cancers among breast
cancer survivors.
The research conducted by University of Cambridge in association with the Lancet Regional Health-Europe studied data from over 580,000 female and over 3,500 male
breast cancer survivors diagnosed between 1995 and 2019 using the National Cancer Registration Dataset.
The findings suggest that survivors of breast cancer, the most prevalent cancer in the UK, face a substantially higher risk of developing second primary cancers.
According to the research, female survivors exhibited a twofold increase in the risk of contralateral breast cancer compared to the general population.
The data highlighted an 87 per cent greater risk of endometrial cancer, a 58 per cent greater risk of myeloid leukemia, and a 25 per cent greater risk of ovarian
cancer in female survivors.
Contraceptives for birth control! Whether they are shots, pills, patches, rings or implants, contraceptives have always been more or less been considered important and essential for a female. Today, there..
There is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality in pharmacy in both academia and profession, Royal Pharmaceutical Society president Claire Anderson
said while addressing a webinar on 'Driving equality for women in pharmacy' today (November 19).
Sharing her personal experience, Anderson, who earlier worked as an academic, said: "I was the first ever female professor in the School of Pharmacy at Nottingham
when I was appointed as professor in 2003, and at that point, only 11 per cent of professors in my university were female."
She acknowledged that the situation has changed since then, but "there's still a very long way to go to achieve gender equity in most of academia, and in pharmacy,
in particular."
She added that the profession has ensured safe spaces for women but noted that is not enough, as gender equity is vital to achieve healthier and safer societies.
"And although our work on equality, diversity and inclusion is progressing very well, I think we're still not there. It's a journey and there's much to be achieved."
Women's health company Hertility has acquired the Netherlands-based fertility and hormone testing company Grip, increasing their market share in the women's health space and positioning them for rapid international expansion.
Hertility said the acquisition will expand its own dataset and help them reach their goal of drastically cutting down the time to diagnosis of female health conditions.
The UK start-up, launched in September 2020, offers a machine-learning healthcare solution, giving women insight on their reproductive health, through an at-home
hormone test, individual results and a route to care. Founded by scientists and powered by an (all female) research team, Hertility is building a science-backed eco-system of care around every woman.
Hertility is planning on launching in Ireland this summer and the Netherlands before the end of the year and is already offering end to end gynae and fertility care with a team of over 30 experts.
"This acquisition is a coming together of women who are on a mission to drive real change in women's health. We are over the moon to have taken Grip under our wing, and will be taking Hertility into new markets, starting with the Netherlands," Dr Helen O'Neill, founder of Hertility, commented.
The 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics reported overall stats on hospital workers: with about 76% female representation, 74% were white, while African-Americans only comprised about 15% of the total. With Asians around 8% and Hispanic/Latino workers around 10%, the argument could be made that higher representation should be the goal for most institutions...
PCOS is a serious disease of the female reproductive tract identified by male pattern baldness, hirsutism, sleep apnea and infertility. Unfortunately, there is no cure for it. However, some home remedies can help ease the symptoms.
PCOS is a disease of the female reproductive system that is characterized by hairiness, infrequent or heavy periods, skin disorders and infertility. Its symptoms and causes need immediate medical care as it can be deadly.
The Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) has urged the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) to collate the data on actively enrolled on an
approved course or qualification for Pharmacy Technicians of commencement of training.
In a letter from Nicola Stockmann, Vice President APTUK to the GPhC to encourage the collection of data for Pre-Registration Training Pharmacy Technicians,
Stockmann said: "We value the GPHC data for Pharmacy Technician registrants to track the growth and diversity of the Pharmacy Technician profession.
With ongoing inclusive pharmacy practice priorities, APTUK has an organisational pledge to continue this work of all themes through actions. The demographics
of the Pharmacy Technician workforce continue to have a majority of white British registrants and identifying as female; the high-level data collated which is
currently available on the GPHC website does not capture those who are actively enrolled on an approved course or qualification for Pharmacy Technicians."
Viveca Biomed has launched an innovative and clinically-proven bladder support device that offers women immediate relief from stress urinary incontinence (SUI)
and provides community pharmacy contractors with a way to build a new consumer base, customer loyalty and sales margins.
The product, named 'Contrelle Activgard', has already recorded millions of sales in Scandinavia over a decade.
The company behind the UK launch is female healthcare business Viveca Biomed, founded in 2019 by Andrew Tasker who has spent 30+ years in senior roles within the OTC
and pharma industry.
Contrelle is manufactured, packed and distributed in the UK at Viveca Biomed's factory near Newcastle, with no outsourcing, and thus offering the best possible
continuity of supply.
Ahead of the launch, the company commissioned a large consumer lifestyle survey with 500 women over 40 years of age who experience bladder leaks, to reveal the extent
of its detrimental impact.
Contrelle Activgard is a safe, discrete, easy-to-use and highly effective, single-use vaginal device, designed to immediately prevent SUI rather than just deal
with the leakage.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has included Tibolone 2.5mg tablets (Livial) and Prasterone 6.5mg pessaries (Intrarosa) to the list of Hormone
Replacement Therapy (HRT).
It has updated the June 2023 Drug Tariff (Part XVI) to include these additional HRT medicines for which patients will be able to purchase an HRT PPC.
"HRT is the replacement of female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone in women to control symptoms of the menopause. Some medicines that are converted or break
down into oestrogen, progestogen or androgen hormones are prescribed for relief of menopausal symptoms. For the purposes of the HRT PPC these are included within
this definition of HRT," said DHSC.
In response to new research that revealed inequality in menopause support with 51 per cent of women from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds,
Holland & Barrett, the UK's leading health and wellness retailer, has decided to continue its menopause campaign work to make "every menopause matter".
A quarter of women (26 per cent) from minority ethnic communities say they find it difficult to access menopause support relevant to their specific backgrounds.
Alongside support from Olympian and menopause campaigner, Michelle Griffith Robinson and expert, Meera Bhogal, the retailer is launching several new initiatives
to make its information and support on menopause more inclusive by offering more diverse and personalised advice and content, tailored to different needs.
Almost a third (31 per cent) believe being able to speak to a female healthcare professional of the same ethnicity as them would have made a difference to their
menopause experience. Fifteen per cent go as far as saying that communicating in their native language would have made a positive difference.
Based on these findings, Holland and Barrett is the first retailer to launch a free, multi-language menopause online consultation service. The service will
see trained H&B menopause advisors offering guidance and symptom support in multiple languages, starting with Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and Punjabi.
Bladder leakage is one of the most common healthcare issues affecting women, with the effects of the condition having major effects on women's lives. 1 in 3
women over the age of 18 experience bladder leakage at some point in their lives,1 and in general, prevalence increases at the start of the menopause. It is a major
taboo and due to embarrassment women sometimes struggle to discuss the condition and need help.
It is now time for community pharmacy teams to take the lead and provide the proactive support your customers need - and don't just reach for the pads…. You can help
them stop the leaks, and build customer loyalty. If women are regularly buying pads, or have struggled with using pharmacological solutions you can now offer
alternative approaches.
What is incontinence?
Urinary incontinence is when a person accidentally passes urine when they don't want to. It occurs when their bladder is put under pressure, such as when they cough,
sneeze, laugh or run. Frequent or occasional, it can vary from a few dribbles to a complete loss of bladder control.
There are several known types of bladder and urinary incontinence. They receive their name from the origin of the issue that causes the passing of urine. Although
they are similar and can have some of the same symptoms, they mostly differ in the way they come about:
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) - causes the leak after a person strains or exerts themselves during a physical activity, including coughing, sneezing, laughing,
running or jumping. This is the most common type of urinary incontinence.
Men, it's time to start paying attention to anti-aging procedures! While you may not be as worried about wrinkles and fine lines as your female counterparts,
that doesn't mean you can neglect your skin. There are a number of unconventional procedures out there that can help keep you looking young and handsome for years
to come. In this blog post, we will discuss four of the most popular unconventional procedures for men interested in anti-aging.
WHAT ARE ANTI-AGING PROCEDURES?
Anti-aging procedures are any type of cosmetic procedure that is used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and other signs of aging. These procedures
can be invasive, like facelifts, or non-invasive, like Botox injections. There are a number of different anti-aging procedures available, and new ones are being
developed all the time.
The most important thing to remember when considering any type of anti-aging procedure is that you should always consult with a board-certified dermatologist or
plastic surgeon before moving forward. This is the only way to ensure that you are getting the best possible treatment for your needs.
Pharmacists from BAME backgrounds still face higher levels of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and career obstacles compared to their white
counterparts, the Pharmacy Workforce Race Equality Standard (PWRES) report has revealed. Published by NHSE England, this report underscores the persistent
presence of inequality, emphasising the crucial need for all stakeholders in the pharmacy sector to prioritise addressing these issues.
The PWRES report indicates that pharmacy team members of Black ethnic backgrounds are less likely to perceive equal opportunities for career advancement or
promotion within their trust. Additionally, female pharmacy team members from BAME backgrounds report higher incidents of personal discrimination in the
workplace. The report also highlights an overrepresentation of pharmacy technicians from BAME backgrounds in lower-paid roles.
"It is shocking and unacceptable to see that across all indicators the BME staff experience is worse than their white counterparts," said Tase Oputu, Chair
of RPS in England.
The world's first human challenge trial in which volunteers were deliberately exposed to Covid-19 to advance research into the disease was found to be safe in
healthy young adults, one of the companies running the study said on Wednesday.
The data supports the safety of this model which could theoretically provide a "plug and play" platform for testing therapies and vaccines using the original
Covid-19 strain as well as variants of the virus, Open Orphan, which carried out the study, said in a statement.
Open Orphan is running the project, launched a year ago, with Imperial College London, the UK government's vaccines task force and the clinical company hVIVO.
The trial infected 36 healthy male and female volunteers aged 18-29 years with the original SARS-CoV-2 strain of the virus and closely monitored them in a controlled
quarantined setting. They will be followed up for 12 months after discharge from the quarantine facility.
There are various reasons why their IVF treatment was unsuccessful or failed such as Female Age, Poor egg quality, Lower sperm health, Chromosomal abnormalities read more...
British pharmaceutical giant GSK said on Saturday (April 15) its oral antibiotic drug to treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTI) in female adults
and adolescents met the main goals in late-stage trials.
The drug, gepotidacin, in phase III trials, met its primary goals of being on a par or better than nitrofurantoin, the current standard of care for the treatment of
uUTIs, the company said.
GSK plans to submit results of the trials to the United States Food and Drug Administration for review later in the second quarter.
The drug, if approved, could become the first new type of antibiotic, which is critically important for countering drug-resistant infections, to treat uUTIs in 20
years, the company said.
"Gepotidacin, if approved, will offer a much-needed additional oral treatment option for patients at risk of treatment failure associated with resistance or
recurrence of uUTI," Chris Corsico, senior vice president of development at GSK, said.
In a move towards greater diversity and inclusivity, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has welcomed three accomplished women to its board of key members.
Aisling O'Brien, Sukhi Basra, and Sehar Shahid-who is the youngest member- have joined the board, marking a significant step in the organisation's commitment
to equality and representation.
The announcement, made on the occasion of the International Women's Day, by chief executive, Paul Rees MBE via X reflects the organisation's dedication to
celebrating and empowering women in the pharmacy profession.
Sukhi Basra, the inaugural female board member since last April, adds a valuable dimension to the NPA. With her role as a Community Pharmacy KCW committee
member and her experience in clinical pharmacy spanning over 25 years, she brings a wealth of knowledge and a distinctive viewpoint.
It was titled, "Prevalence of Unprofessional Social Media Content Among Young Vascular Surgeons," after which we saw many female physicians and surgeons from around the country posting pictures of themselves in a bikini, posing during relaxed evenings, or sitting beside the pool.