International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2025: Inspiring and Supporting Women in STEM

As part of Pharmaceutical Technology®’s coverage of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we sat down with Sabine Gölden, eLearning & Training Lead at MAIN5, a European consulting firm, about her experience working in the pharmaceutical industry and her perspective on gender equality in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

PharmTech: What are some of the benefits of STEM programs for girls in school? How do these programs translate to women building careers in the pharmaceutical industry?

Gölden: From my perspective, the primary goal of STEM programs is to provide equal access to all fields for everyone, without labeling specific areas as gender-specific.

As a mother of two, I observe with great interest how societal expectations continue to shape role models. A clear example is toy advertisements—on many popular websites, you can filter toys by ‘Boys’ or ‘Girls,’ resulting in distinctly different suggestions. And this is just one of many examples. That’s why I strongly believe STEM programs in schools are a valuable opportunity to challenge stereotypes and give every student the chance to discover whether STEM is the right fit for them.

Scientific research shows that there are cognitive differences and varying talents between men and women. As a result, some individuals may naturally have advantages in this or that topic or might suit better in a specific position. These talents follow a Gaussian (‘normal’) distribution, and men are more likely to have cognitive advantages for STEM-related work—but women are still underrepresented in these fields.

Gender should never be the basis for deciding which field of study is right for you, regardless of any evolutionary advantages or disadvantages. Ultimately, someone’s path should be determined by their unique talents, passion, dedication and interests—not by their gender.

It’s crucial for every girl to understand this. Since gender-based stereotypes persist, programs that encourage girls and women to explore subjects traditionally overlooked due to outdated role models are essential.

PharmTech: Is there sufficient investment in promoting STEM career paths for girls? Should the pharma industry invest in these types of promotions?

Gölden: While there a many ongoing initiatives and activities at schools and from the pharma industry promoting STEM career paths and there is progress in closing the gender gap. One of the most burning topics is the effect of the ‘leaky pipeline’. This term describes how women are more likely to leave STEM fields at various stages of their careers, leading to a significant gender gap in these professions.

From my perspective the leak arises mostly from the challenge of ‘working motherhood’. There are already great set-ups as maternity leave, that jobs are held, more and more flexible working models and so on, but it is not yet enough to fully enable mothers to be able to master the work-motherhood challenge.

I recently listened to a TED Talk about NASA's pioneering women, such as Barbara Paulson and Helen Lane, who balanced motherhood and work by fostering a culture of working motherhood. They shared childcare responsibilities with their husbands, enabling them to contribute to the space race.

Even today, it's still uncommon for women to be the primary breadwinners and men to take on the role of caretakers. From my perspective, this is where the biggest challenge lies. It's not just about providing opportunities and empowerment for women; it's about breaking down the barriers for men, who often face potential career and reputation impacts when they take on caretaker roles.

I am fortunate to be able to focus on my job because my partner works for an organization where he doesn't fear negative repercussions for working part-time. However, we know that this isn't true for all organizations. We need to work on more role models for men who are caretakers!

Click the video above to watch the full interview.

About the speaker

Sabine Gölden is eLearning & Training Lead at MAIN5, a European consulting firm delivering digitally enabled change in Life Sciences. She is based in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan area of Germany.