Abstract

THE WAY IT WAS:Research used to be a male-dominated sector, but the employment makeup has changed dramatically over the years. Creativity and innovation are essential to the pharmaceutical sector. A diverse workplace can make for novel and innovative science brought about via the richness of different approaches and experiences, and add to the robustness of proposals and solutions.[1] All these elements make diversity not just a "nice to have," but also a tool for success in the fast-changing environment of the industry's future. Diversity can mean many things in this context: women holding key middle- and senior-management positions, different age groups, ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and even people from nontraditional educational backgrounds or nonlinear career paths. The challenge for organizations is to capture the energy such diverse teams can produce in the most meaningful way for their businesses. In recent years, Pfizer has taken a number of steps to promote diversity in its workforce worldwide, including diversity awareness training, increasing the number and types of network groups, mentoring schemes, and working towards creative solutions to accommodate requests for flexible working arrangements, in line with business needs. Equally important is the ongoing measurement of the effectiveness of the