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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | J u l y 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 11 fessionals and university professors. "It gives us an opportunity to create networks that we wouldn't have made in our own disciplines and within our own organi- zations," she said. Strong talent pool Although there are no hard numbers on how Connecticut life science compa- nies compare nationally when it comes to gender parity, Frey said her executive group database lists 75 women in senior leadership roles (vice president or above), or who are senior faculty members in academia. Of those, roughly half are C-suite executives and 15 are CEOs. "at's a very strong cohort considering that there are probably 85 to 100 bioscience companies overall," Frey said. "ere's actually a huge and incredibly talented pool of women here and I see that as a sign that if we do the work to continue to advance them, we can actually become a leader in this space when it comes to diversi- ty," said Frey. Sobolov said the group wants to elevate and provide mentorship opportunities for women at all stages of the pipeline, starting with young girls who may be thinking about a career in the sciences. It also seeks to encourage and prepare members to seek seats on the boards of biotech companies. An April analysis of 140 venture-backed healthcare companies by investment fund Deerfield Management found women made up only 10% of board director roles. Morag Grassie, senior associate director of the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale, said she had an experience similar to Frey's when she attended her first Yale Life Sciences Pitchfest in 2018. e annual Shark Tank-style contest has been a springboard for numerous successful startups. She remembers scanning the lineup of presenters that year and thinking: "Where are all the women?" "I think there were maybe just one or two among a very large number of applicants," she said. As a result of that experience, Grassie and two of her colleagues at Yale's Office for Cooperative Research, Michelle McQueen and Lolahon Kadiri, launched Amplify- HerScience, a new program to help women scientists commercialize their research. Historically, men have been more likely than women to start companies based on their lab research, a contributing factor to the gender gap in top leadership. Grassie said one of the biggest obstacles for successful women faculty members is time, since many are also tapped for multiple boards and committees and are also juggling family responsibilities. "Our goal is to try to remove those barriers by making it as easy as possible for them to find the opportunities [to pitch their ideas], and then also helping to coach them so when they do invest the time, they have a better chance of success," Grassie said. She said the program is already making inroads. For example, two Yale scientists coached through the program were among 12 women entrepreneurs selected for Equal- ize 2021, a national pitch competition for women entrepreneurs, she said. Building a community Another sign of progress: four of the nine winners at this year's Yale Innovation Summit, the largest entrepreneurial event on campus, were women, including ReNetX CEO Smith, who took first place in the phar- maceuticals and biotherapeutics category. "What I noticed was that about 25% of the companies pitching this year were women led," said Usha Pillai, a biotechnology strat- egist for the Economic Development Cor- poration of New Haven, who also works as a diversity consultant. "I don't ever remember seeing that many women pitching." When she began working in the New Haven biotech space, she said she "could probably count the number of prominent women on my fingers." She said one of the major reasons for the shi is that women like Frey, Smith, Sobolov and others are building a community. "It provides visibility for local leaders to know each other and engage with each other and talk about challenges and success strate- gies," she said. "It happens very naturally for male leaders. ey go out for golf, they go out for drinks. Having a space where women can engage in these conversations is critical." Pillai, who co-chairs a peer-to-peer men- toring program for the new Women in Bio chapter, said companies can also help by tak- ing a hard look at whether there are barriers within their organization that are holding women back, such as unconscious mindsets about women or policies that discourage work-life balance. "What we want to do is get more men [in leadership] to be our allies," she said. "We need to work together." n 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 | 860.242.8586 | pdsec.com TOTAL PROJECT SIZE: 10,740 SF Another Successful Project by PDS WALLINGFORD TRUCK STORAGE FACILITY | WALLINGORD, CT The new DPW facility for the Town of Wallingford is a 10,740 square foot pre- engineered metal building. The project included 10 truck bays with overhead doors, 4' high concrete kicker wall, clear span, office space, lockers, restrooms, training room, mechanical room, tool storage, wash bay and a mezzanine. SPOTLIGHT ON: MUNICIPAL THINK • PLAN • BUILD "I suddenly found myself in a space where there were very few women, or people of color, in leadership. That was a harsh reality at the time." Rebecca Frey, COO, EvolveImmune Therapeutics "What I noticed was that about 25% of the companies pitching this year were women led. I don't ever remember seeing that many women pitching." Usha Pillai, Biotechnology Strategist for the Economic Development Corporation of New Haven

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