Over the past 20 years, women have made significant, necessary strides in the life sciences, and Women In Bio has been there to support that progress. To prepare for the next 20 years, we need to make changes now that set us up to be better, stronger, and more impactful for our WIB community. We need a consistent and equitable member experience that reflects both the shared and diverse backgrounds of all women across the industry and manifests the unique character of each life science market.
As we close out the final year of our current strategic plan and head into planning for the next phase, the Executive Leadership Team and the Board of Directors believe the important strategic updates here will allow WIB to continue to become a premier organization for women in life sciences. These changes will put us in a better position to promote, support, celebrate, and inspire members around the world.
In the short term, we will:
- Bring on a new Executive Director
- Strengthen the national-chapter connections by expanding communication, support, and resource-sharing
- Maximize high-quality, consistent programming by prioritizing chapter-led volunteer activities and reorganizing national volunteer activities
- Deliver greater financial transparency
- Close inactive chapters
If we do this, we can:
- Grow our membership and impact by expanding our reach to all women and allies in the life sciences
- Provide all chapters and members with a stronger, more aligned organization
- Establish stronger and more impactful partnerships with industry leaders
These organizational updates align with Women In Bio’s strategic goals of elevating WIB’s voice, our reach, the value of membership, inclusion, operational excellence, and long-term financial stability.
Update #1: Women In Bio Welcomes New Executive Director
The Board of Directors launched a rigorous hiring process led by a Hiring Committee in January to find WIB’s next Executive Director. After more than 400 applications, several rounds of interviews, and meeting top qualified candidates, the Board has selected Gina Ford as Women In Bio’s Executive Director! The Board has full confidence in her ability to lead the organization, expand our reach, increase our partners and diversify our funding in order to provide more resources to our volunteers and members through the next strategic plan and beyond. Please join us again in welcoming Gina!
Update #2: Launching Planning for 2024-2026 Strategic Plan
The second half of 2023 will focus on what the next 3+ years will look like for our organization, and we will need your help! As part of the process, we will be engaging with a variety of stakeholders in the coming months. We appreciate your participation in advance and look forward to engaging with you!
Update #3: National Volunteer Leadership Reorganization
Over the past year, WIB has reviewed all layers of the organization, including the staffing structure and Board of Directors, to ensure that all are providing the greatest benefit to the organization and working in the most efficient and effective manner. The last remaining layer to review was National Volunteer Leadership.
The Executive Leadership conducted a survey of current national and chapter volunteers and held listening sessions through the first quarter to understand what was working well and identify areas of opportunity. After the review, it was decided to incorporate our EWIB and YWIB programming more intentionally within their respective core chapters’ activities and sunset the current National Volunteer Leadership roles and committees. This new structure will enable more direct information sharing and align programming across the continuum as core chapter operations. WIB is committed to supporting each individual during this transition and continuing to provide meaningful and intentional opportunities to support our mission.
We are forever grateful for the dedication and work that our current and past National Volunteers have done in support of the WIB mission.
Update #4: Women In Bio Announces Closure of Atlanta and Texas Chapters
As part of WIB’s strategic growth plan and commitment to providing high-quality and consistent programming for all of its members, Women In Bio announces the closure of the Atlanta and Texas chapters effective June 30, 2023. We thank the members, volunteer leaders, sponsors, and community of each chapter for their work and dedication to the WIB mission during these years. Members in the Atlanta and Texas chapters will receive further communication from Women In Bio regarding their membership and continued access to all benefits of WIB membership across remaining chapters and nationally. We will continue to look to expand WIB to new areas that are strategically viable long-term and will provide impact to women in those locales.
Update #5: Women In Bio Announces New General Membership Price
For over 20 years, Women In Bio has made a monumental impact for all women in the life sciences and maintained the same general membership pricing of $95 for over 10 years. To continue providing quality programming nationally and across WIB chapters, we have made the decision to increase the price of the regular annual membership to $120*, effective July 1, 2023. This increases the monthly cost to $10 per month from the current $7.91 per month, which remains at a significantly lower cost than membership pricing of comparable organizations.
We look forward to continue our efforts in making WIB the premier organization for women in the life sciences. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact us at info@womeninbio.org.
*Those who need financial assistance can fill out our Financial Hardship Application.
