Cardinal Health Expert Discusses Latest Research On Gender Gap In Pharmacy

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May 04, 2015, 08:30 ET

DUBLIN, Ohio, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pharmacy Workforce Center recently issued its 2014 National Pharmacist Workforce Survey, which confirmed that pharmacy has shifted toward a female-dominated profession. With more women than men serving as active pharmacists and managers, there is an incredible opportunity for women to start purchasing pharmacies from retiring pharmacists in the next decade.

In a new blog post on Cardinal Health's online thought leadership site, Essential Insights, Eden Sulzer, director of the Women in Pharmacy Initiative at Cardinal Health, shares her thoughts about this research, and its implications for female pharmacy ownership.

"I was very encouraged to see that we're now finally seeing parity when it comes to men and women in pharmacy management roles," says Sulzer. "However, the gender gap persists between men and women in ownership – that's where Cardinal Health's Women in Pharmacy program comes in. It's our goal to close this gap."

Sulzer shares there are several key issues that are contributing to the overall trend of fewer women seizing pharmacy ownership, including:

Access to capital -- It takes money to start a business.
Concerns around work life balance -- Many women pharmacists assume other career tracks in pharmacy will lead to more work life balance.
Perceived lack of business acumen and lack of confidence -- Very few pharmacy schools provide specialized business training.
Lack of awareness -- Independent pharmacies tend to be concentrated in rural or urban areas; there are limited education tracks focused on community pharmacy ownership.

To learn more about Sulzer's insights on closing the gender gap in pharmacy ownership, read her full blog post at Essential Insights.

About Cardinal Health
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a $91 billion healthcare services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of health care. As the business behind health care, Cardinal Health helps pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and physician offices focus on patient care while reducing costs, enhancing efficiency and improving quality. Cardinal Health is an essential link in the health care supply chain, providing pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 100,000 locations each day. The company is also a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products. In addition, the company operates the nation's largest network of radiopharmacies, which dispense products to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Ranked #22 on the Fortune 500, Cardinal Health employs more than 34,000 people worldwide. More information about the company may be found at cardinalhealth.com and @CardinalHealth on Twitter.