Equal pay is 'still a big issue' for women in pharmacy, especially those working in the community pharmacy sector, an International Women's Day conference heard earlier this month.

A lack of transparency around salaries puts female pharmacists at risk of being underpaid compared to their male counterparts, panellists at the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) National Association of Women Pharmacists (NAWP) event on Saturday 8 March warned.

'I think wages are kept quite secret, and it's only the largest companies that have to advertise them,' said community pharmacist Nicola Rees, a PDA national representative in Boots and NAWP committee member.

She suggested said that 'secrecy around wages' kept gender inequalities in pharmacist pay 'under the carpet'.

'Women have been fighting for this for many, many years, and I think we will carry on fighting for it until we find we are working in an equitable society,' Ms Rees added.

Research conducted by the PDA in 2022 suggested that on average, women pharmacists were paid lower than their male counterparts in almost every role, with pay gaps ranging from 1.8% to 13.2%.

In this survey of 600 pharmacists, only the ‘relief pharmacist’ role showed a narrow (0.5%) pay advantage for women.

The 2022 research also found that locums from ethnic minority groups were paid approximately 10% less than those from white British groups. The figures also show that relief managers, clinical pharmacists, and community pharmacists from ethnic minority groups were also paid less on average.

Following this, the PDA launched an 'Achieving Equal Pay in your Workplace' toolkit.

Also speaking on the panel, Alison Tennant, chief pharmacist at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, suggested: 'One of the skills we need to build is women's negotiation.'

She added: 'I get quite a lot of women coming to me saying: "I've been out of the world of work, I've been raising my family".

'And I sit there and go: "You have some superpowers. Have you had the right child arrive at the right event with the right kit? Logistics!"

'My operations managers are frequently mothers... that interaction and that juggling is actually something that brings you the skill into your life,' she added.

'I think actually what we need to do as women is get better at negotiating.'

Ms Tennant also suggested that pharmacists should not be afraid to move jobs. 'Go where you are valued. Because that's the other element that will get people to change what they do, is when they lose a valuable workforce.'

And she advised employees to come to employers with solutions when asking for flexible working.

'Those of us in senior leadership positions have a responsibility to be giving other people those opportunities,' she said.

'As an employer, you need to think about what opportunities you give.

'But as the person asking for the opportunity, you also need to sell it to the employer about how it's going to work for them.

'You need to work for somebody who can see the vision, who can see those opportunities, and is willing to be flexible in their thinking. Reward that flexibility of thinking by coming to them with solutions.'

Ms Tennant added that for employers, enabling flexible working can lead to 'amazing' loyalty and retention from staff.

And she said she hoped that increased interest from men for flexible working would help normalise different working patterns for all.

Also at the event, MP Taiwo Owatemi shared her journey from a pharmacist to parliament, and encouraged women to speak up and support one another.

And NAWP president Lourette Philips shared how the women's network has developed over the last 120 years, and what plans she has for the future.