Eric Hughes, Head of Global R&D and Chief Medical Officer at HVP Pharmaceuticals, shares the stories of the three women who shaped his journey and whose impact has inspired him personally and professionally.
Both my parents were scientists. My mom and my dad had PhDs in chemistry. My father did organic chemistry, and my mother did inorganic chemistry.
At that time, most scientific disciplines were male-dominated worlds, and this was particularly so in chemistry. Throughout my entire life, my mother has told me stories of her experiences.
Some of her stories were pretty devastating. For example, one of her advisors during her PhD told her, “I don’t know why I’m teaching you anything because you’re just going to get pregnant.” This encounter still pains me to think about, and there’s story after story like this of how barriers were raised against her throughout her career.
It is these women who, through their resilience, intellect, and unwavering dedication, have not only broken barriers but also left an indelible mark on my journey.
But my mother didn’t let them stop her. She became a professor of chemistry at two universities and then held CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls) regulatory positions in the industry. She ended up working at many of the largest pharmaceutical companies across the United States and finished her career at a boutique consulting company. Her insight and capacity in the various roles still amazes me.
My learnings from her are, first and foremost, that females in science have gone through tremendous struggles in the past. We’ve come a long way. But I know a lot of those struggles still exist. I also saw it in a practical sense. My mother is wildly intelligent. The fact that she had all these barriers along the way was not only unfair to her, but the companies lost out because they didn’t capitalize on the value this employee had.
My mother was my first significant influence and her stories taught me the value of recognizing not only what women can bring to the table but also what everyone can bring. It’s just an example of seeing the value in people. That was a clear way of realizing that when you lead people, you must identify the value they bring and use it.
