ALS Pharmaceuticals has tipped the balance of gender bias in science with female staff making up 80% of its Ely employees
Nationally, STEM jobs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) have less than 15% of women in post, according to The Wise Campaign, which aims to draw in 1 million more women into the sector.
Sharon Hanly, general manager of ALS Pharmaceutical, said: "We not only have an 80-20 staff ratio in favour of women, but also most of the senior positions are filled by women here at Ely.
"We employ almost 40 experienced and qualified scientists who perform chemical and microbiological testing to help ensure that both over-the-counter and prescription medicines, vitamin supplements and cosmetics meet quality standards."
Last month, one of their female laboratory technicians, Sema Ozbeck, 20, won the College of West Anglia's Science Apprentice of the Year.
Another senior manager, Constance Okoye began working for ALS 10 years ago as a scientific assistant and is now their business liaison manager.
Okoye said: "I've always wanted to be a scientist. In fact, I attended a special science school in Nigeria for girls no less, so I've never really understood why science is not thought of as a natural career choice for women.”
ALS Pharmaceutical is based at Ely, Cambridgeshire, part of the biotechnology cluster in the region, and has just received an injection of £2m from its parent company, ALS Global, that will quadruple its current microbiology facilities.
Hanly explains: "The expanded facilities will include a state of the art HEPA filtered laboratory, purpose-built, walk-in chambers for storage stability trials and increased batch release testing capabilities.
“We're looking forward to the official opening of the facilities this September, and we're taking on a new apprentice, also female, after the successful experience we've had with Sema."