We're Now a Community Interest Company, and Here's Why That Matters to You By Komal George & Reena Barai, Co-Founders & Directors, Female Pharmacy Leaders Network CIC

The pharmacy profession is 62% female. Only 36% of its senior leadership positions are held by women. That gap does not exist because women lack ambition or ability. It exists because the conditions have not been designed with women's progression in mind. Four years ago, we set out to change that. This year, we became a registered Community Interest Company and we want to explain what that means, and why it matters to you.

From Conversation to Community

When we founded FPLN in 2021, the ambition was straightforward: create the space that did not yet exist. A place where women across every part of pharmacy - community, hospital, primary care, academia, industry could find each other, be honest about the barriers they face, and start building the careers and the confidence they deserved.

Five years and over 1000 members later, that space has become a community. We have held more than 32 meetups. Our annual retreat has sold out twice. Our emails are opened at more than twice the industry average. We have seen women in our community take on board roles, stand for professional body elections, change sectors, start businesses, and step into leadership positions they did not think were meant for them.

 

What the CIC Structure Actually Means

A Community Interest Company is a legal structure designed specifically for organisations that exist to benefit a community, not to generate profit for shareholders. For FPLN, it means four things.

• Our income and assets are locked to our mission. Every penny we generate goes back into supporting women in pharmacy leadership, by law.
• We are formally accountable to a regulator - the CIC Regulator requires us to report on our community impact annually, which is accountability that goes beyond good intentions.
• We are independent: not owned by, controlled by, or beholden to any pharmacy organisation, employer, or commercial partner.
• And we are built to last — if the network ever dissolved, our remaining assets must transfer to another organisation with a similar community purpose. The work continues, whatever happens to us personally as founders.

This is the difference between a passion project and a permanent institution. FPLN is now the latter.

The Problem Has Not Gone Away

That gap is compounded further when you look beneath the headline figure. Women of colour make up 31.9% of the pharmacy profession but only 24.2% of Band 8a+ roles. Women are far less likely than men to own their own pharmacy. The gender pay gap in pharmacy sits at 4.1% overall, and higher still along ethnicity lines.

We are the only organisation in UK pharmacy whose primary purpose is the leadership development, community support, and advocacy of women across all pharmacy sectors and backgrounds. No regulator, no professional body, no trade organisation fills this specific role. The CIC structure ensures that the role is now protected for the long term.

What We Are Building Toward

The CIC registration is the foundation for everything in motion.

• Our Annual Day Retreat takes place on 23 June 2026 at Tofte Manor, Bedfordshire.
• Our Leadership Journeys content series launches in July 2026, celebrating the real stories of women who have navigated pharmacy leadership across every part of the profession.
• We are growing toward 2,500 members by March 2027, with a full programme of monthly online meetups and in-person specialist events throughout the year.
• And we are delighted to welcome Anjna Sharma as our interim Chief Operating Officer, bringing the operational leadership the network needs as we scale.

If you are a pharmacy professional not yet part of FPLN, membership is free. Find us on LinkedIn or reach us at femalepharmacyleaders@gmail.com.

If your organisation is committed to developing female talent in pharmacy as an NHS trust, community pharmacy operator, professional body, or industry partner our Partnerships and Sponsorships Brochure sets out how we can work together. Contact us at femalepharmacyleaders@gmail.com to request a copy and explore how we can work together.

The pharmacy profession is majority female. Its leadership must reflect that. We are building the organisation that makes it happen.

Komal & Reena Co-Founders & Directors, Female Pharmacy Leaders Network CIC femalepharmacyleaders@gmail.com