London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2025

Gender equality at BioNTech made the impossible possible, founder says

Gender equality at BioNTech made the impossible possible, founder says

Dr Ozlem Tureci told a WHO briefing that gender equality helped the company act with such speed in developing a Covid-19 vaccine.

The co-founder and chief medical officer of BioNTech has credited its speed at producing a viable vaccine to the fact its workforce is more than 50% female.

Speaking on International Women’s Day, Dr Ozlem Tureci also said the fact women are so under-represented in decision-making roles in medicine was “destroying value” for stakeholders.

The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine was the first to be approved in the UK and Dr Tureci said it was BioNTech’s balanced workforce that “made the impossible possible” in creating a jab in just 11 months.

Dr Tureci told a World Health Organisation (WHO) briefing the lack of gender equality in patient care, medical research and the biopharm industry is “obvious every day”.

She added: “The higher the ranks, the more value-destroying (is) the lost opportunity of mobilising precious talent.”

"On the vaccine team in Oxford, two-thirds are female and all have worked incredibly hard for over a year, often while dealing with family responsibilities. However, of the senior positions on the team, only one-third are women"


According to WHO data, women make up 70% of the global health and care workforce, but occupy just 25% of decision-making roles.

Dr Tureci said: “At BioNTech, women make up 54% of our total workforce and 45% of top management.

“We like to think that being a gender-balanced team has been critical to making the seemingly impossible possible – developing a Covid-19 vaccine within 11 months without shortcuts.”

She said she was ready to “continue the marathon” of bringing Covid-19 under control with the women in her company and worldwide, adding: “This is why I very much want to see women enabled today and also tomorrow.”

Her words were echoed by the University of Oxford’s Professor Sarah Gilbert – co-founder of Vaccitech and the developer of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Prof Gilbert told the briefing: “On the vaccine team in Oxford, two-thirds are female and all have worked incredibly hard for over a year, often while dealing with family responsibilities.

“However, of the senior positions on the team, only one-third are women.”


Prof Gilbert said she was now working to understand the barriers to promotion women face at Oxford University, particularly as they are so well represented at junior levels.

“There are concerns that the pandemic has had more of an effect on the careers and livelihoods of women than men, and as we begin to make our plans for recovery we must not neglect this,” she said.

The Prime Minister paid tribute to Prof Gilbert and several others in a video posted on social media on Monday to celebrate all the women on the front line of the UK’s Covid-19 response.

Boris Johnson said Prof Gilbert’s work “helped to accelerate the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, meaning that manufacturing and the rigorous testing regime started early”.

In February, WHO launched its Gender Equal Health and Care Workforce Initiative to increase the number of women in leadership roles and promote equal pay.

It also aims to improve working conditions by protecting women from sexual harassment and violence and ensure equal access to personal protective equipment and vaccines for women and men.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
×