Women and nonwhite racial/ethnic groups are still earning less in the life sciences. An industry consultant discusses the pay disparities, ways to fix the gaps and why change is needed.
Gender and racial/ethnic pay gaps remain an issue in the life sciences industry, according to the recently published BioSpace 2026 U.S. Life Sciences Salary Report. In 2025, the gender pay gap was unchanged from the past two years, while white/non-Hispanic professionals continued to outearn other populations, consistent with previous years.
The news did not surprise Tom Browne, founder of Corporate to Community Services, a consulting firm focused on boosting local corporate partnerships and community-driven impact. Browne, who previously was an in-house consultant on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and health equity issues for MassBio and its 1,700 members, told BioSpace that broadly speaking, the industry is aware of pay disparities. But, he noted, “I think that there’s a gap between understanding and action, and until we close that gap, we’re going to continue to see the inequities that your report is illustrating.”
A 2024 BIO report on charting a path to inclusive excellence for biotechs also highlighted the need for addressing pay disparities.
“Pay equity is an increasingly important concern for organizations, with more countries implementing regulations mandating monitoring, compliance, and transparency related to compensation,” the report said. “Furthermore, unaddressed pay equity issues can impact trust in leadership and employee engagement and retention as well as expose organizations to litigation risks and damage to corporate reputation.”
MassBio has also produced a diversity, equity and inclusion report that noted some concerns. In a letter at the start of the 2023 report, CEO and President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell said there had been a disappointing lack of engagement from companies on the survey used to collect data. She added, “This is an indictment of our industry and a real concern for me personally because actions speak louder than words.”
BioSpace contacted BIO, MassBio and California Life Sciences (CLS), which in 2023 published a playbook for accelerating and incubating diverse life sciences entrepreneurs, to request interviews for this story. However, the organizations declined to participate. A BIO spokesperson said they did not believe the group could assist in the inquiry after touching base with a few people at the association. At MassBio, a spokesperson noted they weren’t sure the group had much to offer on the topic at this time. A CLS spokesperson said they did not believe the group had the right subject-matter expert to properly comment on the topic.
Females earn less than 90% of male counterparts
On average, females still earn less than males for salaries and bonuses, with total earnings coming in at 88% of what males earn, according to the BioSpace salary survey. Females’ average total earnings were $170,058, compared to $195,942 for males. The data for male survey respondents leaned toward having more life sciences work experience, often commensurate with pay.
One reason Browne said the gap didn’t surprise him is that society continues to let inequities play out despite knowing the professional and structural disadvantages women face.
“As amazing as I believe the life sciences industry is, it is still within that context,” he said. “But I will say that I have worked with a lot of companies who are actually doing really good work in this space. And I think if we were to continue to support more and actually encourage more to do so, we would see much more progress potentially in the immediate future.”
One way to fix the gender pay gap, according to Browne, is to address the issue of men having more life sciences work experience. Workforce development and inclusion programs that encourage and nurture the pipeline of female talent can help with that, he said. However, he noted, it will take awhile to see results from such programs.
“I think individual companies—employers—could choose to address their pay gaps immediately, but I think the lack of opportunity females have had to be in the workplace, to advance in the workplace for multiple years, that will take time to develop and improve,” Browne said.
As to what could be done to more quickly address the gender gap, Browne noted that it’s important for companies to analyze not only the overall gap but also gaps for specific roles to see if those roles are weighted more or less toward equity.
White/non-Hispanic professionals still have highest earnings
On average, white/non-Hispanic professionals earned more than any other population in 2025, consistent with previous years, according to the BioSpace salary survey. It’s important, however, to note two caveats when examining earnings totals. First, the data for survey respondents who reported as white/non-Hispanic skewed more experienced, often commensurate with pay. Second, there were more data points for analysis in that group, as almost half of all participants reported as white/non-Hispanic.
The average total earnings broke down as:
- White/non-Hispanic: $203,287
- Latino or Hispanic: $166,118
- Asian: $157,721
- Black or African American: $145,537
The racial/ethnic pay gap did not surprise Browne for a similar reason the gender pay gap didn’t, as he noted there are underlying structural factors behind the gap. However, he also pointed out that the life sciences industry is becoming more aware of the need to have the best talent from different backgrounds, especially during challenging times and given today’s hiring environment.
“Because of the growing competitiveness that we see globally, there is a real need to attract the talent that is best to suit the different programs, initiatives, therapies that we’re trying to develop within the industry,” Browne said.
He further explained that “with the lure from other global hubs in the life sciences, it may be that we need to address those pay parity challenges sooner than we might have previously realized.”
Supporting people from different backgrounds so they can progress and be rewarded for the talents and gifts they bring to the industry could help quickly bring about progress for fixing the racial/ethnic pay gap, Browne noted.
Companies should act sooner than later
There’s some urgency in addressing pay gaps to help keep life sciences professionals in the United States given there’s already a migration of talent outside of the country, according to Browne.
“Once talent leaves our hubs here in the U.S., my concern is that it’s very difficult to then get them back,” he said.
Still, Browne is feeling encouraged about the life sciences industry fixing the gender and racial/ethnic pay gaps. Based on his work with companies, he said, he’s seeing more investment in early-stage talent and more openness to discovering internal or structural challenges that might be reducing opportunities for women or minorities to succeed within businesses.
“I think we have an opportunity now—again, thanks to the data revealing some of these inequities and continuing to reveal these inequities—to make a choice as an industry that as we have led in so many different innovations and solutions for society, that we could do the same in this space,” Browne said.
