This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the achievements of women within our four walls. To #BreakTheBias, working to promote a more diverse, equal, and inclusive workplace environment for all. We interviewed three of our female scientists who work every day with leadership, passion, and dedication to build a more inclusive future for all.

You-Lim Kim, a scientist in the Cell Line Development Group, remembers reading a quote in a newspaper that has stuck with her for years: Nothing stands in the way of your hard work and talent. 

“I think one of the best things about working at Samsung Biologics is how fairness is at the heart of our culture. We are all recognized by the hard work and accomplishments we demonstrate at work and not by our backgrounds,” said You-Lim. “Almost 40% of our employees are females within the company, and although there is always progress to be made, it is extremely encouraging to have so many female role models to look up to in my department.”

You-Lim was always fascinated by life sciences when she was younger. Being responsible for the first stage of cell line development, You-Lim told us how fascinating and rewarding the process is, especially to develop cells with new properties through molecular biological engineering to ultimately supply biologics to patients.

“In order to promote gender equality in our daily lives, we need to really believe in ourselves to take on challenges and break the bias of inequality,” You-Lim said. “Women often face situations where they have to take career breaks due to reasons like child birth and child care. Increasing access to a sustainable social system to support women who go through such a transition and creating a healthy and sustainable culture are crucial in building an inclusive working environment for all.”

"Science and technology are crucial in finding answers to building a sustainable future. However, only a small number of women worldwide choose to enter the scientific field despite both men and women having equally superior competencies,” said Jae Hyun Kim, a scientist in the CMC Quality Assurance Group responsible for DP product quality. “I believe breaking the cycle of discrimination is key and we need to focus on expanding the educational system for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and encourage more women to join us and foster the next generation of professionals.”

Jae Hyun Kim also wanted to be a scientist from a young age after seeing her dad fight kidney cancer. “I always wanted to help people through science so I studied chemical engineering in order to build a future by helping provide greater accessibility to biologics,” she added.

She loves working at Samsung Biologics for offering equal opportunities in this particular field of work regardless of gender. “We address each other as ‘pro-nim’, which is a Korean honorific attached to one’s name that means ‘professional’,” she explained. “It promotes a horizontal, organizational, and gender-neutral work culture, which is what I value the most about our company.”

As a leader in the Microbiology Tech Group handling tech transfer and test management of microbial testing methods, Eun Young Kim was surprised to see so many female scientists at all stages in their careers when she first joined the company.

“Samsung Biologics has a variety of support systems to help women within the workplace, such as nursing rooms and in-house daycare centers,” she said. “I am also learning a lot by looking up to the other female executives and employees who have been at this company longer and are really taking a lead in their career to make their own decisions and taking bold steps forward.”

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