Women have made significant gains in science over the past several decades, yet they remain underrepresented across many STEM fields, particularly at leadership levels. 

Women represent less than one-third of STEM workers globally, according to a 2024 World Economic Forum report. The report notes a steep drop-off from entry-level roles to the C-suite, with women holding just over one-tenth of leadership roles in STEM fields. 

Closing that gap requires long-term investment in women in science — not only encouraging girls’ early interest in STEM, but sustaining that interest through key turning points in often grueling graduate and postdoctoral training into the workforce, where representation, community, culture, mentorship, and sponsorship can determine who stays. 

At Amgen Massachusetts in Cambridge, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2026, that long view has shaped how leaders and scientists think about supporting women’s long-term careers in science.

A target you can see

Diana Fager’s first memory of loving science was in third grade, when her class mixed solutions that caused baking soda to fizz, colors to change, and solids to form. 

“I thought that was the coolest thing ever,” she says. But that early passion didn’t come with a clear picture of where it could lead. Growing up, Fager assumed enjoying math and science meant becoming a doctor, one of the few science careers she could clearly imagine at the time. It wasn’t until college that she realized she could have an impact on people’s lives by developing medicines.

That sense of possibility expanded further when she attended Amgen Biotech Day as a graduate student, a one-day program that brings graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to Amgen’s Cambridge site for lab tours, career panels, and scientific sessions designed to demystify the science performed in industry.

“It was really just a great day to learn more about what it’s like to work in the pharmaceutical industry because it’s not something you’re really taught in school ever,” says Fager, now a process development principal scientist in the Drug Substance Technologies Group at Amgen and part of the team planning the 10th Amgen Biotech Day. 

Margaret Faul, vice president of Drug Substance Technologies and site head for Amgen Massachusetts, sees visibility as foundational to both career planning and long-term participation in science.

“For young women in STEM, it’s important that they see and connect with people in the field who are doing work they’re interested in,” Faul says, “so they can see that this can be a realistic career for them.” 

Support that sustains careers

At Amgen, Fager has been able to build those connections through mentors like Faul, who has spent more than two decades at the company and now oversees the Cambridge workforce of roughly 650 scientists, engineers, and cross-functional staff. Employee resource groups, including Women Empowered to be Exceptional and Amgen Women in Chemistry, which Fager co-chairs, further expand that sense of community and belonging. 

“It gives us space to sit down, have coffee, volunteer, and really build community,” she says. “It’s also a reminder to keep encouraging one another — and to know we deserve to be here.”

Amgen’s commitment to long-term support extends beyond its workforce, with programs designed to engage young scientists at multiple stages of their education and early career. 

Amgen Women in Chemistry hosts an annual graduate research symposium and a yearlong mentorship program in which five to six awardees are assigned one-on-one mentorship with an Amgen scientist who can help guide them through finishing their Ph.D. programs, writing a thesis, mapping their career path, and preparing for job interviews. 

For undergraduate students, the Amgen Scholars Program offers immersive summer research experiences at leading institutions, pairing participants with academic mentors while helping them build professional networks. Since 2006, nearly 6,000 students have participated. 

Faul emphasizes that while mentorships help scientists grow, sponsorship helps them advance.

“Sponsorship is incredibly important,” she says. “For females they should feel comfortable reaching out to people they respect — and can be advocates for them as they pursue their careers.”

Culture built for longevity

Beyond individual relationships, workplace culture often determines whether women continue in science through pivotal moments.

“When I was interviewing, I could tell right away that Amgen’s culture was different — people genuinely cared about one another,” Fager says. “That initially stood out to me, and that’s definitely proven to be the case.”

She points to supportive team norms as especially critical during life transitions such as starting a family. A study published in Nature found that more than 40 percent of women with full-time jobs in science leave the sector or go part-time after having their first child. 

“We’ve actually had a pretty big baby boom in my group recently,” Fager says. “People have been able to come back and do exactly what they were doing before, so that’s been really nice to see.”

Faul agrees that culture is a central force in retention, particularly in demanding scientific environments. 

“It’s really a culture of community where it’s not just a place to work, but it’s actually a place where people feel that they belong,” Faul says. “If you don’t feel you have that supportive structure around you, it becomes much more difficult to deliver day to day.” 

Culture at Amgen includes giving back, which benefits employee morale and strengthens the broader scientific community that sustains the field. At the high school level, the Amgen Biotech Experience provides teachers and students with hands-on biotechnology labs and training, equipping classrooms with materials such as PCR (polymerase chain reaction) kits, pipettes, and chemicals. More than 1 million students worldwide have participated in the program since it was initiated in 1990.

Learning and engagement opportunities continue beyond the classroom through LabXchange, a free online science education platform developed in 2020 in partnership with Harvard University and accessible to all ages. 

 “It’s global, anybody can access it,” Faul says. “I’ve actually used it myself as new topics arise.”

Investing in women’s careers in science through this range of programs is not only about equity — it directly affects innovation and Amgen’s ability to deliver on its mission of serving patients, Faul says. “Different ways of thinking, different ways of solving problems, requires a diverse team.”

As Massachusetts continues to serve as a global life sciences hub, employing more than 140,000 life science workers and contributing $42 billion to the state’s GDP in 2024, sustaining experienced scientific talent is increasingly important to the region’s workforce and future innovation.

“Diverse teams don’t just strengthen workplace culture — they strengthen the work itself,” Faul says. “They make what you deliver better, because they make you better.”