“I strongly believe there is no limit to learning.”
We are helping to support the International Women’s Day (IWD) #BreakTheBias campaign this year, continuing their quest to create a gender equal world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
In recent years, it’s been found that gender balance in pharmacy organisations has increased, but there is still a noticeable lack of women in leadership positions. In a 2018 study, women held 34% of leadership positions in pharmacies, despite representing 62% of pharmacists in Australia1.
This International Women’s Day, in line with the global day’s mission to celebrate women’s achievements, we wanted to honour the incredible women in our network of independent pharmacies that are owning it and working to #BreakTheBias. We spoke with the wonderful Thu Tran, Part Owner of Campbellfield Pharmacy, to understand a bit more about her journey in pharmacy and what has inspired her.
Thu moved from Vietnam to Australia in 1990 and at this point had never been to school. She received a basic education at a refugee camp and applied herself, working hard to learn. Originally, she wanted to study psychology, though this mainly came from the fear that she wouldn’t get in to pharmacy. She applied for both courses and was ecstatic when she was accepted into the pharmacy course. She graduated from her Bachelor of Pharmacy in 2000 and has now been in the industry for over 20 years.
Her biggest female mentor is her mother who is kind, generous and selfless, always giving without expecting anything in return. In her practise, Thu takes on this kindness and empathy with customers. It seems this doesn’t go unnoticed, as customers are always expressing their gratitude and bringing her gifts of coffee and homemade pasta.
She noticed that at university there was an even split of men and women in pharmacy, but feels it is a male-dominated industry in the real world. She encourages women in the industry to form a supportive network, as this will help to ease you in stressful periods.
Thu strongly believes there is no limit to learning, and it is important to reflect and continue growing. It is with this mentality that she has become the incredible pharmacy leader that she is.
What Thu likes about Pharmacy Alliance is the team and people who are passionate and believe in you. The team supports her in achieving her goal of the pharmacy acting as a reliable health destination for the community, because we are truly better together.
We would like to thank Thu for her incredible achievements in the pharmacy industry and thank her for serving as an inspiration as a strong independent female pharmacy leader. We thank you for selecting Pharmacy Alliance to support your pharmacies.
1 https://researchprofiles.canberra.edu.au/en/publications/gender-balance-in-pharmacy-leadership-are-we-making-progress