Pharmacists Reena Barai, Komal George and Harpreet Chana found the network in 2021 to address the leadership gap for women in pharmacy.

The FPLN has run 32 events and organised annual retreats as it offers leadership development, networking, mentoring, advocacy and community support to over 1,000 members across the pharmacy profession.

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It aims to advance diversity and representation across pharmacy leadership to address an imbalance of women in senior leadership positions. The FPLN also said the situation is “more acute” for women of colour.

C+D previously reported that women only make up 36% of senior pharmacy leadership positions. The latest General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) data shows women account for 62.8% of the UK pharmacy workforce.

Barai said becoming a CIC will “make sure that community can keep growing and keep mattering for the long term”.

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George said it will now give the FPLN to “work at scale” and “with the credibility and sustainability the mission deserves”.

“That gap does not close by itself, it closes because organisations like ours exist, and because the women in our community refuse to accept it as inevitable,” she said.

FPLN offers free membership and it has a series of in-person and online events planned for its 2026-27 programme to expand beyond its London community.

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As part of its CIC registration, it has appointed pharmacist Anjna Sharma as interim chief operating officer and board adviser.

Barai and George are directors, with Chana stepping back from her role as co-founder.

In October, five women entrepreneurs in pharmacy shared how they deal with the challenges they experienced in a “male-dominated” industry, as well as how they make the best of networks, and deal  with ‘imposter syndrome’.