High-achieving women in the field of pharma and health technology are running an increasingly common mental exercise. Many have achieved all of what they set out to achieve professionally. Yet the question arises every time a layoff or restructuring hits a former colleague: if that happened here, how long would I be able to stay standing?
That’s a question that is worth considering seriously. What it tends to uncover for the women who sit with it honestly is a divergence between how secure a career feels and just how secure it truly is.
The Ground Has Been Moving
The sectors in which many high-achieving women have made careers have been in motion. The 17 largest pharmaceutical firms combined eliminated more than 22,000 employees in 2025, according to analysis by Fierce Pharma of published workforce figures. In the first four and a half months of 2026 alone, more than 14,000 positions were eliminated or planned for elimination by biopharma firms. That number is greater than was observed in the same period in 2025, according to BioSpace records.
The reductions are impacting director and VP functions, including clinical operations, regulatory affairs, and commercial; areas in which women in pharma and health tech have focused their expertise and seniority over careers they have built through decades.
Outside of pharma, the broader picture for the white-collar professional has been narrowing almost imperceptibly. Professional and business services employment has shrunken for more than 31 consecutive months, according to data on file from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (reported by Quartz). Hiring cycles for senior roles have lengthened significantly. For management, business, and financial operations professionals, the average unemployment period now runs approximately 24 weeks, or about six months, according to BLS data (reported by Jobgether).
Where AI Fits In
Layoffs and hiring ebb and flow. AI disruption introduces its own type of uncertainty, and it is not being felt equally.
Women in white-collar, knowledge-based professions bear a higher proportion of AI-related exposure. A study from Cognizant and Oxford Economics that analyzed more than 18,000 tasks across approximately 1,000 job categories found that many of the roles in which women are most concentrated, including clinical, regulatory, and commercial functions in healthcare and pharmaceutical environments have some of the highest exposure scores. A 2025 poll from the American Psychological Association found that 38% of workers are already concerned AI will make their current job tasks obsolete. In sectors actively investing in AI to drive the search for new drugs, manage clinical trials, and run commercial analytics, roles that used to command deep specialized expertise are being renegotiated.
The women who hold many of those roles don’t know what that means for them personally. The uncertainty is real and far-reaching.
The Math Most People Never Run
The single most significant thing most senior professionals don’t model before a layoff is the actual cost of that transition.
At a VP-level compensation package, a six-month search means a significant loss of income before the next opportunity lands. That’s the easy number. The less-visible costs stack in alongside it:
- Negotiating power declines as months turn and financial pressure builds.
- Likelihood to accept the first offer rises, even when it falls outside of the market.
- Quality of decision-making deteriorates under sustained financial stress, influencing every professional interaction in the course of the search process.
For senior professionals who tend to carry higher fixed expenses and are less likely to bridge a gap with entry-level opportunities, the math is especially concerning.
When Staying Is a Choice
Earlier this year we discussed why ambitious women are adding an income stream from the perspective of opportunity: the pull toward building expertise that works beyond any one employer. Here is the other side of that same calculation.
Having a second stream of income that lies outside the control of your company changes what you’re able to consider doing, even when you’re not in crisis and have no intention of leaving. When a secondary income covers just a fraction of your fixed expenses, the calculus for almost every professional decision you need to make changes. You can remain in a search long enough to identify the right position. You can push back on restructuring efforts that do not accurately reflect your contribution. You can exit a situation that is no longer working before the next one is secured, on your own terms and on a timeline of your choosing.
The income stream doesn’t have to be significant to change the landscape. Even a small secondary income creates enough cushion beneath you that the ability to remain in your corporate role is a decision you actually own.
The women building a secondary income source now are doing it while the ground still feels firm, with intention.
The Question Worth Asking Now
If a layoff or a restructuring landed this week, how long would you be able to maintain your quality of life at the level you’ve built it to?
Most high-achieving women who sit with that question are surprised by what they discover. The best moment to build a floor is when the one you have feels solid.