Recursion Pharmaceuticals Takes the ParityPledge™ as Part of Its Commitment to Improving the Pathway for Women in Leadership Positions

SALT LAKE CITY, UT--(Marketwired - November 08, 2017) - Recursion Pharmaceuticals, an emerging biotechnology company, today announced it has taken the ParityPledge™, building on its commitment to improving the pathway for women in leadership positions. The ParityPledge simply asks that companies commit to interviewing at least one qualified woman candidate for every open position, vice president and above, including the C-suite and board. No quotas. No deadlines. The ParityPledge is an initiative of Parity.org, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on bringing gender equality to the highest levels of business.

Recursion's CEO, Chris Gibson, said: "We know that companies with diverse leadership teams are more likely to be successful, and we are committed to diversity across the organization at all levels. We've seen amazing leadership from women at our organization and want to make sure we continue to build on that. ParityPledge is one of many steps we are taking along our growth path to make sure we are the best company we can be."

The ParityPledge was inspired by the NFL's Rooney Rule, a straightforward solution that improved diversity at leadership levels of NFL teams by requiring teams to include more diverse candidates in the interview process. In just three years, the Rooney Rule helped increase representation of African Americans in team leadership positions from 6 percent to 22 percent.

"Parity.org was founded to correct the stark reality of gender imbalance at the very top of companies today," said Cathrin Stickney, Parity.org founder and CEO. "While women represent 51 percent of the population, barely 20 percent of S&P 500 corporate executive teams and boards are represented by women. We are thankful for organizations like Recursion Pharmaceuticals that are willing to become a role model for change. We believe their public commitment and example will help us realize exponential progress toward reaching parity at the top."

In addition to cultivating women in leadership, Recursion Pharmaceuticals hosts a Women in Science and Technology series with events each quarter where speakers give insights and guidance about developing a STEM career. Women (and men too!) are invited to the free events hosted at the Recursion offices. Past speakers have included Anne Carpenter, Principal at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Dr. Ana Maria Lopez, Associate Vice President for Health Equity and Inclusion at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, and Brandi Simpson, CEO of Navigen.

"Recursion is committed to increasing the prevalence of female leaders in science. We are excited to take the ParityPledge and host events like the Women In Science and Technology Seminars and make public our belief that discovery flourishes in an environment with radical and diverse viewpoints, and such an environment can only be created with conscious effort," said Britt McPartland, Director of Human Resources. "We jumped at the opportunity to be founding members of Parity.org and join them in seeking equal representation for women."

The next Women in Science and Technology event will take place on Thursday, November 16th at 6 p.m. and will feature Cynthia Furse, Associate Vice President of Research at the University of Utah as the speaker. More details can be found here.

Organizations wanting to take the ParityPledge or learn more about how to get involved with Parity.org should visit http://www.Parity.org.

About Recursion Pharmaceuticals

Recursion Pharmaceuticals is an emerging biotechnology company based in Salt Lake City. Recursion combines experimental biology and bioinformatics with artificial intelligence in a massively parallel system to quickly and efficiently identify treatments for any disease which can be modeled at the cellular level. From its initial and continued focus on drug repurposing to treat rare diseases, Recursion has broadened its platform to probe rich data from high-throughput automated screens for a number of indications, including aging, inflammation, infectious disease, oncology, and diagnostics. Recursion's ultimate vision is to leverage technology to build a robust and reliable map of human cellular biology, which would enable a radical shift in the pace and scale at which new treatments could benefit patients. Learn more at www.recursionpharma.com, or connect on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

About Parity.org

Parity.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to gender equality at the highest ranks of business leadership. Parity.org is assembling a founding advisory board of some of the most recognized men and women leaders in business. The Parity.org URL was generously donated by The Kennedy Forum. You can follow Parity.org on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.