We need to ensure that diversity is shaping and influencing global health decision-making and this is what we mean when we call for gender transformative leaders, said Dr. Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director of Women in Global Health, at an International Women’s Day event hosted by Women in Global Health to launch the first-ever book on women’s leadership in global health. “We’re calling for diverse leadership with intersectionality looking at transforming power and really making sure we’re going to the root drivers of inequities and driving systems change,” said Dr. Dhatt. Some 28 authors and 11 interviewees from 17 countries across 6 regions came together to write this rallying call to redress gender inequity in health leadership. Women and Global Health Leadership: Power and Transformation explores barriers and facilitators to women’s global health leadership; showcases the personal, professional, and political journeys of women leaders across global health sectors including government, academia, and civil society; and offers pragmatic solutions to increasing women’s representation at all levels of leadership, said Dr. Rosemary Morgan, Associate Scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“Women actually represent 70 percent of the [health] workforce, and if you look at nursing and midwifery, they are 90 percent of the workforce in the health sector, but their participation at the leadership level is not visible, is not diverse, and it’s not felt,” said Dr. Magda Robalo, Global Managing Director at Women in Global Health. Despite being the majority of the global health workforce, women held only 25 percent of leadership roles in health before the pandemic, said Dr. Dhatt. Transforming health leadership to become more diverse and representative of women requires creating leadership opportunities for women and encouraging them to pursue these positions. Too many women are still prevented from asserting their leadership and breaking barriers in leadership because of mentally-constructed stereotypes, said Dr. Robalo.

To address gender inequity, the authors propose a four-point framework. First, governments must build the structural foundation for equality. “We need to see laws that create enabling environments for women and all genders to thrive, but particularly establish laws against violence and sexual harassment that prohibit discrimination of women at work,” said Dr. Dhatt. Second, social norms and stereotypes that drive gendered segregation must be addressed. To close the gender pay gap, women must be paid equally for their work and be supported by family-friendly policies including paid family leave, said Dr. Dhatt. Women must also have access to sexual and reproductive health services, said Dr. Senait Fisseha, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School, and Director of International Programs at the Susan T. Buffett Foundation. “The more control women have on their choices and the more services they can access, including safe abortion, I know based on the unwavering data and lived experience that women would have a much higher chance of chasing whatever dream, whatever career path that they set their minds to, including rising to the top of global health leadership,” said Dr. Fisseha. Third, systemic inequality and bias in workplaces and a culture that favors men for leadership roles must be addressed and changed. Institutional policies with targets and quotas to achieve gender parity and integrating intersectional and gender-transformative principles into recruitment and retention strategies are positive strategies to support this necessary change, said Dr. Dhatt.

Lastly, the fourth part of this framework is focused on enabling women to apply for and achieve leadership positions in equal numbers to their male counterparts. This objective can be supported by developing networks and providing peer support in the form of mentoring and sponsorship; raising the public visibility of women decision-making; and tracking and publishing key metrics, said Dr. Dhatt. It is important to recognize that achieving gender equity is not just conducive to women. When the most marginalized among us are lifted, trusted, and resourced, then we all rise and reap benefits, said Dr. Fisseha.

Read More

• Women’s work is essential yet undervalued.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted women’s health, safety, and work.
• Policies must support women workers and caregivers.