At a recent dinner party, a guest discovered my decades-long career in global health. When she asked me what I would change to accelerate progress in the field, my answer shocked her: Advancing talented women into leadership positions. Like most, my dinner guest was dismayed and surprised that a field dedicated to equity, access and impact would be struggling with just this.
Yet, in 2020, the picture is stark: Around the world, women make up 70% of the health workforce, yet only account for 25% of senior leadership positions and 5% of CEO-level positions.
These numbers expose the significant challenges that women face as they seek to advance to senior leadership positions, including gender stereotypes and biases, harassment, limited mentorship opportunities, unequal pay and “unfriendly” policies such as lack of flexible work schedules and maternity and family leave policies.
Although gender disparities in leadership aren’t limited to global health, the impact is felt acutely in our field. In addition to making up the majority of the workforce, women are often the primary health decision makers for their children and families, and face unique health challenges and barriers to care themselves. When women are kept from the decision-making table, the field overlooks their needs, lived experiences and ideas, stifling women’s potential and missing out on a tremendous resource in the battle to improve health.
Supporting women’s leadership is not only the right thing to do, it is one of the smartest tactics we have to solve pressing health challenges.
Organizations with diverse leadership teams have better decision-making and innovation, as well as higher morale and financial returns. Evidence also shows that women are more likely to advocate for issues that have struggled to get traction, such as sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice; clean water and sanitation; and stronger health care systems – all of which are critical to improving health outcomes for families and communities.
From policy, to science, to health we need the creative solutions that come from bringing all genders to the table. And when that happens, impactful change comes.
Despite signs of progress, widespread change won’t happen on its own.
Thankfully, the past few years have begun to usher in a groundswell of support to shift the status quo. From resources like Global Health 50/50, a report that evaluates gender parity in global health organizations, to convening moments like the Women Leaders in Global Health Conferences and the Generation Equality Forum, to grassroots groups calling for equality, a movement is building. Men and women around the world are sharing their stories, exploring solutions and demanding change.
WomenLift Health – a new initiative housed at Stanford Global Health – aims to build on the momentum around gender equality to change the face of global health leadership. We aim to spur concrete action at the individual, institutional and societal levels to ensure more talented women rise into more senior leadership roles in health.
We have an ambitious plan ahead of us. At the individual level, we’re bringing together cohorts of talented mid-career women in global health who will receive targeted coaching, mentorship and support around their career advancement. Likewise, our digital platform will provide this growing global network of women with the ability to access new tool and resources and to connect and push for action together.
Equally important will be changing the environments in which women live and work by partnering with leaders and health organizations committed to breaking down structural barriers that prevent them from reaching the top.
And we’ll be working with partners around the world to rise to the challenge and advance a new vision of global health leadership. Core to this will be collaborating with partners to establish hubs around the world and supporting the annual WLGH conferences, which have become critical moments for the global health community to come together around the goal of gender equality.
Inspired by our intrepid founder Michele Barry, our team of exceptionally talented women, and our community of partners and global advisors from around the world, we know the global health community is ready for transformational change. For these reasons, I am thrilled to officially launch WomenLift Health to take us one step closer toward creating a healthier, more equal world.
We invite you to follow along, to get involved, and to help us lift women in global health into leadership roles and beyond.
Amie Batson is the Executive Director of WomenLift Health
