WLGH Conference 2020

Day 3 Agenda

GLOBAL DIALOGUE

OCTOBER 15, 2020

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1:00pm-1:40pm UTC – Opening and Fireside Chat

Opening remarks by Aya Chebbi, African Union Special Envoy on Youth

Women leaders are perceived and treated differently, with significant research to prove it. Drawing on personal experience and conversations with other leading women around the world, this conversation will focus on the unique challenges that women leaders face, and the ways women can persevere to shatter the glass ceiling in global health, and further succeed when they do.

  • The Hon. Julia Gillard AC, 27th Prime Minister of Australia and Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership
  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Board Chair – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO & AU Special Envoy on COVID-19 & Former Finance Minister, Nigeria
  • Moderated by Aya Chebbi, African Union Special Envoy on Youth
1:45pm-2:40pm UTC – Breakout Sessions2

Global Health continues to be marked by deep-set power imbalances, rooted in colonial history, that undermine efforts to improve health around the world. This conversation will explore intersecting geographic, gender and racial/ethnic disparities across the field, and highlight efforts to ensure that global health leadership and institutions meaningfully reflect and represent the communities they serve.

  • Sarah Hawkes, Director, Centre for Gender and Global Health, University College London
  • Anu Kumar, President & CEO, Ipas
  • Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Commissioner at the Commission for Gender Equality
  • Nathalie Pambrun, President of the Canadian Association of Midwives, Indigenous Registered Midwife
  • Moderated by Renzo Guinto, Chief Planetary Doctor, PH Lab

Women are leading the charge in calling for a more equal and diverse representation in global health leadership, but men – who hold a vast majority of the positions of power – are critical to shifting the status quo. This session will be a provocative conversation on men’s journeys to become male allies, the role men can play in supporting normative and institutional changes, and creating the space needed for more women to advance and excel.

  • Jeremy Farrar, Director, Wellcome Trust
  • Githinji Gitahi, Global CEO, Amref Health Africa
  • Madhukar Pai, Canada Research Chair in Epidemiology & Global Health; Director, McGill International TB Centre
  • Ravi Verma, Regional Director, International Center for Research on Women
  • Moderated by Tracy Kobukindo, Technical Coordinator (East & Southern Africa), Community Health Academy, Last Mile Health

Effective leaders are championed by networks of both mentors and mentees. Institutions in the global health field must support a broader culture of mentoring and learning. This interactive session will focus on the importance of mentorship for women in health – how mentorship allows both mentees and mentors to grow as they learn more about themselves, build trust, build confidence, and increase their understanding of what good leadership looks like.

  • Alaa Murabit, United Nations High-Level Commissioner on Health, Employment & Economic Growth
  • Lucy Lu Wilson, Gender and Inclusion Lead and Programme Development and Funding Officer, Teach A Man To Fish; Project Leader, Hablemos Ingles
  • Umba Zalira, Co-Founder, Growing Ambitions

For long-term and sustainable change around gender equality in global health, health institutions must act to reshape the systems, policies and dynamics that disproportionately privilege men. Drawing on the experience of some of the leading ‘disrupters’ from diverse fields, this session will explore specific ways health institutions can overcome inertia and tackle gender inequality head on – and the role that women leaders can play in demanding and driving this change.

The session will explore how the Grand Challenges model helps to address the challenges of building vibrant local and global innovation ecosystems that engage women, men and non-binary genders through case studies of recent Grand Challenges programs. The session will introduce WLGH conference participants to Grand Challenges and share its approach to enabling women to bring their perspective and expertise to solve the world’s most pressing health and development challenges through research and innovation.

  • Moses Alobo, Programme Manager, Grand Challenges Africa
  • Nisia Trindade Lima, President, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation
  • Claude Pirmez, Program Manager, Grand Challenges Brazil
  • Karlee Silver, Co-CEO, Grand Challenges Canada
  • Kedest Tesfagiorgis, Deputy Director, Global Partnerships & Grand Challenges, Discovery & Translational Sciences, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Clare Wenham, Assistant Professor, London School of Economics & Political Science

Women scientists and researchers continue to be underrepresented in academic institutions, despite earning the majority of doctoral degrees, and COVID-19 has further exacerbated barriers that hold women back or render their expertise invisible. Four prominent voices in global health academia will share their experiences, the challenges they face and guidance to help fellow academics navigate their careers.

  • Michele Barry, Founder, WomenLift Health; Senior Associate Dean & Director, Stanford Global Health
  • Agnes Binagwaho, Vice Chancellor, University of Global Health Equity
  • Gagandeep Kang, Professor at Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory, and the Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences at the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore
  • Heidi Larson, Director, The Vaccine Confidence Project
  • Moderated by Christine Ngaruiya, Assistant Professor, Section of Global Health and International Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine
2:45pm-3:45pm UTC – Plenary Panel

Women have driven extraordinary efforts at every level of the COVID-19 pandemic response, and there is growing recognition that ‘building back better’ must include a focus on gender. At the same time, COVID-19 has posed significant new challenges to women’s participation and leadership, with the potential to set back gender equality goals for years. Spotlighting some of the leading voices in health and gender equality, this panel will explore the small and revolutionary steps governments, institutions and UN agencies must take to break away from “business-as-usual” and shape a post-pandemic future with women at the helm.

  • Amie Batson, Executive Director, WomenLift Health
  • Anita Bhatia, Assistant Secretary-General for Resource Management, UN System Coordination, Sustainability and Partnerships and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women
  • Carissa F. Etienne, Director, Pan American Health Organization
  • Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations
  • Anita Zaidi, Director of Vaccine Development & Surveillance, Enteric & Diarrheal Diseases, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Moderated by Geeta Rao Gupta, Senior Advisor, 3D Program for Girls and Women, Global Advisory Board Chair, WomenLift Health
3:45pm-4:00pm UTC – Closing
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