Why the World Needs More Female Leaders in Health Care

Giving Compass’ Take:

• In partnership with Johnson & Johnson, Global Citizen examines how women are often left behind when it comes to big decisions on health care, even though they make up nearly 70% of the sector’s workers worldwide.

• How can we support more female voices in the industry and make sure that they have prominent roles? As the burden of health care across the world continues to fall on women’s shoulders, this effort becomes even more urgent.

• Read about how doctors are calling for more health policies that support women.

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In many countries, women working in the health care field have not had advanced training and even when women have the right training, their hard work is not always rewarded. Some have not had any formal training at all, and though they provide necessary care, are not recognized.

Women contribute about $3 trillion worth of work to the global health economy every year, making up about 5% of the world’s GDP, but nearly half of this work is unpaid and unrecognized. Women and girls are often relied upon to provide health care support, whether that’s informally in their communities — for example, as a midwife without formal training — or for their own families — providing childcare to young siblings or acting as a home health aide to ailing family members.

Even among health care professionals who work in formal settings, a gender pay gap persists. But if more women held leadership roles, they could have an empowering ripple effect on the health care workforce.

As leaders, women are better able to lift one another up. Women in leadership positions are more likely to recognize the potential of and hire other women. That means better health for patients, more opportunities for women in the health care industry and even stronger economies.

Read the full article about the need for more female leaders in health care at Global Citizen.