At the opening plenary session of the 44th World Hospital Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in October 2021, ACHE President and CEO Deborah Bowen, FACHE, CAE, the incoming president of the International Hospital Federation, started a conversation.
Joined on stage by Sara Berbel Sanchez, PhD, chief executive, Barcelona City Council, and Lucy Nugent, a hospital CEO in Ireland, the participants noted that although women represent 70% of the health workforce globally and represent about 90% of front-line health workers, they hold just a quarter of leadership positions in the sector worldwide. This conversation continued throughout the event and, after the World Hospital Congress ended, IHF established a Women in Leadership Forum to advance the global discussion.
In collaboration with its sponsor Alumni Global, the Forum’s aims were threefold:
- Build a community of hospital leaders united by the goal of sharing their challenges, successes and ideas for promoting gender equity.
- Raise awareness across the IHF’s global network through knowledge exchange and events.
- Provide advice on how to develop strategies and actions for policy and institutional transformation.
And with that, the Forum went to work. In September 2022, hundreds of healthcare executives joined a webinar focusing on turning challenges into opportunities, with insights from the healthcare sector, executive recruitment and even aviation. Later that year at the 45th World Hospital Congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 50 female hospital leaders from around the world connected, shared their experiences and discussed common scenarios that female leaders face in their career trajectory. All the participants immediately recognized the universally familiar issues, but it was clear that unique local and cultural perspectives surrounded each scenario.
These peer exchanges exemplified the IHF’s founding principle that global learning is essential to informing effective and appropriate local action. The participants were challenged to do one thing in the next year to help advance this agenda.
Then the conversation expanded, and momentum built. IHF members exchanged messages of support on International Women’s Day 2023, and a podcast featured voices from Abu Dhabi exploring what gender equity means in healthcare delivery—for patients, the workforce and the leadership team. Members of the IHF’s Young Executive Leaders program explored the issue in a 2022 article and 2023 article, bringing perspectives from the next generation of healthcare leaders to light. A strong partnership with the Carol Emmott Foundation was established, reflecting a shared commitment to dismantling barriers, eliminating disparities and promoting diversity in all aspects of healthcare leadership.
However, Forum participants realized it needed a more permanent presence. So in 2023, the IHF Governing Council acknowledged the importance and relevance of advancing gender equity in healthcare leadership and approved the formation of the Women in Leadership Special Interest Group to continue the work. And at the 46th World Hospital Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, the session’s room was overflowing. Male and female leaders joined the conversation and shared their experiences on best practices to advance women into C-suite and board roles.
As a global community, we advance.
Throughout this year, the group has met to continue the conversation in the same spirit of open exchange and learning: discussing recruitment practices, technology gaps, “cultural add” versus “cultural fit,” and sponsorship and mentorship. We’ve learned that despite the external perception of Saudi women being dominated by men, equal pay and promotion policies are well established through key national objectives. We’ve been reminded that in Europe, where women have some of the most generous benefits in terms of maternity care and leave, aspiring female leaders continue to face significant challenges. And we’ve gleaned that, despite India being a global leader in advanced IT technology, women are often left behind in tech training and development.
Once the healthcare sector’s common challenges are recognized, we as an international hospital leadership community can begin to address them. The Women in Leadership Special Interest Group now meets quarterly under the direction of its global steering committee to share, learn and act on these conversations. Resources are exchanged and shared, including a podcast released for International Women’s Day 2024 with inspirational stories from the Apollo Hospitals Group in India about the importance of creating a strong and supportive ecosystem and having a transformative purpose in life. At the 47th World Hospital Congress in Rio de Janeiro this September, the Forum will deliver a half-day workshop on identifying best practices to be shared across our global membership.
According to Merriam Webster, the definition of conversation is “the oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions or ideas.” We know women excel in the “soft skills” of leadership—listening and communicating, so it’s time to use those strengths to continue the conversation, create opportunities and learning, and advance the number of female leaders in the C-suite and the boardroom.
Katherine Bennett is senior communications manager, International Hospital Federation.
Linda Clark, FACHE, director of professional development, International Hospital Federation.
Ilona Johnston, is programme lead, International Hospital Federation