Women Leadership in Healthcare – Time to Walk the Talk

Introduction

In 2021, the theme of the International Women’s Day‏ was ‘choose to challenge’.

‏

The main topic was based on the fact that, individually,‏ we are all responsible for our own thoughts and actions‏ – all day, every day. We can all choose to challenge and‏ call out gender bias and inequality. Under this context,‏ the International Hospital Federation ask its Members,‏ me included, to share how we were celebrating‏ International Women’s Day and working to challenge‏ gender disparity in their organisations or work field.‏ As a result I choose to challenge “Women in Tech”‏ active within the healthcare sector.‏

Being a woman in leadership is an especially big‏ challenge by it itself. When we talk about female‏ leadership in technological fields and healthcare‏ that challenge becomes even greater. It might sound‏ counter-intuitive, but it is not: human and people‏ management qualities are increasingly needed to‏ achieve an effective and desired digital transition‏ in our society, emphasising that going digital is not‏ de-humanising and virtual does not necessarily means‏ distant.‏

Fortunately, in Portugal, there are several companies,‏ including multinationals, which are currently led by‏ women who are excellent at this and highly competent.‏ Particularly in my hospital, Centro Hospitalar‏ Universitario de Santo António, more than 52% of‏ leadership positions are occupied by women.‏ But we all know that there is still a long way to go.‏

In fact, when we look at some impressive statistics, the‏ healthcare sector seems overwhelmingly “female.”‏ Women represent 70 % of the 43 million workers in‏ the global health care industry, according to the WHO.

Yet, at the executive level, women make up just 25% of‏ healthcare leadership positions. Women account for‏ 71% of all global workforce professionals as well as 59%‏ of all graduates in the medical, biomedical and health‏ sciences fields. Despite women occupy the majority‏ of positions in the medical field, it seems to be more‏ rare, more difficult for women to reach positions of‏ responsibility and leadership.‏

It is encouraging that more women are now studying‏ medicine than men (According to the AAMC‏ (Association of American Medical College), the‏ proportion of female medical students in 2019 being‏ 50.5%, and still increasing. In Portugal more than 75%‏ of the health field students are women.‏

Is Progress Finally Happening?‏

The digital world offers a great potential to promote‏ gender equality, to be less prejudiced and more‏ inclusive than the “traditional” world, and yet the digital‏ world is still largely led by men. Why?‏

The Glass Ceiling still exists and acts like an invisible‏ barrier that prevents women from reaching the top‏ leading positions.‏

Men are still seen as the default leaders, even more so‏ when we talk about technology, reinforcing the timehonoured‏ perspective that to “ think like a man” is a skill.‏ If this is true, should women who seek leadership roles‏ start “to think like a man”?‏

A Harvard Business Review study compared male‏ leadership with female leadership considering 16‏ competencies that are associated with greater overall‏ leadership effectiveness. The results are in line with the‏ stereotype that women “care” - women scored higher‏ than men in establishing relationships, inspiring and‏ motivating others, boosting self-development. But it‏ also contradicted the stereotype that men “take over”‏ - revealing that women have outperformed men at the‏ highest level in these two traits: taking initiative and‏ being goal oriented.‏

So, if women are “more” competent than men, why‏ is the number of women in management positions still‏ unbalanced? Is it really a question of a misperception of‏ confidence and not of effective competence?‏

Why does it seem so easy for “incompetent” men‏ to become leaders? And why is it so difficult for‏ “competent” people - especially “competent” women - to‏ take the lead?‏

Well, we generally misinterpret demonstrations of‏ confidence as a sign of competence, and because of‏ that we are led to believe that men make better leaders‏ than women.‏

Women shouldn`t think or act like men, they should‏ think about finding a way to display and build the same‏ confidence for leadership positions as man.‏ In my opinion, it is not true that women do not aspire‏ to this type of roles. It is my strong conviction, that was‏ reinforced over the years in which I had the privilege of‏ dealing with many strong women who sought one day to‏ take on leadership positions.‏

It is my true belief that men tend to perform better‏ when the focus is on task management, while women‏ tend to perform better when the focus is on managing‏ people.‏

In the digital age, this may work to women’s advantage:‏ Along with the rise of artificial Intelligence, is it expected‏ that automation of most task-oriented leadership‏ components may occur. Maybe that will result in that‏ leaders with the ability of managing people will be a‏ better fit for leadership roles, and that will result in‏ more room and opportunities for women in leadership‏ positions.‏

We, women, have two unshakable forces in our favour:‏ intuition and passion. In top management one is faced‏ with situations that require immediate response in which‏ ‏common sense and intuition are the indispensable tools‏ to have in these crucial moments.‏

Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize in Economics in‏ 2002 for his work “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, defends the‏ existence of “two brains”: one that effectively thinks fast‏ and the other that thinks slowly, and we all rely on both‏ in our different decision-making processes.‏

When we look at today`s digital world, a world‏ augmented by the recent pandemic that affected us all,‏ it is precisely the personal characteristics of empathy,‏ closeness, fast decision making, emotional intelligence,‏ leading by example, and the ability of making more and‏ better leaders, that enables Institutions to deal with this‏ new reality and to survive.‏

It could further be said that the current world desperately‏ needs women`s leadership, it needs their aptitude to‏ motivate their staff and teams, their talent to make‏ things happen particularly in demanding and adverse‏ scenarios like the one we currently face.‏

Studies on female leadership in healthcare illustrate‏ the experiences and perspectives of women in‏ leadership positions within the healthcare industry.‏ This can encompass areas such as hospitals, clinics,‏ in public health, and in medical education. Some of the‏ topics studied within this field include the challenges‏ faced by women in leadership, the impact of gender‏ on leadership style, diversity and inclusion, and the‏ influence of mentorship and networking on career‏ advancement.‏

Research also show that having more women in‏ leadership positions can bring a range of benefits to‏ healthcare organisations, including improved patient‏ satisfaction, enhanced collaboration and teamwork, and‏ a more inclusive workplace culture.‏

However, women in healthcare leadership continue‏ to face gender-based barriers and biases, including a‏ lack of representation at the highest levels of decisionmaking,‏ unequal pay, and limited access to mentors‏ and networking opportunities. The goal of these‏ studies is to better understand these challenges and‏ identify strategies to increase the number of women in‏ leadership roles and support their success.‏

The challenges of the Leadership in Healthcare in‏ 2030 is likely to be influenced by several emerging‏ trends and challenges in society, technology, and the‏ business world.‏

Some of the key changes that are likely to shape‏ leadership in 2030 include:‏

‏

This can be illustrated by the response to generation Z‏ (born between 1997 and 2012), an enormous challenge‏ for leadership. We will face “new” hospitals, “new”‏ employees, “new” patients from this generation, why?:‏

‏ 

All these challenges in healthcare will need both new‏ and old skills, both “brains” (fast and slow) and that’s‏ why the presence of more women in leadership in‏ healthcare institutions is so crucial to face our future and‏ provided better and more healthy workplaces and better‏ health for everyone.‏ Together, we can inspire and thrive – it´s time to walk the‏ talk.‏

Conflict of Interest‏

None.‏