Women Leaders in Healthcare Discuss Their Careers

How can women overcome obstacles and fight for equal representation as leaders in healthcare? Three experts in the field share their challenges, achievements, and paths to professional success.

Is there a woman within healthcare that you look up to who has inspired you to push boundaries?

I recently read Melinda Gates’ new book, “The Moment of Lift,” in which she poignantly describes the impact we can make when we alleviate the pressures that are holding women and girls down and enable the forces that will lift them. Like Gates, I believe that access to healthcare is a basic human right. Providing this fundamental right to everyone creates so much more than a healthier community – it creates opportunity. In her book, Gates writes about the challenges she faced as she took on topics that are often perceived as political or controversial, like family planning. She addressed them with conviction, and an understanding that her influence, resources, and dedication would make a difference in allowing women to choose if and when to start a family, which would in turn enable financial freedom and the ability to pursue education and better jobs, resulting in healthier moms and babies. Her courage, selflessness, and determination have inspired me.

What unique obstacles have you faced as a woman in healthcare? How were you able to overcome them?

Women in science and medicine – and most other industries – still face many of the challenges I encountered, particularly with the issue of balancing career and family. When I had my first child, I was a resident – a physician in training – and spent only 2 weeks with my son before returning to my training program. That was the expectation then and the system hasn’t changed much. In fact, it’s likely more difficult for women today than it was for me because technology has made us accessible 24/7.

I am fortunate to have a partner who understands that balancing the commitment to family is a responsibility to be shared equally. My career and the decisions I’ve made are just as important to my husband as they are to me.

Can you speak to the importance of diversity in leadership and how it has been proven to increase financial returns for companies?

There is credible data that demonstrates the correlation between diverse leadership and improved financial performance. More importantly, however, diversity in leadership – and across all levels of an organization – is crucial in healthcare. It is vital that we build a workforce that reflects the population we serve and considers gender, age, race, ethnicity, ability, and sexual orientation. We must actively value our differences and commit fully to the fact that a diverse and culturally competent workforce will lead to improved access, higher quality care for all populations, and better outcomes, particularly for those who have historically been underserved. In health and medicine, there is work to be done in the educational setting to improve access to science and technology, fostering an interest in our field and then supporting the pathway to careers in medicine and science.       

What professional achievement are you most proud of?

I’ve been lucky to have had the opportunity to collaborate and lead a number of initiatives and projects that have resulted in tremendous societal good. The one that stands out, however, is the Red Dress Heart Truth campaign. When I served at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, we launched a public education and advocacy initiative to raise awareness of heart disease risk among women. Although heart disease was the No. 1 killer of women, only 34 percent of women were aware of the risk. Additionally, symptoms that women experienced when suffering a heart attack were very often unrecognized and, thus, untreated.

Through unconventional partnerships with the fashion industry and Diet Coke, and with support from then first lady Laura Bush, we achieved tremendous results. The red dress has become an internationally recognized symbol for women’s heart health. Awareness of this critical issue grew by more than 20 percent and, more importantly, the cardiovascular disease death rate for women fell for five consecutive years. This campaign proved to me that bold, creative ideas paired with sound strategy that is evidence-based can truly change behavior.

What can health systems and medical companies do to empower their female employees?

We must empower all employees across our entire organization. The first step is identifying the root causes of the disparities we see at every level, including leadership. Research from my own institution shows that women who are training to be surgeons face extraordinary challenges in balancing pregnancy and motherhood with their work. We need to change the system to create equity. Physician well-being and the daunting rates of burnout, particularly among female physicians, must be addressed. Our employees are truly our greatest resource. We must listen to them, learn from their experiences, and commit to making improvements regardless of how challenging or unpopular they may be. Through the establishment of employee resource groups, we have empowered the voices of those that have historically been unheard while also enabling them to act as catalysts for change.

Additionally, we’ve implemented a number of programs that directly address the leadership disparity. Our Women’s Leadership Program has provided women faculty with learning opportunities and community building opportunities. We also hold an annual Women in Medicine & Science Symposium that brings our scientific community together to celebrate and amplify the achievements of our women faculty.

We’ve also conducted a culture assessment which has allowed us to name, specifically, the opportunities that we have for improvement. We’re now on a journey to close the gaps that we’ve identified by instilling our values and guiding principles across all our systems – from learning and development to talent acquisition, an area where we are actively addressing the structural inequities and biases that can exist in search processes. Improving our employees’ experience will lead to a better experience for our patients and their loved ones.  

Is there a woman within healthcare that you look up to who has inspired you to push boundaries?

I have been blessed with an outstanding mentor in healthcare that has underpinned my career. When I joined the clinical research organization (CRO) industry, my boss and mentor, Candace Kendle, Pharm.D., inspired me to push beyond my academic and scientific pharmaceutical industry experience into the business realm. Dr. Kendle, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of, then, Kendle International Inc. (now Syneos Health), was one of the key visionaries and co-founders of the CRO marketplace. She challenged me to build upon my financial and business acumen. In fact, these were skills that I didn’t even realize I possessed.  

What unique obstacles have you faced as a woman in healthcare? How were you able to overcome them?

One obstacle that I faced within the pharmaceutical industry was sluggish role expansion and vertical movement. While the niche therapeutic area and clinical development research focus imparted tremendous experience and insights, I was eager to expand the aperture. This was the impetus for joining the clinical research organization industry to expand my experiences and leadership opportunities. It turns out that this leap of faith to run toward an opportunity versus running away from an obstacle would be a defining moment of my healthcare career.

Can you speak to the importance of diversity in leadership and how it has been proven to increase financial returns for companies?

Leadership diversity is vitally important to bring innovation, growth, and sustainability to companies. Different perspectives, experiences, and personas align synergistically to increase a company’s probability of success. Interestingly, a recent 2019 S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis revealed that firms with female CEOs and CFOs have yielded statistically superior stock price performance and increased profitability and stock returns. The analysis also highlighted that firms with high gender diversity on their board of directors were more profitable than firms with low gender diversity.

What professional achievement are you most proud of?

One of the most notable achievements of my career was being a part of the industry transformation and development of IQVIA, a merger of the world’s largest clinical research organization, Quintiles, and the world’s largest healthcare data and technology company, IMS. The lion’s share of my healthcare career has been focused on the generation, synthesis, and application of real-world evidence to fulfill the ecosystem stakeholder requirements to advance healthcare. It has been awe-inspiring to work with a very talented team and leverage IQVIA’s assets to transform clinical development research and to help our sponsors bring new treatment options to our patients faster. 

What can health systems and medical companies do to empower their female employees?

Setting the tone at the top to recognize the importance of cultural diversity is essential to empower all employees. In addition, it is important to set the tone within an organization, bottom-up and top-down, so that opportunities exist at all levels for all qualified individuals. 

Is there a woman in healthcare you look up to who has inspired you to push boundaries?

Thea James, M.D., is the first person who comes to mind. She is the vice president of Mission and associate chief medical officer at Boston Medical Center. I first admired her as an outstanding physician with the most empathetic bedside manner and fierce technical skills. Then I saw how she thoughtfully lifted up learners at all levels – there are generations of physicians, including myself, who benefited from her mentorship at the undergraduate, medical school, and resident level. Finally, I admire how she has never played to people’s expectations, but forged a scholarship and leadership path that allowed her to fulfill her mission to help underserved populations in fundamental, groundbreaking ways.

What unique obstacles have you faced as a woman in healthcare? How were you able to overcome them?

Organizations expect women to be the helpers but rarely expect or encourage them to lead and shape strategic vision, and therefore rarely allow women to demonstrate their full value or work to the top of their potential. I’m not sure I have overcome this entirely, but I have been very open about what healthcare loses from this mindset.

Can you speak to the importance of diversity in leadership and how it has been proven to increase financial returns for companies?

Companies like McKinsey have demonstrated that across industries, having greater leadership diversity at the senior executive level is likely a competitive differentiator for companies in terms of financial performance. And in fact, in almost every metric that matters to companies, including bringing in the best talent, improving employee satisfaction, and strengthening decision making processes, diversity makes companies better. It takes effort, but there is a strong return on investment.

What professional achievement are you most proud of?

I’ve been an advocate for equity in healthcare for many years, but the explosion in interest – and action – to stamp out racism and sexism in healthcare in recent years has been so energizing and inspiring. Bringing people together to speak frankly about safety, equity, and justice across our field through TIME’S UP Healthcare has been a highlight of my professional career so far.

What can health systems and medical companies do to empower their female employees?

Critically examine how the system is set up to get what it has – to develop and boost generation after generation of the same people in power – to start with. Ensure that decision-making around paid leadership positions is as transparent and objective as possible, with mechanisms built in to protect against bias. Openly value and richly reward work to boost inclusion, belonging, and equity. Create the expectation – not just the possibility – that women and others typically left out of the leadership track will lead, and lead well.