December 09, 2017

​In the Cambridge University Press Global Health, Epidemiology and Genomics, Part of the Women in Global Health collection

Authors: C. Newman, P.K. Chama, M. Mugisha, C.W. Matsik, and V. Oketcho 

The paper distils results from a review of relevant literature and two gender analyses to highlight reasons for gender imbalances in senior roles in global health and ways to address them. Organizations, leadership, violence and discrimination, research and human resource management are all gendered. Supplementary materials from gender analyses in two African health organizations demonstrate how processes such as hiring, deployment and promotion, and interpersonal relations, are not ‘gender-neutral’ and that gendering processes shape privilege, status and opportunity in these health organizations. 

January 25, 2018

Without a doubt, women led the way in 2017. We raised our voices and joined together to advocate for human rights and dignity for every person. From the “Silence Breakers” to protestors in pink hats, women reclaimed our common humanity with bravery and courage....By Roopa Dhatt, Ann Keeling, Nicole Schiegg, Kelly Thompson

December 20, 2017

It was year marked by some wins for gender equality in global health, from senior appointments at WHO to the launch of several initiatives...But as Roopa Dhatt, co-founder and executive director of Women in Global Health suggests, old habits die hard. A number of photos circulated this year on social media showing mostly all-male panels at global health conferences and meetings. Calls for change have grown louder. The infamous photo of WHO’s Tedros in a meeting with World Bank President Jim Yong with mostly males at the discussion table sparked a huge outcry on social media early this year, prompting the WHO chief to admit they “need to do better.”

December 20, 2017

Just before the year ended, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced another set of officials to join his leadership team; nearly all of them women. The list of eight new appointees — which was not made available to the media but was seen by Devex earlier this week — include directors for some of the agency’s biggest and newest programs... Women in Global Health Executive Director and Co-Founder Roopa Dhatt said she is “thrilled” to see the WHO aid chief’s continued commitment to gender equality in WHO’s leadership, and she hopes the wider global health community and its leaders follow suit.

October 02, 2017

By Nicole Schiegg, Contributor, stratcomms consultant; fmr USAID sr advisor

Women have been making sizable contributions to global health for decades. We have influenced advocacy, policy, technical and programmatic issues. However, as a global health community, we still battle conundrums like “all male panels” and not seeing enough women in the top leadership positions. In that respect, today was a game changer. Dr Tedros announced his senior leadership team at the World Health Organization (WHO). Not only do leaders represent 14 countries, including all WHO regions, 60% of the appointments are women. This is a monumental moment for gender equality in global health leadership.

August 18, 2017

By Nina Schwalbe

The Fearless Girl statue that faces down Wall Street's charging bull grabbed international headlines and triggered a debate about the glass ceiling that continues to obstruct women from reaching the higher echelons of the financial sector. Overlooked in the debate is that this disparity is not confined to the financial sector; even sectors that are predominantly female still have a shocking gender gap in senior roles. As we invest in the next generation of young leaders, it is important to look at the current generation of leaders to identify and address the barriers that keep senior positions decidedly male.

June 23, 2017

Receiving an award is an accolade. Awards validate and bring visibility, help attract funding, hasten career advancement, and can consolidate career accomplishments. Yet, in the fields of public health and medicine, few women receive them. Between seven public health and medicine awards from diverse countries, the chances of a woman receiving a prize was nine out of 100 since their inception 

May 31, 2017

It is disappointing and rather ironic to note the lack of gender parity in leadership positions in the field of global health. Women carry a disproportionate burden of disease, comprise a large portion of the global health workforce, and in many leading universities make up the majority of global health students, even up to 84% as reported by one university.1,2 Yet, among the top 50 universities in the USA, women hold just over a third of global health faculty positions and a quarter of directorships in global health centres.

January 22, 2017

To the Members of the WHO Executive Board and Governing Bodies, as members of the global health community, we are writing to highlight the current leadership gap in global health and to call upon the WHO and its Member States to take decisive steps to achieve gender parity.