Women in healthcare are comparatively less. Why healthcare industry needs more female leaders?
Despite accounting for 70% of healthcare workers, women in healthcare hold only 25% of leadership positions in the industry. Also, women rise to CEO roles 3 to 5 years later than men. These stark disparities in the numbers point to a serious problem with how the healthcare industry supports women and female leaders.
Women of colour have an even greater challenge to leadership in healthcare because they make up only 4% of C-Suite executives, according to a study by McKinsey. Because of how little of this fraction this is, it may be concluded that diversity is a problem that affects this industry frequently.
It’s interesting to note that women in the US choose 80% of their families’ healthcare. This demonstrates the unique position of the healthcare sector where women make up the majority of the workers and are also very powerful consumers. Consequently, it may be argued that healthcare businesses need to appoint female CEOs who can connect with these clients.
Generally speaking, women find it more difficult to establish networks with senior executives who are largely male. According to some theories, gaining access to executives can make it easier to advance up the corporate ladder, while those without this support may find it more challenging. Women consequently encounter additional challenges and a long trip on the road to leadership.
In an effort to address this disparity, Oliver Wyman discovered that one of the factors contributing to the low level of female leadership in the healthcare industry is the covert effects and implicit presumptions. The problem with this is that it is frequently men who choose to take leadership roles. Men and women have different ideas about what makes a good leader.
In addition, women are leaving leadership positions in greater numbers. As a result, the candle is burning on both ends, further tipping the scales in the wrong direction. Women spend a disproportionate amount of time on childcare, which results in an unsatisfactory work-life balance. This is one reason for the lag. Because of this, women have a problem with getting and keeping time-consuming jobs.
According to a study, female CEO-led hospitals outperformed their male counterparts in three key areas. The issues were the number of days an invoice is outstanding, the number of days it takes for an invoice to be paid, and the number of patient fatalities following a significant complication. There were no differences between hospitals run by women and those run by men in the remaining twenty districts. This demonstrates how putting female leaders in charge might boost hospital performance.
The statistics might also show how female leaders prioritise other aspects of the workplace as opposed to their male colleagues, who are not poor managers but put outcomes first. In fact, studies have shown that women in leadership roles in the healthcare industry support the transformation of their businesses into ones that are more consumer-focused and are perceived as more relatable than their male counterparts.
This might be quite advantageous for the business since if it starts to put the needs of the customer first, customers may return more frequently. Additionally, if a leader puts more emphasis on the needs of others, talent may stay within the company longer.
Now that there are obvious benefits to having more women in leadership roles, we have a golden opportunity to implement the necessary changes in the healthcare industry. In addition to creating opportunities for women to network at work, organisations may help pave the way for women to hold leadership positions by delivering corporate-wide training on diversity and inclusion. Changes in institutions will be advantageous for women as well as the organisation as a whole and, most importantly, the patients they treat.
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