On March 8 we celebrated International Women’s Day as a global day recognising the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
Healthcare is a major Australian employer with women comprising 74 per cent of the workforce. Yet, nationally women are under-represented in healthcare leadership, failing to reflect the community and workforce. In Australia, 40 per cent of Deans, Chief Medical Officers, College board or committee members and 12.5 per cent of large hospital CEOs are women. Prioritising gender equity in leadership is vital for improving healthcare.
Current efforts to address inequalities are ad hoc, duplicative and lack evidence or effectiveness. In recognition of this, Monash Partners, is leading a partnership project to co-design, implement and evaluate evidence-based and measurable individual and organisational level interventions to advance women in leadership.
With our Partners, Monash Health, Epworth HealthCare, Monash University, Eastern Health and Cabrini Health we are working with health professional colleges, and state and federal government on four project phases, over the next four years. This work is co-funded by our partners and a significant NHMRC partnership grant. It is also linked to our leadership of the Australasian chapter of Women in Global Health of which we are a co-lead and linked to the WHO.
We are very excited about this body of work that will engage and inform health services around advancing women in attaining their career goals and healthcare leadership.
Stay safe,
Professor Helena Teede AM
