Intended for healthcare professionals
Gender equality in the health workforce
Image credits: Top left: Sven Torfinn/Panos Pictures. Bottom left: Simon Townsley/Panos Pictures. Right: Giacomo Pirozzi/Panos Pictures
Gender equality in the health workforce has been repeatedly called for worldwide, but with little global progress and a lack of deep examination within countries. In this BMJ collection, a collaboration with Global Health 50/50, the Africa Population and Health Research Centre, and the International Center for Research on Women, a special focus on India and Kenya is undertaken, with new evidence and analysis considering a range of factors driving equality of opportunity for women’s health careers. A review of inequalities in the health workforces in both countries is complemented by new analysis of health organisations, available laws and policies that promote (or hinder) women’s equality in the workforce, and by the views of women working in the health sector. With application for India and Kenya, as well as other geographies worldwide, this collection adopts a multidisciplinary lens to highlight the role of law in pushing for organisational change, shows the impact of gendered occupational segregation on career choices, and reveals the importance of social norms for career outcomes.
Analysis
Strengthening systems of accountability for women’s leadership in the health sector
Accountability can improve equal opportunities for women’s career progression and it must be strengthened in the health sector, argue Kent Buse and colleagues
Dismantling the structures of inequality: why we need feminist leadership in the health sector
Approaches to increasing women’s representation in senior leadership need to go beyond individual empowerment and adopt principles of social justice, argue Sarah Hawkes and Rama Baru
Health systems in India: analysing barriers to inclusive health leadership through a gender lens
Using India as a case study, Jasmine Gideon and colleagues argue that considering how gender perspectives operate within health systems and society can help achieve more inclusive health leadership
Research
Pathways to leadership: what accounts for women’s (in)equitable career paths in the health sectors in India and Kenya? A scoping review
Naomi Saville and colleagues examine how women in India and Kenya’s health sectors face multiple impediments in their careers, which impact their advancement to leadership
Legislation for advancing women’s leadership in the health sector in India and Kenya: a ‘law cube’ approach to identify ways to strengthen legal environments for gender equality
Mireille Evagora-Campbell and colleagues examine the availability of legal provisions, or the lack thereof, that support women to progress equitably into leadership positions within the health workforce in India and Kenya
This BMJ collection on gender equality in the health workforce was developed in partnership with Global Health 50/50, the Africa Population and Health Research Centre, and the International Center for Research on Women, and was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. BMJ commissioned, peer reviewed, edited, and made the decisions to publish these articles. The lead editors were Seye Abimbola, Jocalyn Clark, and Emma Veitch for BMJ Global Health and The BMJ.
