Healthcare is Delivered by Women but Led by Men
A global review published in BMJ found that female health leaders significantly enhance a nation's well-being, wealth, innovation, and ethics, yet are hugely underrepresented in senior positions.
Despite women making up 70% of the healthcare workforce and 90% of the nursing and midwifery sectors, they occupy only 25% of leadership roles. These figures encapsulate the stark inequality that healthcare is "delivered by women but led by men," as BMJ research found.
The study, led by Johns Hopkins University researchers and reported in The Guardian, examined 137 peer-reviewed articles and identified six key areas positively influenced by female leadership. These include financial performance, innovation, better health outcomes, and engagement with ethical initiatives. It also found that stronger female leadership in healthcare is linked to improved organisational culture and climate, including reputation, employee retention, and team cohesion.
Investment in women is key to increasing female representation in senior healthcare roles, and workplaces should be encouraged to support and retain their female leaders, the study found.
In England, fewer than half of executive and non-executive roles across NHS trusts are held by women (44.7%), according to separate research by the University of Exeter. The research also found variation in how women are represented in specific leadership roles. Only 1 in 4 chief financial officers are women, compared to 1 in 3 medical director roles across the NHS being held by women.
At Fieldfisher, we are committed to supporting women throughout their careers and into leadership roles, and I am extremely proud of our predominantly female Medical Negligence team. In 2024, across the firm, 50% of partner promotions were female, and 63% of all our lawyers were female. Meanwhile, our Medical Negligence team in Manchester is 100% female, and in London, 76% of our lawyers are female.
Dr Jocalyn Clark, the BMJ’s international editor, said: “Change is the responsibility of everyone—not just women. But clearly, more women appointed to leadership positions could drive transformative change in these biased systems.”
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