Gender diversity in leadership roles is extremely important in healthcare assuming 50 per cent of the patient population is women. Ishiqa Multani, Executive Director, Sagar Group of Hospitals reveals more in interaction with M Neelam Kachhap

70 per cent of the healthcare workforce is made up of women, but less than 25 per cent are in leadership positions. Is this true for the Indian healthcare sector?

Women occupy few leadership positions in the healthcare sector. In an Indian context, I would agree with that assertion. The majority of women in healthcare play a lower-ranking role. Furthermore, as a woman, getting to the highest offices in healthcare takes a lot of work, given that there are more constraining factors that make it challenging for women to climb the ladder of leadership. Many of the C-Suite executives and department heads in healthcare organisations are men. A gender balance across levels is non-existent and will remain elusive unless proactive measures are taken to eliminate the obstacles that keep women from reaching leadership positions. Despite women occupying less than 25 per cent of leadership positions, an increase in numbers is not only possible but imperative for improving the diversity of leadership in the healthcare sector so that the system can realise its full potential for the benefit of employees and patients.