Having More Women In Leadership Positions Matters For Healthcare

“Whoever is sitting around the table influences the dialogue,” Terry Stone, Managing Partner, Americas, Oliver Wyman, said during an interview at the 2023 Oliver Wyman Health Innovation Summit. She was making the point that the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions across the industry has an impact on everything from health outcomes to investments in start-up companies.

Pointing to earlier Oliver Wyman research, Stone noted that women made up 65% of the healthcare workforce but held just 30% of C-suite positions. That number is even more stark for CEO positions where just 13% were female. Stone urged organizations to elevate more women into leadership positions.

“I would say to any CEO, treat getting more women into C-suite like a business goal. What is your targeted metric?” she said.

Stone also pinpointed opportunities for private equity to increase funding for companies with innovations targeted at women’s health. That includes broadening the scope of interest beyond areas typically associated with women’s health like fertility and menopause to such conditions as cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in women.