Women in Global Health

This month, in honor of International Women’s Day, I am proud to spotlight Women in Global Health (WGH), a PMNCH partner demanding change to achieve gender equality in the global health and social workforce.  

Founded in 2015, WGH's mission is motivated by the fact that, while 70% of the global health workforce is female, leadership is often not. For example, in 2015, less than 25% of the delegations to the World Health Assembly were led by women.  Now, seven years after inception, it has more than 50,000 supporters in 90 countries and 40 official chapters.  

WGH’s response to COVID-19 highlighted the impact of the pandemic on women around the world and included initiatives such as 5 Asks for Global Health Security, which aligns with Ask 4 of the PMNCH COVID-19 Call to Action. WGH continues to call for a gender-responsive approach to pandemics and health security as reflected in the Gender Equal Health and Care Workforce Initiative with the Government of France. The initiative aims to increase visibility, dialogue, and commitment to action on gender equity in the health and care workforce in the context of the Generation Equality Forum. This focus on the health workforce is especially critical in the third year of a global pandemic when many health professionals, including midwives and nurses, are increasingly exhausted, burned-out, and planning to leave the profession. 

Continuing to build a movement for women in global health will be central to the ongoing work of WGH, including balancing the power and voice more equally between women from the Global South and Global North and working in partnership with governments, international agencies, academic institutions, and NGOs to build momentum, sustainability, and impact. As a valued member of the PMNCH NGO constituency, we look to WGH to continue a leadership role in focusing on these issues. As Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director of Women in Global Health, stated, “We are calling for a new, gender equal social contract for women in the health and care sector. Women want the means -- decent work, safety, dignity, fair pay and equal leadership -- to do their jobs better and deliver stronger health outcomes and health security for everyone."  

To learn more, visit womeningh.org and follow them on Twitter.