Women acquire only 18% of Leadership roles in Indian Healthcare Sector

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 6 December 2023

A study reveals a larger gender gap in senior management positions in the healthcare industry in India. According to the Dasra report "An Unbalanced Scale: Exploring the Female Leadership Gap in India's Healthcare Sector," there is a significant under-representation of women in leadership roles, particularly at the executive and board levels, despite the fact that 29 per cent of doctors and 80 per cent of nurses in the country are female.

Women make 34 per cent less than men in the healthcare industry in India, where they only hold 18 per cent of leadership positions. Only 25 per cent of senior positions worldwide are held by women, and only 5 per cent of leadership positions in the healthcare industry are held by them.

The report emphasized how a network of barriers affecting women's career paths includes beliefs about diversity's lack of ability to increase profitability, social norms influencing work environments, and stereotypes about women's commitment and competence.

In addition, the report mentioned that women's access to, advancement in, and retention in leadership positions in the healthcare industry is hampered by a lack of qualified candidates. Even though women make up the majority of healthcare workers in India, as of 2021, only 17 per cent of hospital board members were female.