Lack of women leaders is a loss to the NHS

This week HSJ celebrates the contribution of women to the leadership of the UK health service. Hopefully, of course, we do so every week as part of our focus on innovation and endeavour − but this week we have made a conscious decision to narrow the spotlight.

Why? Because − despite the huge advances in equality over recent decades − women are still underrepresented among healthcare leaders. Last year’s HSJ 100 ranking of the most powerful people in health contained just 20 women − and that was an eight year high.

Exclusive research by HSJ reveals that only 37 per cent of senior roles within clinical commissioning groups and NHS trusts are held by women.

Changing times

Women healthcare leaders often have it tough. As well as the challenges of juggling family and career and the overt sexism that still lurks in parts of the service, they face hypocritical attitudes that limit their progress. Too often successful female leaders are deemed to be aping men, while those that fail are judged to have done so because they displayed a surfeit of supposedly female characteristics.

‘Only two of the women appeared in last year’s HSJ 100. To read the biographies of our 50 leaders is to hope that number increases very soon’

But times are changing. Female leaders are becoming more high profile and influential. To mark and celebrate this, HSJ is proud to publish its first ever celebration of healthcare’s most inspirational female leaders.

HSJ’s Inspirational Women list shows that great leadership can be demonstrated at all levels and in a wide range of settings. Our list includes a student nurse, the “leading force in paediatric wheelchair reform” and the chief medical officer, as well CCG leads and trust chief executives.

It is also noticeable how many of our female leaders have track records that involve tacking inequality, unfairness and injustice (of many different types).

The final point is that only two of them appeared in last year’s HSJ 100. To read the biographies of our 50 leaders is to hope that number increases very soon − and to know the NHS would be better off if it did.