Raising African women leaders in global health

Women who combine career and family often have to spend more time on domestic work than men.2 Some studies indicate that gender stereotypes, norms, and practices also keep women health-care workers in lower-level jobs.3 Beyond health, women, are under-represented in the workforce in Africa and repre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Lancet (British edition) 2018-12, Vol.392 (10165), p.2662-2663
Main Author: Fenny, Ama Pokuaa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
Awards & honors
Capacity development
Careers
Diversity training
Empowerment
Female
Gender equity
Global Health
Health promotion
Health Workforce - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Informal economy
Leadership
Norms
Parliaments
Political leadership
Poverty
Quotas
R&D
Representations
Research & development
Scientists
Tracks (paths)
Women
Women's Rights - statistics & numerical data
Women, Working - statistics & numerical data
Womens health
Workers
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Summary:Women who combine career and family often have to spend more time on domestic work than men.2 Some studies indicate that gender stereotypes, norms, and practices also keep women health-care workers in lower-level jobs.3 Beyond health, women, are under-represented in the workforce in Africa and represent an unexploited potential for poverty alleviation in the region. The African Union declared 2010–20 as the African Women's Decade to speed up commitments made to empower women at all levels of society.4 Developing a pathway for future women leaders in global health will require moving the momentum beyond the visibility created from global pledges to efforts that ensure more women take up leadership roles.5,6 There are a growing number of African women who are opening doors for other women in science and medicine, but there is a need to improve the environments in which they work and thrive.3,7 While acknowledging the importance of interventions such as giving awards, inclusive networks, capacity building, and mentoring to promoting the visibility and representation of women, these activities are not sufficient on their own to empower women and advance gender equity on a broader level. The work of Global Health 50/50, which tracks gender representation across organisations, and global health campaigns to improve gender parity (such as #nomoremanels and #womeningh) give credence to more systematic efforts to embrace quota systems.10 Capacity building efforts often supported by donor funding to allow women to pursue leadership roles in scientific research and development are on the rise in Africa.
ISSN:0140-6736
1474-547X
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32841-1