Women in Leadership Special Interest Group

Sustaining wellbeing – strategies for women leaders

On 1 September, IHF members came together for an inspiring Women in Leadership SIG webinar, ‘Sustaining wellbeing – strategies for women leaders’. 

The session brought together personal reflections and practical strategies to explore how women leaders can sustain their wellbeing, recognize the early signs of burnout, and create workplace cultures where people feel connected, supported and able to thrive. 

Women leaders improving the health of vulnerable women worldwide

On Thursday 25 June, we heard from three inspiring women leaders with experience from India, Rwanda, Honduras and Kenya, who are improving the health and lives of vulnerable and underserved women through innovative, community-driven initiatives. The speakers reflected on the challenges they have faced, the successes they have achieved, and the lessons they have learned while supporting women’s health and rights.

Women leaders driving change in women’s health

The IHF Women in Leadership Special Interest Group, in collaboration with ICON Group, launched a new webinar series on 31st March focusing on the important role of women leaders in improving women’s health. The first session brought together global experts to explore how leaders can advance prevention, screening and awareness while addressing persistent gaps in women’s healthcare. Women leaders have a vital role to play in shaping more inclusive, effective, and sustainable health systems, and we look forward to continuing the conversation at our next webinar in June.

Supporting women leaders strengthens health systems

On International Women’s Day 2026, the theme is “give to gain” and, for the global healthcare community, the application of this idea is simple: when leaders support and mentor others, the whole system benefits. Diverse leadership teams bring different perspectives, make better decisions, and strengthen organizations overall. But progress does not happen by chance. Supporting women leaders requires intention, structure, and sustained commitment. 

Insights on equity in healthcare leadership with Gayle Capozzalo

Gayle Capozzalo is the Executive Director of The Collaborative, an initiative of the Carol Emmott Foundation. The Collaborative is a self-governing network of large healthcare organizations dedicated to ensuring that their structures, processes, and policies support inclusive cultures that treat all employees fairly.
In this interview, Gayle shares insights from her years of experience in the healthcare sector, as well as her reflections on the opportunities for today’s hospital leaders to make a positive impact on inequity.

A learning session on how to reduce bias in AI

On 12 May 2025, healthcare and AI experts Dr Nasibeh Zanjirani Farahani and Dr Moein Enayati explored how bias in AI can worsen health disparities, and what leaders can do to prevent it. From real-world examples to practical strategies, the session highlighted the importance of inclusive data, diverse teams, and ongoing oversight.

Addressing gender bias in AI: Insights from global experts

On 11 February, a joint virtual meeting of the Women in Leadership and Harnessing Big Data Special Interest Groups brought together global experts to explore how healthcare leaders can address gender bias in artificial intelligence (AI). The session provided insights on how to mitigate bias and how to ensure equitable and effective AI implementation. Don't miss out on the key takeaways.

Launch of the IHF Women in Leadership mentoring circles pilot project!

Following discussions at the WiL workshop at the World Hospital Congress in Rio de Janeiro, the WiL is launching a mentoring circles pilot project. Three regional circles have already been launched, aiming to create networks, learn from each other and carry out leadership development activities. Supported by Deborah Bowen and Gayle Capozzalo, our circle leads Dr Dina Alismail (MENA region), Raquel Chantre (Europe region), Renee Botelho (Americas region), and Tracey Fyvie (Asia-Pacific region) will lead monthly circle sessions and share their learning and experiences at the World Hospital Congress in Geneva in November. Please contact Ilona at ilona.johnston@ihf-fih.org if you are interested in joining one of the mentoring circles.

Women in Leadership workshop, Rio de Janeiro!

At the World Hospital Congress in Rio de Janeiro, the Women in Leadership SIG hosted a workshop with 60 healthcare leaders. In its third year, the WIL SIG is focusing on identifying specific recommendations and opportunities for our members to implement improvements as they address the critical need to diversify senior leadership. Using the World Café methodology, there were five different strategies discussed at the workshop: Mentorship and Sponsorship, Partnership and Collaboration, Recruitment and Retention, Building an Inclusive Culture and Gender Bias in AI.
The discussions were lively and thought-provoking. Keeping with our theme of Global Learning, Local Actions, the strategies were checked by representatives from 28 different countries. From this effort there are action plans and deliverables for this coming year. Watch this space for more information.

Women in leadership, examples from Kenya and Guinea Bissau: SIG meeting

On 14 May (14:00- 15:00 CEST) our Women in Leadership SIG shared insightful presentations from Kenya and Guinea Bissau on leadership. The discussion also covered the IHF Leadership Model of competencies for executives in the healthcare sector from a gender equity perspective. Catch up on the highlights in this quick recap.

Breaking the glass ceiling in Indian hospital management

In this episode, Dr Sangita Reddy from Apollo Hospitals India sat down with Dr Sawsan Abdel-Razig and Dr Pascale Anglade, both from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and long-standing members of the Women in Leadership SIG steering committee.

Dr Sangita Reddy shares with us some inspirational stories on how women's equity has come to occupy such an important place in her life. She talks – among many other things - about the importance of creating a strong and supportive ecosystem and of having a transformative purpose in life.

Women in Leadership at Congress: Advancing gender equity in healthcare leadership

We were thrilled to welcome over 60 participants from 24 countries to our session at the 46th World Hospital Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, on 24 October 2023. The session focused on how hospital leaders can implement and measure policy changes to create a gender-equitable organizational culture.

Launch of YEL2023 report on Women in Leadership: Culture and self-confidence - Cornerstones of a woman’s leadership journey

IHF's Women in Leadership Forum teams up with the Carol Emmott Foundation

The IHF's Women in Leadership Forum is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Carol Emmett Foundation (CEF) in the USA: a national not-for-profit working on gender equity and diversity in healthcare. There are many synergies between the objectives of CEF and the WLF and we look forward to sharing ideas and learning as we work to raise global recognition of the skills, talents, and impact of female leaders across the global healthcare sector. Together, we are committed to dismantling barriers, eliminating disparities, and promoting diversity in all aspects of healthcare leadership.

What gender equity means for healthcare: Podcast

In this episode of the IHF's podcast, talking healthcare, Lucy Clements, Health Integration Policy Lead from NHS Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System, UK, sat down with Dr Sawsan Abdelrazig and Dr Pascale Anglade from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to discuss health inequities in healthcare leadership.

International Women’s Day 2023 perspectives from the IHF community

For International Women's Day 2023, we asked leaders in our community to tell us what gender equity in healthcare leadership means to them and what progress they’d like to see materialize in the future. Here are some of the messages they shared with us.

Turning challenges into leadership opportunities

On 1 September 2022, the Forum hosted a free online event for female healthcare leaders and managers, in collaboration with Alumni Global. By sharing personal success stories, participating female executives explored how we can build an equitable and inclusive workplace.