Rebalancing the leadership equation in health care with more opportunities for women

Health care is often described as a people-first industry, and for good reasons. It is built on trust, compassion, and the ability to care for others in their most vulnerable moments. It is also an industry powered predominantly by women, who make up nearly 80% of the workforce. And yet, when you look at executive leadership across the health care industry, that level of representation doesn’t always carry through.

That disconnect is hard to ignore. It raises important questions about how leadership pathways are built, who they are designed for, and what perspectives may be missing at the highest levels of decision-making.

A leadership gap hiding in plain sight

On the surface, health care appears to be a highly inclusive industry. Walk into any hospital or clinic, and you will see women everywhere, leading patient care, coordinating teams, and supporting operations across nearly every setting. Their presence is both visible and essential to how care is delivered every day. However, when you walk into boardrooms in those same health care facilities, the story is often very different.

National data shows that women hold only about 15% of CEO roles in both health systems and major health insurance organizations. Board leadership isn’t much different, with women serving as roughly 17–21% of board chairs.

Even across broader executive teams, the distribution is uneven. One example is a WittKieffer sample of 10,000+ hospital and health system C-suite executives. The results showed that 42% of these executives were women, but a closer look tells a different story. Only 30% of CEOs were women, along with 22% of CMOs and 22% of CIOs, while representation remained much higher in historically female roles like CNO (86%) and CHRO (67%).

Taken together, these numbers highlight a pattern that many in health care have experienced firsthand. Women are deeply represented across the workforce, yet far less so in the roles where strategic decisions are made.

What the numbers don’t show

There are many reasons behind this gap, and most are not as straightforward as they might seem.

If you’ve spent any time in health care, you know careers rarely follow a straight line. Many women build their experience across clinical roles, operational leadership, mentorship, and life outside of work. Over time, that creates leaders with a deep understanding of both the work and the people behind it.

Those experiences matter. They shape how leaders think, how they make decisions, and how they show up for their teams.

But leadership pathways do not always reflect that reality. Too often, they still favor more traditional, linear definitions of experience, which can overlook the value of diverse career journeys.

As a result, organizations can miss individuals who are more than capable of leading, not because they lack the skills or perspective, but because they took a different path to get to where they are. In an industry as human centered as health care, that is a gap we cannot afford.

Why representation in leadership matters

Health care is navigating one of the most challenging workforce environments in recent history. Staffing shortages, clinician burnout, rising patient demand, and shifting care models are all happening at once. At the same time, many experienced clinicians are stepping away from the workforce, creating a real risk of losing critical institutional knowledge.

This moment calls for leadership that understands both the operational realities and the human impact behind them. Leaders with experience in patient care or workforce operations bring a perspective that leads to more grounded, effective decisions. They understand what it means to support teams through ongoing challenges while still delivering high-quality care.

Just as importantly, they understand the importance of listening. In health care, the people closest to the work often have the clearest view of what is needed, and strong leaders create space for those voices to be heard.

When leadership teams include a broader range of perspectives, including more women, conversations expand. Collaboration strengthens, and decisions better reflect the realities of the workforce. In an industry where people, not just processes, are at the center of every decision, that perspective matters.

It’s not about one leadership style being better than another. It is about balance. And in health care, that balance is essential to building resilient teams and sustainable organizations.

Redefining leadership and creating pathways forward

Leadership in health care is evolving. It is no longer defined only by authority or hierarchy, but by the ability to listen, adapt and build trust.

Many women are already leading in this way, with a focus on collaboration, relationships and developing others. These qualities are increasingly critical in today’s environment, yet they are not always fully recognized at the highest levels.

At the same time, the path to leadership is rarely linear. Many of the strongest leaders bring experience from across clinical, operational, and strategic roles, giving them a broader understanding of how organizations function and how decisions impact both teams and patients.

If we want to see more women in leadership roles, we have to be intentional about how we support that growth. Mentorship provides guidance and perspective, while sponsorship creates access and opportunity. Both play a critical role in helping leaders move forward.

Visibility matters as well. Seeing women in leadership roles helps expand what leadership can look like and encourages others to pursue those paths. It reinforces the idea that leadership is not one-size-fits-all, and that authenticity has a place at the table.

By recognizing and valuing different leadership styles and career paths, organizations can build stronger, more adaptable leadership teams that are better prepared for what comes next.

From awareness to action

Progress is happening, but there is more to do.

Real change comes from consistent action, from how leaders are identified and developed to who is included in key conversations and how potential is recognized. These everyday decisions shape culture, and culture ultimately shapes leadership.

The future of health care depends on how well we support the people at the center of it. Building leadership teams that reflect the workforce strengthens organizations and improves outcomes by ensuring a wider range of perspectives is represented in the decisions that matter most.

Creating space for more women in leadership is not about changing who they are. It is about recognizing the value they already bring.

When we do that, we do more than close a leadership gap. We build stronger organizations, support a more resilient workforce, and create better outcomes for the patients and communities who rely on health care every day.

Kerry Sirkka is Chief Recruitment Officer at Medical Solutions