Resources Archives - Women in Global HealthWomen in Global Health

India’s one million Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) win the Global Health Leaders award at the 75th World Health Assembly: Time to move beyond rhetoric to action?

Article by SumeghaAsthana & KaveriMayra on The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia

Community Health Workers want lasting social contracts, not endless recognition

Women are 70% of health workers across the world, lead and shoulder a significant proportion of the pandemic response, and play key roles in health systems all over the world. …

Fit for women: making PPE safe and dignified for women health workers

PPE will not be fit for women unless underlying gender inequities are tackled, say Roopa Dhatt and colleagues Originally posted on BMJ

A gender-equal pandemic recovery needs a gender-equal health workforce

When the story of the pandemic is written, will history record that women -as 70% of health and care workers and 90% of nurses- carried us through this global health…

The feminization of medicine in Latin America: ‘More-the-merrier’ will not beget gender equity or strengthen health systems

This viewpoint addresses the lack of gender diversity in medical leadership in Latin America and the gap in evidence on gender dimensions of the health workforce. Originally posted on Lancet…

Opinion: We must get women into the ‘control room’ in global health

Gender equal leadership is absent from WHO’s executive board, with women accounting for under 10% of the 34 members. We are shocked, outraged, and driven to demand a radical shift…

Women in Health Care: A Call for Pandemic Equity

At the G20 in Rome, it’s time for a gender-responsive approach to COVID19. Originally posted on Think Global Health

Staring into the darkness: women health workers in Afghanistan

Any limitations on the autonomy and mobility of women and girls will add a significant burden to an already strained healthcare system, write Laura Jung, Lilly Khorsand, Anita Afzali, Mariam…

Are dual cadre CHW programmes exploitation by another name?

Without women, there are no health and care services. The moral and strategic imperative to address gender equality just got critical. Originally posted on Apolitical.

Roopa Dhatt: How a simple statistic helped put women on the global health map

In 2015, practising physician Roopa Dhatt and her colleagues wangled their way into the World Health Assembly in Geneva, and counted how many of the chief delegates representing countries were…

PPE is designed for men. Some health experts are hoping to change that.

Personal protective equipment is often designed for men, and that is leaving female health workers further exposed to infection amid the pandemic, global health professionals say. “This is a universal…

For Health Security and Equity, Time to End the Global Gag Rule Once and For All

President Joe Biden’s first foreign trip for high-level meetings in Europe was intended as a strong signal to the world that “America is back.” While he was largely referring to…

Our response to covid-19 must not be gender blind nor a gender battle

Covid-19 impacts men, women, and non-binary genders differently—and not equally. The virus is not gender blind, but evidence shows that over 80% of covid-19 health policies ignore gender, with serious consequences…

Delivered by Women, Led by Women: The Future of Global Health Leadership

The authors note the disparity between leadership roles of men and women in global health and its effect on the response to COVID-19. The work of their organization Women in…

An Open Letter from Women in Global Health to the Leaders of the G7

Dear G7 leaders The G7 meets during an exceptional time in our global history when covid-19 has infected around 175 million people and caused nearly four million deaths. The pandemic…

New Policy Action Paper highlights feasible policy interventions for addressing the under representation of women in global health and care leadership

Women comprise almost 70% of the global health and care workforce but hold only 25% of senior leadership positions. A new WHO Policy Action Paper Closing the leadership gap: gender equity…

Women’s rights will drive universal health coverage

We support Simon Wright and Refiloe Mabjeane,1 who wrote on behalf of the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism for UHC2030, calling for a “radically different approach” to the UN high-level meeting…

Words matter: political and gender analysis of speeches made by heads of government during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on political leadership around the world. Differences in how leaders address the pandemic through public messages have practical implications for building trust…

It’s time to change the narrative: Women in COVID-19, science, and academia

History has a habit of erasing women’s contribution to science — from NASA’s ‘hidden figures’ and the women who propelled men into space to the many female researchers whose work…

‘COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, but societies do’, say women frontliners

Dr. Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director of Women in Global Health, and two scientists who have developed COVID-19 vaccines – Professor Sarah Gilbert of Oxford University and Dr. Özlem Türeci of…

CSO – WHO DG Dialogue: Achieving a gender transformative COVID response

List of Francophone Women in Global Health

List of Francophone Women in Global Health The visibility and recognition of women as leaders and experts in global health remains a challenge. We too often witness panels of men and…

WGH Canada Founders

WGH Canada Founding Members

We stand with the those in the health workforce who are subjected to sexual harassment in their workplace

The recent resurgence of #MeToo on social media brought up many memories and sparked discussions amongst our team at Women in Global Health. It also prompted an exploration of my…

Pocket Guide to Gender Mainstreaming

Created for the 142nd session of the Executive Board (22–27 January 2018) in partnership with the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute Geneva, Women in Global Health offered participants…

An elephant in the room: How does Gender Equality fit in the priorities WHO Director General candidates?

On resource page but no link to article – takes you back to homepage

WHO Elections: what does gender have to do with it?

On resource page but no link to article – takes you back to homepage

Gender Equality & Universal Health Coverage

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is currently the most hotly debated and visionary goal in global health. In 2015 all UN member states committed under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2016-…

Turning Point in History: U.S. Sends the Most Diverse Delegation to CSW65

This week, the 65th U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65) serves as an opportunity for the Biden-Harris administration to keep their promise on increasing diversity and addressing inequalities in leadership—…

Breaking the glass vial: Women at the forefront of COVID-19 vaccine

While there is still a long way to go for women in global health to get the recognition, respect and relative conditions they deserve – at all levels and in…

Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world

While there is still a long way to go for women in global health to get the recognition, respect and relative conditions they deserve – at all levels and in…

Game-changing priorities for UHC

Universal health coverage can be a global game changer for economics, equality and inclusion, but only when gender equality and women’s rights are prioritised By Françoise Girard, president of the…

#VaccinEquity in 100 Days, Vaccinate women health workers — care for them so they can care for us.

We must accelerate vaccine equity now for all health workers, especially for the women who comprise 70% of the health and care workforce. The COVID-19 virus has infected over 100 million…

Sarah Hillware: “Feminism Is Not Feminism Unless It’s Intersectional”

This interview in the Philanthropy Women features Sarah Hillware, the Deputy Director of Women in Global Health (WGH), a 35,000+ strong women-led organization working to challenge power and privilege for…

It’s time to change the narrative: Women in COVID-19, science, and academia

History has a habit of erasing women’s contribution to science — from NASA’s ‘hidden figures’ and the women who propelled men into space to the many female researchers whose work…

Women as Leaders, Not Victims, on the Path to Universal Healthcare

The intense repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to massive ripple effects felt around the world, particularly in marginalized communities and for the women and girls within them. Within…

Gender blind to gender transformative: empowering women as leaders in the global health workforce

Gender equality is fundamental to progress towards UHC, and the COVID-19 pandemic is reinforcing the importance of gender-balanced leadership. This blog from the Global Health Workforce Network’s Gender Equity Hub describes evidence…

POLICY: Strengthen Gender Mainstreaming in WHO’s Pandemic Preparedness and Response

The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPPR), the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee for the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (IOAC) and the Review Committee of International Health Regulations…

Gender Dimensions of COVID-19 Pandemic

The Irish Global Health Network and Esther Alliance hosted a series of webinars on the Covid-19 Pandemic. The 7th Webinar Was Co-Hosted By Women In Global Health Ireland. Get all…

The need for women’s leadership in global health – The Nigeria experience

This week’s Thought Leadership piece comes from Women in Global Health (WGH) Nigeria, an organisation that was established to bring visibility and recognition of Nigerian women, shape global health programming…

Delivered by Women, Led by Men: A Gender and Equity Analysis of the Global Health and Social Workforce

Demographic changes and rising health care demands are projected to drive the creation of 40 million new jobs by 2030 in the global health and social sector. In parallel, there is an…

WGH and FIND Report Release: Health in Their Hands: Testing & Women’s Empowerment Means Better Health For All

Achievement of Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals will not happen without increased access to testing, particularly in the light of the unprecedented disruption resulting from COVID-19.

Climate change and gender-based health disparities

All genders differ in their needs, perception, attitudes, and vulnerability to the effects of climate change.1 This difference is notably true for how climate change affects health.2 Although some governmental…

Off the back burner: Diverse and gender-inclusive decision-making for COVID-19 response and recovery

Epidemics function as a gendered vulnera-bility, and yet gender remains an afterthought in health security and pandemic response, including to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).1 Emerging data indicate that COVID-19 mortality…

Challenges for the female academic during the COVID-19 pandemic

Science and innovation benefit from diversity. However, as the global community fights COVID-19, the productivity and scientific output of female academics are disproportionately affected, leading to loss of women’s scientific…

A patchwork approach to gender equality weakens the SDGs: time for cross-cutting action

The journey to realizing women’s and girls’ rights has been a long one. We marked the 25th Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration in 2020, committed to the 2000 Millennium Development…

Symptoms of a broken system: the gender gaps in COVID-19 decision-making

A growing chorus of voices are questioning the glaring lack of women in COVID-19 decision- making bodies. Men dominating leadership positions in global health has long been the default mode…

Heroines in Health at UNGA74

Honoring women health pioneers is integral to WGH. Heroines of health hold a variety of positions including department heads, nurses, community health workers (CHW), researchers, physicians, policymakers, representatives of INGOs,…

Operation 50/50

Women in Global Health (WGH), an international NGO working towards gender equity in the field of global health, has crowdsourced a list of over 100 female health security experts.

In memorial of Maeve and Gideon McKean

We are deeply saddened by the sudden loss of Maeve McKean and her son Gideon. Maeve was a passionate advocate for global health and gender equality.

Women in Global Health Statement on COVID-19 and the Future

Dr. Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director of Women in Global Health offers the following address at the UN Women and OECD’s Women Leaders Virtual Roundtable on COVID-19 and the Future

We Raise Our Voices in Solidarity

We are experiencing and witnessing challenging times. As we write this, the world is processing the tragic events that have taken place in the US: unjust killings of African-Americans, including…

Setting the Feminist Agenda: Universal Healthcare and Women

At today’s webinar hosted by the National Women’s Council of Ireland, Women in Global Health Deputy Director Sarah Hillware offered the following remarks.

In response to the Nairobi Statment on ICPD25: Strengthening Women’s Leadership and Gender Equity in Global Health to Accelerate Implementation of ICPD

Women in Global Health recognise the landmark ICPD adopted by 179 countries in Cairo Egypt 25 years ago in 1994. We recognise the impact of the Programme for the rights…