How Female Representation Improves the Healthcare Workforce
Gretchen Berlin, senior partner at McKinsey & Company, discusses female representation in healthcare, across levels and demographics.
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- Women in healthcare comprise less than 35% of the C-suite healthcare workforce, a significant drop from the 75% across entry-level positions. Although female representation in healthcare is higher than in other industries, the disparities and gender inequities in higher-level positions are just as prevalent, said Gretchen Berlin, senior partner at McKinsey & Company and RN, on Healthcare Strategies.
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Beyond discussing gender demographics across the healthcare workforce, Berlin touches on issues of intersectionality across the healthcare workforce in the podcast episode. She notes that while White women are underrepresented in higher-level positions, Black women have even less representation across all levels, with a faster drop-off as they approach higher-level positions.
“It's really important that the whole workforce is a reflection of the population,” she told Healthcare Strategies.
In addition to discussing the challenges of gender inequity across the healthcare workforce, Berlin touched on strategies to improve workforce diversity.
“Unfortunately, there isn't a silver bullet. At the end of the day, we're talking about changing, you know, human behavior on vast scales,” she emphasized.
Acknowledging challenges in gender diversity is a critical step required for improved equity. Berlin’s recommendations include analyzing the makeup of the healthcare workforce in pockets to understand how they compare across different positions.
“The biggest challenge at the end of the day is changing human behavior. And that is hard. It takes everyday actions, genuine curiosity, and support for each other,” concluded Berlin.
