Calling All Wonder Women —The US Health System Needs Strong Leaders, Healthy Mothers

Legend has it that the creation of Wonder Woman—the super hero and pop culture icon who has saved us from imminent doom since World War II—was inspired by real-life women’s health activists from the early twentieth century. These were women who bucked convention and championed causes like reproductive rights and suffrage. Women who saw opportunities for collective action where others saw insurmountable obstacles. Women who refused to be relegated to second-class status and instead became the driving force for creating a more just, inclusive world. We have come a long way since the days of Margaret Sanger and Susan B. Anthony, but not far enough. The US health system offers a window into our uneven progress. Women in the United States have dismal population health outcomes compared with those in peer nations, particularly when it comes to pregnancy outcomes. Women lack leadership opportunities and, at times, basic respect. While women comprise about 80 percent of the health care workforce, according to Rock Health’s State of Women in Healthcare: 2015 report, it notes that only 27 percent of board members in Truven Health Analytics’ 100 Top (US) Hospitals are female. And less than 10 percent of CEOs at those 100 Top Hospitals are women, says a 2016 Rock Health research blog post. Some of the regressive women’s health–related policies proposed during recent reform debates—such as optional coverage for maternity care—were developed with scant female representat...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Featured GrantWatch Health Professionals Population Health Quality community health workers Disparities Health Philanthropy Jewish Healthcare Foundation Latinas maternal mortality pregnancy Women's Health Source Type: blogs