Women of color bring invaluable perspectives and expertise to healthcare leadership. They are leading innovation and shaping the future of healthcare. Despite these undeniable contributions, many women of color continue to face unique challenges that hinder their career advancement.
The Stark Reality of Underrepresentation
Professional women of color in healthcare remain vastly underrepresented in leadership, even though they make up a significant portion of the healthcare workforce. Don’t’ believe it? The data paints a sobering picture:
- Only 5% of hospital CEOs are women of color (Becker’s Hospital Review, 2023).
- Black and Hispanic women make up 2.8% and 2.5% of active physicians respectively (AAMC 2022).
- Only 19% of hospital chief nursing officers are women of color, even though women dominate the nursing profession (NCSBN, 2022).
- Women hold 30% of healthcare IT jobs, but fewer than 5% of executives in the field are women of color (HIMSS, 2023).
- Women make up 43% of project management professionals in healthcare, but only 15% of senior project management roles are held by women of color (PMI, 2023).
- 30% of leadership positions in pharmaceutical companies are held by women, with Black and Hispanic women combined making up just 12% of all pharmacists (AACP, 2023).
The Mentorship and Sponsorship Gap
Mentorship and sponsorship are critical for career development; however women of color often struggle to find mentors who understand them, and can help them navigate their unique challenges. Without strong advocates in healthcare leadership, women of color miss out on career-advancing opportunities, promotions, and leadership training programs:
- Only 19% of women of color in healthcare report having a mentor in leadership (Becker’s Hospital Review, 2023).
- Black and Latina women are significantly less likely to be nominated for leadership training programs compared to their white peers (AAMC, 2023).
- Asian women in healthcare report facing a “bamboo ceiling,” with limited access to leadership pathways despite being well-represented in medical professions (HBR, 2023).
- Indigenous healthcare professionals face barriers in obtaining executive roles due to systemic biases and geographic limitations (NIH, 2023).
The Weight of Bias, Exclusion, and Emotional Labor
Implicit bias and systemic discrimination create environments where women of color must constantly prove their worth. These experiences can lead to microaggressions and exclusion from decision-making spaces. The pressure to conform to traditional leadership norms take a mental and emotional toll. New policies rolling back DEI efforts further widen the gap, leaving many organizations stagnant in addressing these systemic barriers.
Beyond workplace challenges, women of color in healthcare frequently take on additional emotional labor in the workplace, such as mentoring younger colleagues and leading diversity efforts. Work that is often unnoticed and unrewarded.
This lack of support can be disheartening. The traditional “work twice as hard” mentality, while a testament to resilience, can lead to burnout and frustration. The weight of it all can be downright exhausting. In the meantime, the extra mental effort women of color in healthcare use to deal with these challenges decreases the amount of energy left to optimize performance and have a sense of well-being.
These examples are exactly why coaching women of color in healthcare is essential.
How is Coaching Beneficial?
Whole person coaching provides a transformative space to shift from survival mode to strategic leadership. Effective coaching empowers women of color to:
- Build executive presence by asserting their value in executive conversations in environments where representation is scarce.
- Navigate workplace politics by gaining the strategies needed to manage bias, self- advocacy, understand the unspoken rules of leadership, and build powerful professional networks.
- Lead authentically by identifying their unique leadership voices, dismantling doubts, and reinforcing their right to lead. Frameworks can support these women in leveraging resilience, lived experiences, and cultural insight to drive performance.
- Prevent burnout and enhance well-being by providing sustainable strategies to manage emotional labor, set boundaries, and ensure career growth without personal depletion.
The Future of Healthcare Depends on Diverse Leadership
When these women rise, they create inclusive policies, challenge disparities, and inspire future generations to pursue careers in healthcare. It’s time to ensure that women of color are empowered, thriving, and inspiring future generations of healthcare leaders. When they lead, we all win.