Companies with women in high-level leadership positions are more profitable, according to a 2016 survey from the Peterson Institute for International Economics (http://www.iie.com) and EY (http://www.ey.com).
Survey data carry a serious message for healthcare leaders—especially in light of the discouraging statistics on compensation of male and female chief information officers (CIOs) reported by the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) at HIMSS16 in Las Vegas (http://s3.amazonaws.com/rdcms-himss/files/production/public/FileDownloads/gender-based-it-pay-inequality.pdf). Among the findings of the HIMSS annual leadership survey are the following:
- Just 14 percent of females occupy leadership or senior executive positions compared to 21 percent of men.
- Non-executive women earn 80 percent of what men make in comparable positions–$101,000 for women vs. $126,000 for men.
- No matter who occupies executive positions, health IT is “a strategically critical tool to help healthcare organizations be successful,” claim 95 percent of HIMSS survey respondents.
The study that linked executive women with top financial performance analyzed close 22,000 global, publically traded companies in more than 90 countries, looking at women in three areas CEOs, board members and members of the C-suite. The verdict: Having 30 percent women in C-Suite or leadership positions boosts net profit margin by 15 percent compared to companies with no female leaders. Among the implications for healthcare organizations:
Create the pipeline effect: Forging a future where women within C-Suites and boards equals financial success demands ongoing executive development. That, in turn, requires an enterprise-wide commitment to education and training, mentoring and coaching and succession planning. Advice to HCOs: Be sure to adapt at least some workforce development programs to the needs, preferences and priorities of women employees, managers, executives and board members.
Put perks in their place and avoid stereotypes: Countries that provide mandated maternity leave don’t necessarily produce more female leaders. However, countries that offer paternity leave tend to increase the ranks of female leaders, according to the study. Key implication: HCOs should meet executives’ need for child care, but avoid placing the responsibility for care exclusively on women. Doing so may allow women to develop the business and clinical skill, knowledge and experience needed to advance to C-Suite and board roles.
Watch out for quotas: Quotas that mandate female participation on boards fail to reduce or improve company performance, according to the study. Women who sit on several boards are no more common than men. Thirteen percent of male directors sit on two boards compared to 12 percent of women. Three percent of men and women sit on three boards, while less than one percent of males or females sit on four or more boards.
A better approach is for HCOs to seek female C-Suite and board leaders from for-profit and not-for profit entities within diverse industries: publishing, media, technology, retail, healthcare, hospitality, financial services and consumer products. Placing women on boards may drive recruitment of a more balanced C-Suite and board.
Avoid viewing a single woman as the solution. Having a female CEO isn’t enough to generate profit gains, according to the study. Gains tend to come when women hold 30 percent of leadership roles like chief financial officer (CFO) or chief operating officer (COO). Rather than seeking a single “diversity candidate” for an open C-Suite or board position, focus on building a culture that motivates and champions women’s achievement and success.
The template for such a program appears within the agenda of Women Executives in Health Care: Positioning for the Future, a program developed by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (https://ccpe.sph.harvard.edu/programs.cfm?CSID=WEX0316) and slated to take place in 2016. Among the healthcare skills and competencies featured are team building, emotional intelligence, change management, negotiation and conflict resolution, performance improvement, organizational politics and strategic planning.
Evaluate compensation and benefits. “Analyzed several different ways, women consistently earn less than their male counterparts,” says the HIMSS analysis of its leadership survey. “The findings also suggest females are under-represented in IT-related executive and senior management roles in the health sector.” The message for HCOs: Treat women employees, managers, executives, board members and patients with dignity, respect and fairness in recruitment, compensation, development and promotion.