DELIVERED BY WOMEN,

LED BY MEN:
A GENDER AND EQUITY ANALYSIS
OF THE GLOBAL HEALTH AND
SOCIAL WORKFORCE

Human Resources for Health Observer Series No. 24

 DELIVERED BY WOMEN,
LED BY MEN:
A GENDER AND EQUITY ANALYSIS
OF THE GLOBAL HEALTH AND
SOCIAL WORKFORCE

Human Resources for Health Observer Series No. 24

Delivered by women, led by men: A gender and equity analysis of the global health and social workforce.
(Human Resources for Health Observer Series No. 24)

ISBN 978-92-4-151546-7

© World Health Organization 2019

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Contents

Foreword: Women in Global Health as co-chair of Gender

Equity Hub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Key findings from the four thematic areas of the review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Overarching findings and conclusions from the review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Key messages from this review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Key recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Section 1. Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2 Gender Equity Hub (GEH) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3 Rationale for gender analysis on the health workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Chapter 2. Objectives and methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2.1 Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Section 2. Key findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Chapter 3. Occupational segregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3.1 Key messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2 Occupational segregation: literature review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.3 Occupational segregation by gender in the global health workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.4 Factors that lead to occupational segregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.5 Why occupational segregation matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

iii
 A literature review

Chapter 4. Decent work without discrimination, bias and sexual

harassment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.1 Key messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.2 Decent work: introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.3 Decent work in the global health workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.4 Discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.5 Bias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.6 Sexual harassment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.7 Why addressing decent work in the global health workforce matters . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Chapter 5. Gender pay gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

5.1 Key messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.2 Gender pay gap: introduction and background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.3 The gender pay gap in the global health workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.4 Factors that contribute to gender pay gaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.5 Why is addressing the gender pay gap in the global health workforce important? . . 33

Chapter 6. Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6.1 Key messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6.2 Leadership and gender: background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6.3 Leadership and governance in the global health and workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6.4 Why addressing gender gaps in leadership matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.5 Factors contributing to leadership gaps in the global health workforce. . . . . . . . . . . 39

Section 3. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Chapter 7. Conclusions: policy context, findings, and next steps . 42

7.1 Policy context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
7.2 Findings of the GEH literature review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
7.3 Next steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Annex 1. Membership of the Gender Equity Hub in the Global

Health Workforce Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Annex 2. Literature matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

iv
Boxes
Box 1.1 Global Health Workforce Network Gender Equity Hub: priority areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Box 1.2 Global Health Workforce Network Gender Equity Hub: five key activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Box 3.1 Individual factors contributing to gender segregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Box 3.2 Organizational factors contributing to gender segregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Box 3.3 Societal factors contributing to gender segregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Box 4.1 Origin of the #MeToo movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Box 5.1 Factors contributing to gender pay gaps: key themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Box 6.1 Individual, household and community dimensions of gender stereotyping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Box 7.1 Working for Health: five-year action plan for health employment and inclusive economic growth 2017–2021
(WHO, ILO, OECD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Figures
Figure ES.1 Key findings of GEH review of female health workforce, by thematic area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Figure ES.2 Overarching findings and conclusions of review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Figure 1.1 Share of women employed in the health and social sectors compared to share of women employed in all
sectors by ILO region, 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Figure 1.2 Sustainable Development Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Figure 1.3 Health workforce and gender: a theory of change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Figure 1.4 Working for Health programme: a global movement for gender-transformative workforce development. . . . . 8

Figure 3.1 Women’s share of selected occupations (2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Figure 3.2 Share of female doctors by OECD country (2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 3.3 Male and female employment (%) in health and education sectors (2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 3.4 Average work day and unpaid work, men and women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Figure 3.5 Paid and unpaid work (minutes per day) for men and women, by OECD country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Figure 3.6 Financial value of women’s contribution to the global health system, as part of global GDP . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Figure 3.7 The cycle of unpaid care work–paid work–paid care work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Figure 3.8 United States share of nurses who are male (1970–2011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 3.9 Percentage of economies that restrict women’s employment, by type of restriction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 3.10 Do organizations have workplace gender policies? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Figure 4.1 Percentage of United States medical academics reporting sexual harassment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Figure 4.2 Inadequacy of global sexual harassment laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Figure 5.1 Equal pay versus the gender pay gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Figure 5.2 Gender wage gap by country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Figure 5.3 Female earnings as a percentage of men’s earnings among full-time, year-round nurses (2011) . . . . . . . . 32
Figure 6.1 Who leads global health organizations? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Figure 6.2 Percentage of Member State ministries of health headed by women, by WHO region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Figure 6.3 Women’s representation at World Health Assembly, 2005–2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Figure 6.4 Global health leadership pyramid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Figure 7.1 Key finding in four focus areas of GEH literature review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Figure 7.2 Key overarching findings of GEH literature review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

v
 A literature review

Foreword: Women in Global Health as

co-chair of Gender Equity Hub

On behalf of Women in Global Health I am delighted to receive this important report and acknowledge the many expert partners who gave their
time to generate the evidence that will underpin gender equality in health, and therefore better global health.

When I graduated as a medical doctor I knew I was standing on the shoulders of the pioneer women who had fought their way into medicine and
carved a path for me and other women. In some countries this is very recent history, since women did not qualify as doctors until the 1940s.

Today women account for 70% of the health and social care workforce and deliver care to around 5 billion people. But as this report shows,
despite progress, women remain largely segregated into lower-status and lower-paid jobs in health, are subject to discrimination, and, in some
contexts, are under the constant threat of violence. Global health is delivered by women and led by men, and that is neither fair nor smart.

Large numbers of women in health are working without the protection of legislation to guarantee them decent work and equal pay. Many are
underpaid or unpaid. The gender pay gap in the health sector is higher than other sectors despite it being a female-majority profession.

Disadvantage is multiplied by the intersection of gender with race, ethnicity, caste, or religion – depending where you are in the world.

We cannot wait for the global health system to correct its own course. Approximately 40 million new health and social care jobs will be needed
by 2030 to keep up with changing demographics and increased demand for health. Around 18 million health and social care jobs must be
filled in low-income countries to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieve the game-changing ambition of universal health
coverage. Gender-transformative change is needed to stop the leakage in the pipeline and loss of female ideas and talent. Similarly, we want to
increase male talent and perspectives in fields such as nursing where men are underrepresented.

Doing things differently by addressing gender inequities in global health and investing in the global health and social workforce will have a wider
multiplier effect, offering a “triple gender dividend” comprising the following.

• Health dividend. We can fill the millions of new jobs that must be created to meet growing demand and reach universal health coverage and
the health-related SDGs by 2030.

• Gender equality dividend. Investment in women and the education of girls to enter formal, paid work will increase gender equality and
women’s empowerment as women gain income, education and autonomy. In turn, this is likely to improve family education, nutrition,
women’s and children’s health, and other aspects of development.

• Development dividend. New jobs will be created, fuelling economic growth.

This gender dividend, once realized, will improve the health and lives of people everywhere. The health and social care worker shortage is
global. This is everybody’s business.

As co-chair of the Gender Equity Hub with WHO, Women in Global Health are pleased to work in the vanguard with WHO and our partners to
catalyse gender-transformative policy change for better global health.

Dr Roopa Dhatt
Co-chair of the Gender Equity Hub
Executive Director and co-founder of Women in Global Health

vi
Acknowledgements

The lead authors and primary editors of this report are Mehr Manzoor, Research Director at Women in Global Health and a PhD candidate at
Tulane University, and Kelly Thompson, Programming and Gender Director at Women in Global Health and co-chair of the Gender Equity Hub.
Additional authors and editors are Ann Keeling, Senior Policy Adviser at Women in Global Health, and Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director at Women
in Global Health.

They worked under the close guidance of Tana Wuliji, Technical Officer for Health Workforce at WHO and co-chair of the Gender Equity Hub, and
Paul Marsden, Technical Officer for Health Workforce at WHO and acting co-chair of the Gender Equity Hub, as well as colleagues at Women
in Global Health who supported the project in many ways. We acknowledge the support and feedback provided by Temitayo Ifafore-Calfee,
Operations Director at Women in Global Health. They provided thought leadership, editorial advice and operational support for the development
of this report. We acknowledge editorial and graphic support by Christina Memmott, Graduate Student at Johns Hopkins University.

Extensive expert technical guidance was provided by Constance Newman, Senior Team Leader, Gender Equality and Health, Intrahealth
International. She provided extensive support and mentorship in the development of this paper and served as a constant source of expertise and
encouragement.

Over the course of the project several technical consultations were sought to seek relevant literature, input and feedback to strengthen the
report and its findings on the main theme of gender and equity within the global health workforce.

Gender Equity Hub members provided support and valuable feedback, including Lina Bader, Research and Evaluation Consultant at the
International Pharmaceutical Federation, who provided extensive support in evidence extraction and writing. Zahra Zeinali, Graduate Research
Assistant at Johns Hopkins University, provided key input on intersectionality. Extensive feedback was provided by Myra Betron, Director of
Gender at Jhpiego; Jennifer Breads, Technical Adviser in the Global Learning Office at Jhpiego; Professor Ivy Bourgeault, Professor at University
of Ottawa; Samantha Law, Manager at Chemonics; Tracy McClair, Jhpiego; Rosemary Morgan, Assistant Scientist at Johns Hopkins University
and Research in Gender and Ethics; Rosie Steege, Research in Gender and Ethics; and Samantha Rick, Deputy Director of the Frontline Health
Workers Coalition and Advocacy and Policy Officer at IntraHealth International.

External experts from international organizations and universities provided their generous support, guidance and feedback throughout the
development of this report. We would like to thank Ana Langer, Professor and Director of the Women and Health Initiative at Harvard University;
Jacquelyn Caglia, Assistant Director of the Women and Health Initiative at Harvard University; Ashveena Gajeele, Global Access in Action Fellow
at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University; Kate Hawkins, Research in Gender and Ethics; Rohina Joshi, Senior
Research Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health; Devaki Nambiar, Program Head–Health Systems and Equity at the George Institute
for Global Health; Ana Barata, USF Amora Saudável; Sara Causev, Women in Global Health Sweden Chapter; Kathleen Fenton, Paediatric and
Congenital Cardiac Surgeon at Cardiac Alliance; Isabelle Fox, Director of Surgical Missions at Mending Kids; Niyati Shah, Senior Gender Adviser
and Team Leader at USAID; and Geordan Shannon, Medical Doctor and Researcher at University College London.

Submissions of evidence and policy and practice experience were provided by Steven Buzuzi, ReBUILD Consortium; Mehr Manzoor, Women
in Global Health; Isabelle Carr, Australia Medical Students’ Association; Abigail Donner, Abt Associates; Vince Blaser, Frontline Health Workers
Coalition; Yvonne Commodore-Mensah, African Research Academies for Women; Neeru Gupta, University of New Brunswick; Mary Beth
Hastings, Iris Group; Carolina Haylock-Loor, Kirthi Jayakumar, Red Elephant Foundation; Estelle Kouokam, Countdown; Sandra Massiah, Public
Services International; Sarah McKee, Management Sciences for Health; Emma Nofal, Athena Swan NHS Fellow; Ema Paulino, International
Pharmaceutical Federation; Viktor Siebert, German Development Cooperation (GIZ); Marion Subah, Jhpiego; Sally Theobald, Liverpool School of
Tropical Medicine; Nupoor Tomar, Monash University; Sreytouch Vong, ReBUILD Consortium; and Sophie Witter, ReBUILD Consortium.

The report was commissioned by the World Health Organization.

vii
 A literature review

Abbreviations

AFRO WHO Regional Office for Africa

EMRO WHO Regional Office for Eastern-Mediterranean
EURO WHO Regional Office for Europe
G7 Group of Seven
GDP gross domestic product
GEH Gender Equity Hub
ILO International Labour Organization
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
PAHO Pan American Health Organization
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
SEARO WHO Regional Office for South East Asia
WHO World Health Organization
WPRO WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific

viii
Executive summary

Demographic changes and rising health care demands are projected Key findings from the four thematic
to drive the creation of 40 million new jobs by 2030 in the global areas of the review
health and social sector. In parallel, there is an estimated shortfall
of 18 million health workers, primarily in low- and middle-income The key findings in each of the four thematic areas covered by the
countries, required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals GEH review are summarized in Figure ES.1 and covered in detail in
(SDGs) and universal health coverage. The global mismatch between Chapters 3–6 of this report.
health worker supply and demand is both a cause for concern and a
potential opportunity. Since women account for 70% of the health and Overarching findings and conclusions
social care workforce, gaps in health worker supply will not be closed from the review
without addressing the gender dynamics of the health and social
workforce. The female health and social care workers who deliver In addition, the report identified eight overarching findings and
the majority of care in all settings face barriers at work not faced by conclusions, summarized in Figure ES.2 and further elaborated in the
their male colleagues. This not only undermines their own well-being text below.
and livelihoods, it also constrains progress on gender equality and
negatively impacts health systems and the delivery of quality care. • Most of the 170 studies found and reviewed in this report come
from anglophone high-income country contexts and are unlikely to
In November 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) established be applicable to other contexts.
the Gender Equity Hub (GEH), co-chaired by WHO and Women in
Global Health under the umbrella of the Global Health Workforce • There are gaps in data and research from all regions but the
Network. The GEH brings together key stakeholders to strengthen most serious gaps are in low- and middle-income countries. This
gender-transformative policy guidance and implementation capacity is a major concern, since the most rapid progress in health is
for overcoming gender biases and inequalities in the global health needed in low- and middle-income countries to reach the SDGs,
and social workforce, in support of the implementation of the Global attain universal health coverage and achieve the health for all
Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030, and the targets by 2030.
Working for Health five-year action plan (2017–2021) of WHO, the
International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Organisation for • Widespread gaps in the data and literature were found in countries
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). of all income levels on implementation research, application of
gender-transformative policy measures, and good practice on
In 2018, the GEH identified and reviewed over 170 studies in a addressing health system deficiencies caused by gender inequality.
literature review of gender and equity in the global health workforce,
with a focus on four themes: occupational segregation; decent work • Major gaps and lack of comparable data were found in countries
free from bias, discrimination and harassment, including sexual from all regions. Examples include sexual harassment and gender
harassment; gender pay gap; and gender parity in leadership. pay gap data.

This report will inform the next phase of the work of the Global Health • Studies were limited in methodological approaches. Few used an
Workforce Network GEH, which seeks to use these research findings intersectional approach to examine how gender disadvantage in
to advocate gender-transformative policy and action. the health workforce can be compounded by other social identities
such as race and class.

1
 A literature review

Figure ES.1 Key findings of GEH review of female health workforce, by thematic area

Horizontal and vertical occupational segregation by gender is a Women are 70% global health workforce but hold only 25% senior
universal pattern in health, varies with context. roles
Driven by gender norms and stereotypes of jobs culturally labelled Gender leadership gaps driven by stereotypes, discrimination, power
‘men’s’ or ‘women’s’ work imbalance, privilege
Gender discrimination constrains women’s leadership/seniority Women’s disadvantage intersects with/multiplied by other identities eg
Gender stereotypes constrain men eg entering nursing race, class

Women in health typically clustered into lower status/lower paid Global health weakened by loss female talent, ideas, knowledge
jobs Women leaders often expand health agenda, strengthening health for all
Female majority professions given lower social value, status & pay Gendered leadership gap in health is a barrier to reaching SDGs and UHC

OCCUPATIONAL
SEGREGATION LEADERSHIP

DECENT WORK: GENDER PAY GAP (GPG)

DISCRIMINATION SEXUAL
HARASSMENT BIAS

Large % women in health workforce face bias and discrimination GPG in health 26-26%, higher than average for other sectors
Female health workers face burden sexual harassment causing Most of GPG in health is unexplained by observable factors eg
harm, ill health, attrition, loss morale, stress education
Many countries lack laws and social protection that are the Occupational segregation, women in lower status/paid roles, drives GPG.
foundation for gender equality at work Much of women’s work health/social care unpaid and excluded in GPG
Male healthworkers more likely to be organised in trade unions data
than female Equal pay laws and collective bargaining absent in many countries
Frontline female healthworkers in conflict/emergencies/remote GPG leads to lifetime economic disadvantage for women
areas face violence, injury & death
Closing GPG essential to reaching SDGs

Figure ES.2 Overarching findings and conclusions of review

Overarching Findings from literature review:

• 170 studies in this review, most from global North
• Major gaps in data and research from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) on
gender and equity dimensions health workforce
OCCUPATIONAL • Major gaps in implementation research on impact of policy change or gender
SEGREGATION LEADERSHIP transformative approaches in different cultural settings
• Major gaps in data in all areas, particularly sexual harassment and data comparable
across countries on the gender pay gap
• Studies limited in methodological approaches. Very few adopt an intersectionality
lens or use mixed methods approaches
DECENT WORK: GENDER PAY • Occupational segregation, vertical and horizontal, is major driver and consequence
DISCRIMINATION SEXUAL GAP (GPG) of gender inequality
HARASSMENT BIAS • Critical role of women in health (70% health workforce) is often overlooked, so
priority not given to addressing gender/equity in workforce
• Gender inequality in health and social care workforce will limit delivery of UHC &
health for all

2
• Occupational segregation by gender in the health sector, driven This triple gender dividend will improve the health and lives of people
by gender inequality, is pronounced, and in turn is the foundation everywhere. The health and social care worker shortage is global, and
for other gender inequalities identified in this report (such as the addressing gender inequality in the health workforce is everybody’s
gender pay gap). Although women hold around 70% of jobs in business.
the health workforce they remain largely segregated vertically,
with men holding the majority of higher-status roles. Female
health workers are clustered into lower-status and lower-paid
(often unpaid) roles and are further disadvantaged by horizontal Key messages from this review
occupational segregation driven by gender stereotypes branding
some jobs suitable for women (nursing) or men (surgery). Women The following key messages emerged from this review.
are triply disadvantaged by social gender norms that attach
lower social value to majority female professions, which, in turn, • In general, women deliver global health and men lead it.
devalues the status and pay of those professions. Progress on gender parity in leadership varies by country and
sector, but generally men hold the majority of senior roles in health
• Despite women being the majority of the global health and from global to community level. Global health is predominantly led
social workforce, the role of women as drivers of health is often by men: 69% of global health organizations are headed by men,
unacknowledged. This contributes to a lack of priority given to and 80% of board chairs are men. Only 20% of global health
addressing gender inequality in the health and social workforce. organizations were found to have gender parity on their boards,
Gender-transformative policies and measures must be put in and 25% had gender parity at senior management level. Health
place if global targets such as universal health coverage are to be systems will be stronger when the women who deliver them have
achieved. Also largely unacknowledged is the burden of unpaid an equal say in the design of national health plans, policies and
health and social care work typically done by women and girls. systems.
Women’s unpaid work forms an insecure foundation for global
health. • Workplace gender biases, discrimination and inequities are
systemic, and gender disparities are widening. In 2018 it was
• A key conclusion of this report is that gender inequality in the estimated that workplace gender equality was 202 years away –
health and social workforce weakens health systems and health longer than 2016 estimates. Many organizations expect female
delivery. These gender inequities, however, can be fixed, and an health workers to fit into systems designed for male life patterns
alternative, positive future scenario is possible. and gender roles (with, for example, no paid maternity leave), and
many countries still lack laws on matters that underpin gender
Adopting gender-transformative policies, addressing gender inequities equality and dignity at work, such as sex discrimination, sexual
in global health, and investing in decent work for the female health harassment, equal pay and social protection.
workforce offer a wider social and economic multiplier – a “triple
gender dividend” – comprising the following. • Women in global health are underpaid and often unpaid. It is
estimated that women in health contribute 5% to global gross
• Health dividend. The millions of new jobs in health and social domestic product (GDP) (US$ 3 trillion), out of which almost 50%
care needed to meet growing demand, respond to demographic is unrecognized and unpaid. The World Economic Forum Global
changes and deliver universal health coverage by 2030 will be gender gap report 2018 estimates the average gender pay gaps by
filled. country at around 16%. The unadjusted gender pay gap appears
to be even higher in the health and social care sector, estimated at
• Gender equality dividend. Investment in women and the education 26% in high-income countries and 29% in upper middle-income
of girls to enter formal, paid work will increase gender equality countries. The gender pay gap in men’s favour is nearly universal
and women’s empowerment as women gain income, education and largely unexplained. It has a lifelong economic impact for
and autonomy. In turn, this is likely to improve family education, women, contributing to poverty in old age. In sectors that are
nutrition, women and children’s health, and other aspects of female dominated, work is typically undervalued and lower paid.
development.
• Workplace violence and sexual harassment in the health and
• Development dividend. New jobs will be created, fuelling social sector are widespread and often hidden. Female health
economic growth. workers face sexual harassment from male colleagues, male

3
 A literature review

patients and members of the community. It is often not recorded, • Gender-transformative policies should be adopted that
and women may not report it due to stigma and fear of retaliation. challenge the underlying causes of gender inequities. Such
Violence and harassment harms women, limits their ability to policies are essential to advancing gender equality in the health
do their job, and causes attrition, low morale and ill-health. In and social workforce. Adding jobs to the health workforce under
Rwanda, female health workers experience much higher rates of current conditions will not solve the gender inequities that
sexual harassment than male colleagues, and in Pakistan, lady exacerbate the health worker shortage, contributing to a mismatch
health workers have reported harassment from both management of supply and demand and wasted talent. Policies to date have
and lower-level male staff. attempted to fix women to fit into inequitable systems; now we
need to fix the system and work environment to create decent
• Occupational segregation by gender is deep and universal. work for women and close gender gaps in leadership and pay.
Women dominate nursing and men dominate surgery (horizontal
segregation). Men dominate senior, higher-status, higher-paid • The focus of research in the global health and social workforce
roles (vertical segregation). Wider societal gender norms and should be shifted. Research priorities must prioritize low- and
stereotypes reinforce this. Occupational segregation by gender middle-income countries; apply a gender and intersectionality
drives the gender pay gap and leads to loss of talent (for example, lens; include sex- and gender-disaggregated data; and include
with few men entering nursing). the entire health and social workforce, including the social care
workforce. Research must go beyond describing the gender
inequities to also evaluate the impact of gender-transformative
interventions. Such research will aid understanding of context-
Key recommendations specific factors, including sociocultural dimensions. Moreover,
research focused on implementation and translation into policy
• It is time to change the narrative. Women, as the majority of the is needed to assess the viability and effectiveness of policies and
global health and social care workforce, are the drivers of global inform gender-transformative policy action.
health. Research and policy dialogues on gender and global health
to date have neglected this reality and have focused on women’s • A mid-plan review should be aligned with the independent
health and women’s access to health (both vitally important). It is review of the Working for Health five-year action plan for health
critical to record and recognize all the work women do in health employment and inclusive economic growth (2017–2021) and
and social care – paid and unpaid – and bring unpaid health and the medium-term fiscal plan that is to be carried out in 2019
care work into the formal labour market. Women form the base of to mark the midpoint in the five-year action plan. This proposed
the pyramid on which global health rests and should be valued as review would involve WHO, ILO and OECD, assess progress on
change agents of health, not victims. deliverables on gender equality, and recommend steps to ensure
delivery of action plan commitments by 2021.

4
SECTION 1. APPROACH
Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 Background WOMEN COMPRISE 7 OUT OF 10 SOCIAL

HEALTH CARE WORKERS
At present, over 234 million workers staff the health and social care
sector globally (1). The health and social care sector is the fastest
growing employment sector for women, with women comprising seven
out of ten health and social care workers (1).

On average, the share of women working in the

health and social care sector is nearly twice
their share of the total workforce. Although achieve universal health coverage (2). Despite global momentum and
the proportion of women in the workforce has progress on gender equality, systemic challenges, gender biases, and
steadily risen in the last quarter of a century, inequities persist in the global health workforce, predominantly to
industry segregation patterns persist. In 2013, the disadvantage of women. The women who run health systems do
while the proportion of women in the workforce not have an equal say with men in their design and delivery. These
worldwide was only 39.5%, the proportion of women employed by significant challenges have been linked to health system inefficiencies
the global health and social sectors amounted to 70.3%. Figure 1.1 that impact the health worker training and supply pipeline,
provides a breakdown of female employment in the health and social recruitment, deployment, retention, and attrition, and contribute to
sectors compared to the workforce as a whole across global regions (1). health workforce distribution imbalances between the formal and
informal health workforce, as well as between the public and private
As the main providers of health, women deliver health care to around sectors (5). As a result of women in the health workforce being largely
5 billion people globally and contribute US$ 3 trillion annually to clustered into lower-status and underpaid (or unpaid) jobs, health
global health (2). However, approximately half of this contribution is systems lose female talent, perspectives and morale.
in the form of unpaid care work (2). The reduction of mortality rates
across all age groups over the past half century is largely due to the
underrecognized contribution of women to health and social care It is essential to understand the gender-related trends and
(3, 4). This report highlights a critical opportunity to address the gaps dynamics in the health workforce if we are to build resilient
in our understanding of the challenges posed by gender inequality health systems and achieve universal health coverage
in the global health workforce. Gender analysis in global health has
primarily focused on the point of service delivery and quality of care.
This has largely ignored the fact that women are not only recipients of The women who are employed in global health are working in very
health care but are the primary drivers of health globally. This report diverse health systems, settings and socioeconomic contexts. In
aims to move forward the agenda of gender equality in the global general, the current inequality between men and women in the health
health workforce. We recognize, however, significant gaps in research workforce globally reflects the following.
and data, particularly from low- and middle-income countries, that
limit our evidence and conclusions. • Women’s employment rights in many countries are not protected
by legislation governing critical areas such as equal pay for equal
It is essential to understand the gender-related trends and dynamics work, non-discrimination and collective bargaining.
in the health workforce if we are to build resilient health systems and

5
 A literature review

• Medicine was established as a male-only profession and it has • Political will and incentives are lacking for politicians and decision-
taken time for women to overcome discrimination against their makers in health systems to adopt the gender-transformative
entry to the profession, senior posts and better-paid specialisms. leadership and measures necessary to drive equality among
people of different genders, and among other marginalized
• Unequal access of girls to education in many low- and middle- identities based on race, caste, class, ethnicity or religion.
income countries, particularly to secondary schooling, has limited
their access to training for formal health sector jobs. All these factors have been obstacles to gender equality in the health
workforce.
• Gender stereotypes and norms common to all societies have
driven occupational segregation, sorting men and women into According to projections of the World Health Organization (WHO)
different kind of jobs. For example, nursing is predominantly a Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health (6) and the World
women’s job with men accounting for only 10% of those entering Bank, 40 million new jobs in health and social care will be created
the profession, whereas men hold the majority of jobs in surgical globally by 2030 to meet rising demand driven by demographic
specialties. changes, while a shortfall of 18 million health workers will need to
be addressed, primarily in low- and lower middle-income countries,
• Health systems and work conditions have been established to suit by 2030 to enable countries to reach the Sustainable Development
men’s life patterns and not women’s; for example, many health Goals (SDGs) and achieve universal health coverage (7, 8). To
workers have no paid parental leave entitlement. address this shortfall, major investments in the health workforce and
acknowledgement of women’s contributions as drivers of health care
• Female health workers face a burden of bias, discrimination, are needed. The WHO SDG Health Price Tag study estimates that
sexual harassment and violence not faced by their male investments of US$ 3.9 trillion are needed by 2030 to increase the
counterparts, and often not recorded or addressed. prospects of achieving the health-related SDGs (investing US$ 51 per
capita in upper middle-income countries, US$ 58 per capita in lower
• There is a lack of data and research to highlight gender gaps in middle-income countries and $76 per capita in low-income countries)
critical areas and to drive accountability and policy change. (9). About half of these investments are required in the form of

Figure 1.1 Share of women employed in the health and social sectors compared to share of women employed in
all sectors by ILO region, 2013

90.00%
80.00% 76.8%
74.0%
70.3%
70.00% 63.5%
60.00% 54.1%
50.00% 42.2% 43.1% 45.3%
38.3% 37.4% 39.5%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00% 15.6%
10.00%
0.00%
Arab States Asia and the World Africa Americas Europe and
Pacific Central Asia

Share of female employment in all sectors

Share of female employment in the health and soical sectors

Source: International Labour Organization (1).

6
training, educating and employing health workers (9). Investing in the • WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce
health workforce maximizes women’s economic empowerment and 2030. The Global Strategy was developed to advance progress
participation, extends universal health coverage, contributes to global towards attainment of the SDGs and universal health coverage by
health security, and also has a powerful multiplier effect on economic ensuring equitable access to health workers. The Global Strategy
growth (10). Moreover, addressing gender biases and inequities in calls for the alignment of gender, employment, education and
the health workforce is essential not only for achieving SDG 5 (gender health with national human resources development and health
equality) and SDG 3 (health and well-being), but also for achieving system strengthening strategies (6). It argues that the projected
other SDGs, such as SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 8 (decent global deficit of health workers, coupled with rising demand to
work and inclusive economic growth) (Figure 1.2) (11). create approximately 40 million new health care jobs by 2030,
uniquely positions the health and social sector to offer substantial
As health systems around the world are facing a growing mismatch and tangible opportunities for decent work, gender equity and
between health worker supply and demand, the time is right for the greater women’s labour participation.
global health community to take collective action. Recent global health
and workforce strategies are recognizing the critical importance of • United Nations High-Level Commission on Health Employment
addressing the gender challenges of the health workforce as key and Economic Growth. The High-Level Commission, established
to achieving universal health coverage by 2030, and maximizing by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2016, made the
women’s economic empowerment and participation. This evidence is following recommendation, reaffirmed by the 61st session of the
facilitating a new narrative on the health workforce, shifting the focus Commission on the Status of Women (2017) and the Milan Group
from health as a cost and a drag on the economy to health as an of Seven (G7) meeting (2017) (3):
investment and multiplier for inclusive economic growth (3).
Maximize women’s economic participation and foster their
The three major global efforts seeking to address the health workforce empowerment through institutionalizing their leadership, addressing
and gender are as follows. gender biases and inequities in education and the health labour
market, and tackling gender concerns in health reform processes.

Figure 1.2 Sustainable Development Goals

7
 A literature review

• Working for Health five-year action plan (2017–2021). and health labour market as two key deliverables to maximize
Through the Working for Health five-year action plan, WHO, the women’s economic participation and empowerment (12). Gender-
International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Organisation for transformative policy requires a series of actions to be embedded
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have agreed at every stage of policy action (Figure 1.3 and Figure 1.4) (12).
to support the implementation of the High-Level Commission’s
10 recommendations. The recommendations and action plan With multiple stakeholders prioritizing gender equity, it is of utmost
identified (a) the development of gender-transformative global importance that the approach to implementation is systematic,
policy guidance and (b) support to build implementation capacity coordinated and evidence based. To facilitate this process, the WHO
to overcome gender biases and inequalities in the education Global Health Workforce Network established the Gender Equity Hub
(GEH).

Figure 1.3 Health workforce and gender: a theory of change

Transformation and
scale up of education,
Improved health Enhanced national Sustainable domestic
Concerted, tri-partite skills and decent job
labour market data, health workforce and international
social dialogue creation towards a
analysis and evidence strategies investments
sustainable health
workforce

Source: Based on WHO (12).

Figure 1.4 Working for Health programme: a global movement for gender-transformative workforce development

1 Accelerate progress towards universal health coverage and the SDGs by

ensuring equitable access to health workers within strenchened health systems
Vision

2 (1) Expansion;
(2) TRansformation of the health and soical workforce
Goals

3
Orgs

4
SDGs

5 (1) Advocacy, social dialogue and policy dialogue

(2) Data, evidence and accountability
Work (3) Education, skills and jobs
streams (4) Financing and investments
(5) International labour mobility

Source: Based on WHO (12).

8
1.2 Gender Equity Hub (GEH)
Box 1.2 Global Health Workforce Network
The development of evidence-based gender-transformative global
Gender Equity Hub: five key activities
guidance and its implementation requires a collective and concerted
• Mapping: global evidence on good practice
effort. The WHO established the GEH at the fourth Global Forum on
• Data, evidence and accountability: evaluating current data
Human Resources for Health held in November 2017. The GEH brings
and evidence, and identifying gaps for future research and
together key stakeholders to support the implementation of the WHO
development
Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health and to achieve the
• Policy tools: developing policy briefs and tools
deliverables of the Working for Health five-year action plan. The
• Dissemination: advocacy, social dialogue and policy
purpose of the GEH is to accelerate large-scale gender-transformative
dialogue to disseminate evidence, policy tools, advocacy
progress to address gender inequities and biases in the health and
kits, accountability scorecards and guidance to other
social care workforce in order to achieve the SDGs. The GEH works in
Global Health Workforce Network hubs
tandem with the other thematic hubs of the Global Health Workforce
• Implementation: facilitating implementation of policy
Network, focused on topics identified as crucial for progressing the
through policy workshops, business solutions and private
WHO Global Strategy and the Working for Health programme.
sector engagement
The GEH is co-chaired by WHO and Women in Global Health.
Women in Global Health is a not-for-profit organization built on a
global movement that brings together all genders and backgrounds
to achieve gender equality in global health leadership. The GEH
includes members from a range of global health stakeholders, 1.3 Rationale for gender analysis on the
including intergovernmental and multilateral agencies, civil society health workforce
organizations, academic and research institutions, think tanks,
foundations, the private sector, and individual experts. Its main Most of the evidence and research on gender in health has focused
objectives are to advance knowledge, data and research on gender on the demand dimension of health care, such as barriers to service
and the health workforce; develop tools to promote gender- access experienced by women and the impact of health expenditure
transformative approaches; and accelerate progress on addressing discrimination on women (13). The evidence base is relatively thin
gender inequities and bias. The four key GEH priority areas were on the gender dimensions of the health care delivery side and the
identified through a consultative workshop held at the fourth workforce. In particular, evidence from low- and middle-income
Global Forum on Human Resources for Health (Box 1.1). The major countries is limited. There is also little evidence available on the
activities of the GEH were defined by examining areas of comparative social workforce. Where available, research in this area rarely extends
advantage, identifying gaps in existing work, and addressing high- beyond simple sex disaggregation into the more critical aspects of
priority needs. Additionally, key activities needed to drive evidence- gender power relations in health systems and their implications for
guided policy change were identified (Box 1.2). working practices, career patterns and occupational choices (13, 14).

A gender-based analysis of the health workforce is important for

Box 1.1 Global Health Workforce Network health systems research. For research to instigate social and policy
Gender Equity Hub: priority areas change for better health, it should aim “to transform institutions,
structures, systems, and norms that are discriminatory” (15). In recent
• Occupational segregation years different forms and frameworks for researching gender relations
• Decent work: workplace free from bias, discrimination and have emerged, including calls for adopting an intersectionality lens
all forms of harassment, including sexual harassment that considers, in addition to gender, other identity factors that
• Gender pay gap contribute to discrimination. Other approaches, such as substantive
• Leadership and governance equality, emphasize the importance of considering the effects of past
discrimination, recognizing that rights, entitlements, opportunities and

9
 A literature review

access are not equally distributed throughout society, and there is and institutions and encourage them to apply a gender lens to the
sometimes a need to treat people differently to achieve equal results. health workforce. Effective gender-transformative health workforce
policies will address discrimination and rights abuses (such as sexual
harassment) that contravene good employment practice and law,
For research to instigate social and policy change for better eliminate the gender pay gap, address occupational segregation and
health, it ought to aim “to transform institutions, structures, increase gender-equal leadership. Gender analysis of the female
systems, and norms that are discriminatory”. health and social care workforce will enable realization of a wider
gender dividend by bringing more women into paid, formal labour
market jobs with a positive multiplier for the health, education,
A gender-based analysis of the health workforce is also urgently nutrition, income and empowerment of those women, their families
needed to ensure that the expansion of health systems in the SDG era and communities.
capitalizes on the opportunity to transition to gender-transformative
health systems. Since this scale-up will focus on addressing the With global health policy responsiveness to gender lagging behind,
projected global shortage of health and social care workers by more evidence on the gender dimensions of the health workforce
2030, and women are the majority of workers in these sectors, is needed to support the development of evidence-based, gender-
gender analysis is critical to creating new jobs that will attract and transformative health policies and actions across global health
retain women workers. Investing in evidence on gender aspects of systems and institutions.
human resources for health can inform global health policy-makers

10
Chapter 2. Objectives and methodology

2.1 Objectives 2. Following the completion of the call for submissions, the GEH
members provided further publications and articles to guide the
The main objectives of this literature review are: literature review during February 2018 and March 2018. A total of
98 articles were received after removing duplicates.
• to identify the available data and evidence from the literature
(published and grey) on addressing gender inequities in the health 3. A comprehensive and robust literature review was conducted
workforce; from December 2017 to July 2018 utilizing a keyword search of
the PubMed and Google Scholar electronic databases. Keywords
• to examine case studies, policies, tools, and strategies and their used to perform the search included the following: gender,
impact on addressing health workforce gender inequities and intersectionality, bias, discrimination, inequalities, harassment,
occupational segregation issues; sexual harassment, violence, stereotyping, gender wage/pay gaps,
occupational segregation, gender parity, women’s leadership in
• to map programmes, initiatives, stakeholders, campaigns and global health, health workforce, technology, corporate and finance.
intersectoral opportunities across the public and private sectors of AND/OR Boolean operators were used to search the databases.
relevance to addressing gender inequities and biases in the health A total of 100 additional articles were found after removing
workforce; duplicates from step 1 and step 2.

• to synthesize lessons learned from the evidence, programmes, 4. For the articles retrieved in steps 2 and 3, paper titles and
initiatives and campaigns. abstracts were examined using the following inclusion criteria:
» studies published in peer-reviewed journals
» published in the year 2000 and beyond
» English language publications
2.2 Methodology » articles for which the full text was available or accessible to us
» articles that provided evidence from three other sectors:
Coupled with a global call for case studies, the GEH undertook a technology, corporate and finance.
comprehensive review of peer-reviewed articles, policy briefs and
programme interventions to evaluate gender and equity research within Studies evaluating gender and equity dimensions in the workforce,
the health workforce globally. Although the GEH prioritizes gender and and articles pertaining to the health workforce, were prioritized.
equity within the global health and social care workforce, the literature
on the social care workforce was not explored in this report, given the The search ended upon saturation of the findings.
limited material available. The process was as follows.
5. A total of 170 articles were included in the review after
1. The GEH conducted a global call for best practices from December performing steps 1 to 4.
2017 to January 2018. All articles, policy briefs, programmes and
other interventions received were analysed. The GEH received a 6. We applied a structured evidence matrix and extraction tool
total of 25 submissions through this call, which included peer- to extract findings from the 170 articles in eight months from
reviewed publications, programme interventions, and policy briefs. December 2017 to July 2018.
All these submissions were included in the review.
7. A draft report was made available for consultation from May 2018
to July 2018.

11
 A literature review

2.3 Limitations years, there has been more evidence emerging on nurses, midwives
and community health workers, though there is still limited information
There is a vast amount of literature, policies and programmes on about the experiences of women in other occupations throughout the
gender in the workforce. However, when the scope of the search health workforce.
is narrowed to English language literature on gender in the health
workforce, the amount of material is much more limited. The members Sex- and gender-disaggregated data
of the Global Health Workforce Network GEH (see Annex 1) provided Studies that evaluate discrimination as an aspect of gender are very
extensive research articles and materials to ensure the review was challenging. In many research studies, discrimination remains implicit.
comprehensive. We received and reviewed very few programmes The lack of data disaggregated by sex and gender within global health
and even fewer policies during this review, with the shortage being further elevates the problem. This has resulted in limited attention to
particularly apparent for low- and middle-income countries. Literature gender discrimination within the health workforce.
from the social care sector was not included in this review but will be
considered in subsequent reviews. Overall, there were some common Focus on women
trends in the limitations of the overall body of literature on gender and The overwhelming majority of studies available look at gender and the
the health workforce, as described in the following paragraphs. health workforce focusing on women. The experiences of men and
non-binary people were not found in any of the materials reviewed.
Intersectionality
The review was unable to apply a truly intersectional lens to gender There is a need to shift the narrative and research focus away from
in the health workforce as the evidence predominantly focused on traditional or mainstream approaches that examine the deficits
gender, but did not provide further intersectional review, or provide in female characteristics or the perceived positive attributes of
additional understanding of the impact of factors such as class, race, male leadership, behaviour and job preferences towards a more
ethnicity or religion on the health workforce. transformative approach that investigates the root cause of gender
inequalities embedded in systems of discrimination, bias, norms,
Geographical focus institutional systems and pay policies.
More reviews of the health workforce, particularly women in medicine,
have been undertaken in the United States of America, and to some While the review was focused on the health sector to ensure that it
extent in Europe. However, there is limited evidence for gender in was manageable and useful, additional evidence was drawn from
the health workforce across other regions. Additionally, there is other sectors included in the review methodology (such as technology,
no comprehensive global review of gender in the health workforce finance and corporate).
available. It is important to note here that the review only took
into consideration evidence in English, which also imposed some Finally, while the evidence focused on barriers that affect women
limitations on the geographical scope of the evidence. in the health workforce, there is very limited information and few
case studies on the application of evidence-based recommendations
Occupational focus and policy actions to address these barriers. Many of the
The literature demonstrated a focus on women in medicine, recommendations or solutions put forward in the evidence were based
particularly in the leadership and governance thematic area. There on barriers or drawn from the literature reviewed but were not tested.
was limited literature on the social workforce. Within medicine, there Further implementation research is required to assess their viability
was also a focus on specific specialties, in particular surgery. In recent and effectiveness.

12
SECTION 2. KEY FINDINGS
Chapter 3. Occupational segregation

3.1 Key messages of jobs men and women undertake, on the basis of both supply-
side factors such as personal choice and demand-side factors
• Occupational segregation impacts service delivery and the health such as discrimination in the workplace (16). Prior to this the word
system by limiting full participation of all genders in all aspects of “segregation” was used primarily in reference to separation of races.
the health workforce, fostering greater gender inequities. Segregation is a fundamental pathway to social inequalities that
not only separates different groups based on their demographic
• Both horizontal and vertical occupational segregation by gender characteristics such as gender, race or class, but also forms a basis
are found globally in the health sector but vary depending on the for discrimination and bias (17).
context and history of the country. Occupational segregation has
its roots in two cultural ideologies: gender essentialism and male Occupational segregation impacts all genders and their experiences in
primacy. labour markets. Gender segregation manifests itself in various forms,
ranging from a narrower set of choices and job opportunities for specific
• Occupational segregation by gender is driven by long-standing genders to stereotypes that result in gender pay gaps and reinforce
gender norms that define caring as female work and portray men unequal power structures within a society (18). It is one of the most
as more suited to technical specialisms in medicine. enduring aspects of labour markets across the world and exists in
diverse political, economic, cultural and religious settings (17).
• Gender discrimination is a primary reason for women not entering
higher-earning medical specialties or taking leadership roles,
while gender stereotypes deter men from joining female-majority Women account for 70% of the health workforce, but they are
professions such as nursing. mostly concentrated in nursing and midwifery professions,
while far fewer are physicians
• The horizontal and vertical dimensions of occupational segregation
combine to cluster women into lower-paid and lower-status work,
with a lifelong impact on their earnings and economic security in There are two types of occupational segregation: horizontal
old age. segregation and vertical segregation (19). The levels of segregation
are determined by size of occupation, gender composition of the
• Female-dominated professions, including caregiving and nursing, workforce and distinctions in occupational settings (16). It is important
tend to be given lower social value by gendered social norms, and to assess segregation by examining both within occupational
are therefore associated with lower pay and prestige. categories and across categories. For example, women account for
70% of the health workforce but they are mostly concentrated in
3.2 Occupational segregation: nursing and midwifery professions, while far fewer are physicians (20).
literature review According to UN Women, globally women are concentrated in service
jobs (61.5%) as compared to agriculture (25%) or industry (13.5%),
Occupational segregation is the first of the four workforce themes and women occupy fewer leadership roles as parliamentarians (23%)
prioritized by the GEH. The concept of “sex segregation” was first or as chief executive officers (4%) compared to men (21). Figure 3.1
introduced by Gross (1968) to elaborate the differences in the kinds depicts women’s share of selected occupations in the United States in

13
 A literature review

2012 (22). While women are highly represented as dental assistants, segregation in the health and education sectors is significantly more
nurses, and even pharmacists, they make up less than half of the disproportionate in high-income countries compared to upper middle-
physicians and surgeons in the United States (22). income, lower middle-income, and low-income countries, as seen in
Figure 3.3 (24).
Patterns of occupational segregation, especially women’s participation
in the formal labour market, vary significantly by region and country, Occupational segregation has historically been attributed to factors
and are influenced by culture, income levels, local law and other such as investments in human capital, social norms and stereotypes,
factors such as education or qualifications. Figure 3.2 highlights comparative advantages men have over women due to their physical
how occupational segregation can vary significantly by country, as and biological characteristics, and the differences in income levels
evidenced by the share of female doctors in each OECD country (23). between men and women (25). Women have had to struggle to
gain their basic rights to education and economic opportunities
The gender stereotype that assigns men the role of breadwinner while (26). Women were also banned from entering different professions,
women are prescribed the role of homemaker and child care is still including medicine. For example, in the United Kingdom, women were
dominant and pervasive in many cultures. This stereotype remains not allowed to enrol in medical schools until the late 19th century.
the leading cause of occupational segregation, as it either devalues Realizing that the only pathway for women in the United Kingdom to
women’s contributions in the labour force or limits their participation enter the medical profession was through nursing education, Elizabeth
in the workforce. Moreover, a range of inequities emerge as a result Garrett gained her nursing qualification in 1865 and later became the
of gender segregation; for example, female-dominated jobs are first woman to qualify as a doctor (27). The first woman to register as
associated with lower salaries, fewer on-job trainings and limited a medical doctor in the United States was Dr Elizabeth Blackwell in
opportunities to exercise authority (16). The concept of occupational 1858, and even then, she obtained a foreign degree to do so. In some
segregation is applicable to all people, regardless of whether they countries it took until the 1940s before a woman was able to qualify
live in high-income countries or low-income countries (17). However, as a doctor. Restrictions on women’s entry to specific professions and
the patterns of segregation may differ. For example, in high-income types of work continue today but vary significantly across regions.
countries women are concentrated in health, education, wholesale
and retail, while in low-income or lower middle-income countries Men and women also spend very different amounts of time on unpaid
they are concentrated in the agriculture sector (21). Occupational care work, with women spending between 2 and 10 times more time

Figure 3.1 Women’s share of selected occupations (2012)

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Pre- Dental Registered Libraians Cashiers Bus Pharmacists Photographers Mail Physicians Lawyers Computer Civil Carpenters
Kindergarten Assistants Nurses Drivers Carriers, and Programmers Engineers
Teachers Post Office Surgeons

Source: Based on data from Hegewisch and Hartmann (22).

14
Figure 3.2 Share of female doctors by OECD country (2015)

Japan
Korea
Luxemburg
United States
Iceland
Australia
Belgium
Chile
Switzerland
Turkey
Italy
Greece
Canada
Isreal
Ireland
New Zealand
France
German
United Kingdom
Norway
OECD34
Austria
Sweden
Denmark
Spain
Netherlands
Portugal
Czech Republic
Hunary
Poland
Slovak Republic
Finland
Slovenia
Estonia
Latvia

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0%

Source: based on data from OECD Health Statistics 2018.

Figure 3.3 Male and female employment (%) in health and education sectors (2015)

35%
Male Employment
30%
25% Female Employment

20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Low Income Lower-Middle Upper-Middle High Income
Income Income

Source: Based on data from ILO (24).

15
 A literature review

on unpaid care compared to men, depending on the country. This care labour force, and their unpaid work to support health and prevent
unequal division of unpaid care work is associated with gendered illness undertaken in their own homes, in the homes of others, and
social norms of femininity and motherhood (28). Time use surveys through volunteering in the health sector” (2).
or data reveal that women spend more time on unpaid care and
household work compared to men (29). In general, women carry out While women’s contributions to the global health care sector makes
almost three more hours of unpaid work per day than men (29, 30) a substantial difference to countries’ economies, as well as individual
(Figure 3.4). For example, women are expected to take care of and societal well-being, the ratio of paid to unpaid work means that
their families, home, children, or elderly relatives. In lower-income
countries, women are more likely to spend time on chores such as
collecting firewood and water; travel related to household activities;
or grocery shopping (29). Unpaid care work is directly correlated with
occupational downgrading, whereby women remain segregated into
Figure 3.5 Paid and unpaid work (minutes per day)
part-time or vulnerable working conditions (31). Figure 3.5 displays
for men and women, by OECD country
a breakdown of minutes per day spent on paid and unpaid work
between men and women in selected OECD countries (32). Turkey
Mexico
India
Unpaid and informal work makes up nearly half of women’s
Portugal
contributions to the global health sector. In 2015, the Commission on Italy
Women and Health analysed data accounting for more than half of Australia
the world’s population and found that women’s financial contribution Japan
to the global health system amounted to nearly 5% of global GDP. Ireland
Of this contribution, nearly half was for unpaid work, as shown in Poland
Figure 3.6. Dr Felicia Knaul, Director of the Harvard Global Equity Slovenia
Initiative, announced that the “findings on women’s paid and unpaid Austria
financial contributions to health worldwide only begin to explore and Germany
Hungary
quantify the work of women as health professionals in the paid health
New Zealand
Spain
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Canada
Figure 3.4 Average work day and unpaid work, men
South Africa
and women
Estonia
Belgium
Denmark
United States
China
1 Hour France
30 Min
Finland
7 HRS, 47 MIN Korea, Rep.
Norway
4 Hour Sweden
47 Min 800 600 400 200 0 200 400 600 800
8 HRS, 39 MIN Work (minutes per day)

Unpaid work Unpaid work, men Unpaid work, women

Paid work, men Paid work, women

Source: Based on data from World Economic Forum (30).

Source: World Economic Forum 2017, based on data from OECD social
protection and well-being database.

16
nearly half of this work remains unrecognized and unaccounted for in • Male primacy: the belief that men and boys are naturally more
decision-making. Unpaid or informal health care work, often critical dominant and more status worthy compared to women and
to a society’s health care system and well-being, routinely goes girls. Gendered barriers restrict women and girls from entering
unvalued. For instance, in Spain, 88% of all health work is unpaid male-dominated occupations such as surgical care, while there
(33). The burden of unpaid work in health and social care, which falls are barriers that restrict men from entering female-dominated
mainly upon women and girls, limits their access to both education occupations such as education or social care (35).
and paid work in and beyond the care sector, forming a “unpaid care
work-paid work- paid care work” circle as shown in Figure 3.7. (34) Despite making progress towards gender equality, equal engagement
of all genders in certain occupations and levels of decision-making
Since women and girls from socially disadvantaged groups carry a is limited. In their book Occupational ghettos, Charles and Grusky
disproportionately large burden of unpaid care work; it affects both argue that while egalitarian forces have reduced vertical segregation
the type and quality of jobs that are available to them and reinforces in “non-manual” jobs (managerial, sales or service jobs), horizontal
their disadvantage. (34) These unfavourable conditions impact gender segregation persists due to gender essentialism as women remain
equality both within the labour market as well as in unpaid care concentrated in non-manual jobs in the post-industrial era while men
contributions; resulting in gender segregation of jobs. dominate the skilled trades (36). Women are entering male-dominated
jobs at a faster rate than men are entering female-dominated
The segregation of people into occupations based on gender is occupations. Less than 10% of all registered nurses in the United
reinforced by two culturally determined narratives (35). States are male, though that proportion has been steadily increasing
over the past 50 years, as seen in Figure 3.8 (37). While women face
• Gender essentialism: the belief that men and women are different gender-based discrimination and the “glass ceiling” limiting their
and have different working styles and skills. This assumes, for advancement in male-majority jobs, men who enter female-majority
example, that women have a natural tendency for caring, nurturing professions have advantages that may speed their promotion, referred
jobs while men are more inclined to be managerial or mechanical. to as the “glass escalator” (38).

Figure 3.6 Financial value of women’s contribution to the global health system, as part of global GDP

2.35%

2.47%
Global GDP

Unpaid

Paid

Source: Langer et al. (2).

17
 A literature review

Figure 3.7 The cycle of unpaid care work–paid work–paid care work

Levels and distribution of unpaid

Gender equality in the labour market,
care work impact the conditions
including in women’s participation,
in which unpaid carers enter and
UNPAID CARE employment and working conditions
remain in paid work, and influence PAID WORK
WORK also imply positive outcomes for care
working conditions of care
recipients.
workers.

PAID CARE
WORK

Care workers in adequate numbers and

working conditions contribute directly to
gender equality in the world of work and the
redistribute unpaid care work.

Source: ILO (34).

The ILO 2018 report on world employment highlights that women between countries, the trend for the middle-income, low- and middle-
in low- and middle-income countries are in more vulnerable forms income, and lower middle-income categories of countries is for a
of employment compared to men, and there are fewer employment decline in women’s formal labour market participation (43). There
opportunities for young people (below the age of 25 years) (39). In are many possible explanations, one being that as families increase
Arab States and northern Africa, women are twice as likely to be their income there is pressure for women to revert to the traditional
unemployed as men (39). One reason for this is labour laws that stereotype of a homemaker, or that in economic recessions women
restrict women from entering certain fields. Women face more are often the first group pushed out of the formal labour market into
institutionalized restrictions in the workplace in some regions the informal sector.
compared to others, such as South Asia, Middle East and North
Africa, as seen in Figure 3.9 (40). These differences hinder progress
on gender equality. A report commissioned by the European Union Globally, women’s labour force participation has declined on
determined that an acceptable level of gender gap for “gender- average by 2% between 1990 and 2017.
neutral” occupations would be a mix of men and women between
40% and 60% (41). The United Nations has put this benchmark
between 45% and 55% (42). 3.3 Occupational segregation by
gender in the global health workforce
Trends in the labour market have changed significantly, with most
countries projecting growth in women’s participation in the labour Women in the global health workforce have an inverted career
force. But it is a concern that globally, women’s labour force pyramid (44). Gender differences in participation in the global health
participation has declined on average by 2% between 1990 and 2017 workforce are driven by men’s greater access to education, training
(43). Only high-income countries have shown an upward trend during and the formal labour market; historical discrimination against
this period, while low-income countries have fluctuated between women’s access to higher-status and higher-paid specialties, which
downward and upward trajectories. While there are many variations manifests in a lack of female role models, gender stereotyping and,

18
Figure 3.8 United States share of nurses who are male (1970–2011)

12.0%

10.0%

8.0%

6.0%

4.0%

2.0%

0.0%
1970 1980 1990 2000 2006 2011

Share of registered nurses who are male

Share of licensed practical and vocational nurses who are male

Source: United States Census Bureau (37).

Figure 3.9 Percentage of economies that restrict women’s employment, by type of restriction

Jobs deemed hazardous, arduous or morally inappropriate

OECD High-income
Industry-specific restrictions (eg. in mining or construction)
Restrictions on working during night hours
East Asia & Pacific

Latin America & Caribbean

Europe & Central Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

South Asia

Middle East & North Africa

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Source: World Bank (40).

19
 A literature review

in some countries, formal restrictions on women’s work during night While there is plethora of literature investigating why men and women
hours; women’s greater burden of unpaid reproductive work, which studying medicine pursue different specialties, most of these studies
may deter them from entering some specialties; cultural stereotypes have been conducted in the United States or the United Kingdom.
that deter men from aspiring to join majority female professions such This limits our understanding of the factors explaining why more and
as nursing; and gender discrimination against women in entry to more women are being excluded from different health care specialties
higher-status specialties and leadership roles. (53, 56). With large gender gaps in wages and leadership positions in
health care, it is critical to understand the drivers of these patterns of
Globally, women are highly concentrated in primary care, nursing occupational segregation (57–59).
and midwifery, with significant variation between countries. This is
an example of horizontal segregation, such as Denmark, women Horizontal segregation also impacts women in health across all
make up 90% of the nursing and midwifery professionals (20). In occupations. In the United States, women in nursing and medicine
addition, women account for one third of all physicians within the work the same number of hours as men but earn 78% of their male
United States, while in Scandinavian countries women make up counterpart’s earnings (60). Women health workers tend to work
45–56% of doctors, and in the Russian Federation 70% of physicians fewer hours than men in countries where data are available, except
are women (45). Despite a large proportion of female physicians in in the Russian Federation, where they were found to work longer
Russia, studies noted that far few were found to be in prestigious hours (60). In Canada, when primary care providers were compared
specialties, tertiary care and academic medicine. (45) The percentage by gender, women self-reported fewer hours of work than men, saw
of women in dentistry globally is projected to increase to 28% by less patients and delivered fewer services. However, using hours as an
2030 (46). Horizontal segregation leads to the feminization of certain indication of work impact did not reflect the realities that women were
medical specialties (47); women are more likely to choose the fields of more likely to spend longer with their patients, and to address more
paediatrics, paediatric surgery, obstetrics, gynaecology, oncology and problems during each visit (61).
dermatology (48–52).

In the United States, women in nursing and medicine work

Globally, women are highly concentrated in primary care, the same number of hours as men but earn 78% of their male
nursing and midwifery, with significant variation between counterpart’s earnings.
countries

3.4 Factors that lead to occupational

Moreover, gender inequality within the medical workforce remains segregation
highly contested, particularly for surgical specialties, as only one
third of women doctors select surgery compared to men (53). One There is no single factor that can unilaterally explain gender
reason for this is the perception that surgical specialisms are a male segregation in education and the labour market (62). Boxes 3.1, 3.2
domain where toxic masculinity is common, creating a hostile work and 3.3 highlight some of the individual, organizational and societal
environment for women. The #MeToo movement in the United States factors contributing to gender segregation.
has encouraged women in medicine to come forward and share their
experiences of harassment in hospitals and operating rooms (54).
The higher numbers of men pursuing internal medicine and hospital
specialisms, plus the higher numbers of women pursuing family 3.5 Why occupational segregation
practice, obstetrics and gynaecology, has resulted in the gender- matters
based segregation of men and women in medicine in the United
States (55). Women are increasingly entering obstetrics, while their Global health policy-makers and decision-makers need to understand
numbers in breast surgery and urology remain low. the factors that lead to the clustering of men and women in certain
jobs. Studies have shown that organizations that adopt policies to
attract, develop, compensate and retain the best talent will be the
ultimate winners (81). However, an analysis of the gender-related

20
Box 3.1 Individual factors contributing to gender Box 3.2 Organizational factors contributing to
segregation gender segregation

EARLY DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY RELATIONS WORKING HOURS

Early development impacts the career choices people make. Work scheduling challenges – such as long training hours
Examples and inflexible rotation schedules – conflict with the societal
• Gender-biased toys given to children influence their expectation that women are the primary caregivers in their
interests and career choices (63). families.
• Demographics and personal values are associated with Examples
gender differences in specialty choice (55, 64). • It has been shown that the more inflexible or time
consuming a specialty is, the more likely it is to be male
WORK–LIFE BALANCE dominated, as in the case of surgery (2, 71, 72).
Control of lifestyle and work–life balance influence specialty
preference for women (49, 65, 66) and men (67). WORKING CONDITIONS (AUTONOMY, WAGES, JOB
Women’s greater burden in terms of household work, SECURITY, HEALTH AND SAFETY)
responsibility for family, child care and protected time for Working conditions can lead to gender segregation.
breastfeeding is considered one of the drivers for occupational Examples
segregation (55, 68). • Women in male-dominated sectors tend to experience
Examples gender discrimination, differences in task allocation, fewer
• Often workplaces do not have private space for feeding opportunities for promotion and lower salaries at higher
mothers (69). frequencies (73).
• In comparison, due to decreased societal expectations • Fear of workplace discrimination or selection bias leads
of child care, men with children see less impact on their women to take lower-paying jobs.
careers compared to women. Women on the other hand
often have to struggle to balance expectations (70). ROLE MODELS
The paucity of female role models and lack of successful
CHOICE AND INTERESTS women in surgical specialty is the most often cited reason for
Gender norms also influence occupation choice and interest reduced interest in surgery among female medical students.
as students – women are encouraged to pursue a career Example
choice based on idealism, where men are more likely to be • One study found that only 35% of female medical students
influenced by the prospect of a good income or prestige (48). could identify a mentor during surgical clerkship; while in
Example another study found that among female surgical students
• The #MeToo movement has enabled many American who had mentors, 90% had a male mentor as compared
women in medicine to come forward and admit that to female mentor. (74, 75).
they chose a female-dominated specialty over a male-
dominated specialty just to avoid exposure to toxic working INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES
environments. Social policies such as parental leave, maternity leave, and
subsidized child care also influence the career choices of men
and women (76) and ways in which they organize personal
lives (68).

21
 A literature review

Occupational segregation is an important workforce priority because

Box 3.3 Societal factors contributing to gender it can lead to loss of talent and diverse voices from the workforce.
segregation Gender segregation is one of the major reasons behind shortages
and surpluses of workers across occupations, as women tend to
GENDER STEREOTYPES
be concentrated in roles seen as caring and nurturing, while men
There are gender stereotypes that define characteristics of
are in technical or managerial jobs. Gender segregation is also an
female-dominated jobs.
established source of gender inequality, as it reinforces some of
Examples
the gender stereotypes associated with men’s and women’s gender
• There are expectations that women may be willing to take
roles, working styles and competencies. It is also linked to economic
on more tasks, are less inclined to complain, and are more
empowerment and poverty. Women often have less coverage for social
patient with monotonous work. Women’s lower participation
protection, such as pensions, due to their absence from the labour
in labour unions keeps women in low-paying, flexible roles
force. They are also prone to higher levels of employment in unpaid or
and in jobs that involve less decision-making (77).
part-time jobs and have less access to quality employment (39). Men
• Overall, gender stereotypes drive institutional policies, for
are more concentrated into higher-paying jobs in the private sector
example with regard to parental leave, care leave, and
and in sectors that are less willing to provide protected leave for care
availability of child care facilities. The lack of gender-
needs, such as child care or elder care. Social stigma is attached to
responsive policies, combined with societal expectations,
men entering more female-dominated jobs. These stereotypes limit
means lower retention and recruitment of women (41).
women’s participation in labour markets and, on the other hand, put
• The fact that certain medical specialties conform with
significant pressure on men to not take leave, such as parental leave,
traits seen as traditionally masculine also deters women
when it is available to them (18). Gender segregation also results in
from joining, for example the existence of the so-called
lower salaries and worse working conditions in occupations dominated
“male surgeons’ club” (78).
by women (17).
• When men enter occupations that are traditionally more
feminine they can experience setbacks in prestige and
Gender segregation also affects the educational choices of men
pay. Men with children are more likely to avoid these
and women and the type of specialties they choose during medical
occupations (79).
training. Gender segregation in the health workforce has implications
for the development of strong and resilient health systems that are
DISCRIMINATION
capable of tackling health needs worldwide (83). The number of
Sex and gender are important considerations for hiring and
women enrolled in medical schools has increased over the years.
promotion (77).
Recent data from the Association of American Medical Colleges in
Examples
the United States show that in 2017 women outnumbered men in
• Women may be discouraged from taking surgery as a
medical colleges for the first time in history (84). Since 2015, female
specialty due to discriminatory attitudes during training
enrolment has increased by 4% while male enrolment has decreased
rotations in general surgery (52, 78).
by 6.7%, which indicates that the future of medicine and global health
• Women discriminating against women may perpetuate the
is female (84). However, an increase in enrolment at medical schools
cycle of gender disparity, especially within surgical care (80).
does not necessarily ensure a supply of health care professionals
to meet population needs. For example, women continue to be
underrepresented in the fields of surgery and surgical subspecialties,
policies of 140 global health organizations found that only 43% a trend that is found not only in the United States, but also in Canada,
had specific policies in place to promote gender equality in their the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (53, 80).
workplaces, including strategies to support women’s career paths.
In fact, 30% of these organizations did not even mention workplace
gender equality in their policies (Figure 3.10) (82). The time is right for Gender segregation in the health workforce has implications for
global health systems and organizations to reflect on their strategies the development of strong and resilient health systems that are
and design systems and structures that create conducive working capable of tackling health needs worldwide.
environments where all members of the workforce can thrive and
achieve their full potential.

22
Figure 3.10 Do organizations have workplace gender Organizational structures or systems need to create enabling
policies? environments for all genders. As more women are getting trained
and educated, we need to create job opportunities where all workers
43% have specific regardless of their gender can thrive. Similarly, we need to change
measures in
place
mindsets around men entering female-majority jobs such as nursing.
There is a need to remove labels such as “male dominated” and
“female dominated” from the health and social care workforce
30%
make no vocabulary if we are to adopt gender-transformative approaches
reference within the health and social care sector and achieve gender equality in
to any this sector. Failure to address the shortage of health workers will have
measures or
a crippling effect on poverty alleviation, development, and economic
commitments
growth, as well as stalling progress on the SDGs and universal health
coverage.
15%
simply comply
with laws
12%
commit to gender
equality but lack
specific measures

Source: Global Health 50/50 (82).

23
 A literature review

Chapter 4. Decent work without

discrimination, bias and sexual harassment

4.1 Key messages promotion of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth
for all as key to alleviating poverty, protecting the environment, and
• A large percentage of women in the global health workforce face ensuring people’s well-being (11). Decent work involves creating
discrimination, bias and sexual harassment. conducive work environments built on the principle of equal
opportunities for all, free of discrimination, bias or harassment,
• Women are more likely to face sexual harassment in the workplace including sexual harassment. This is an important goal that is a
than men. For example, in the United States 30% of female cross-cutting theme across other forms of inequalities, including
medical academics reported accounts of sexual harassment occupational segregation and the gender pay gap. In the context
compared to 4% of men. of this paper, decent work includes work free from discrimination,
bias and sexual harassment, and with equal pay within the health
• Many countries, particularly low- and middle-income countries, care workforce. The gender pay gap is discussed in Chapter 5.
do not have a legislative framework to support gender equality at Addressing discrimination and bias within the global health workforce
work, including laws to prohibit sexual discrimination and sexual is an important step towards achieving gender equality and building
harassment at work. stronger and resilient health systems that uphold the basic principles
of human rights (5).
• While the #MeToo movement has encouraged more open
discussion of sexual harassment in some countries, it remains a
serious and widespread abuse causing attrition, loss of morale, “By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent
stress and ill-health for survivors. work for all women and men, including for young people and
persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal
• Female health workers in conflicts or emergencies or working value.” SDG 8, Decent work and economic growth, Target 8.5
in remote areas can face violence in the course of their work,
with a number of female health workers severely injured or killed
every year. With 40 million new health jobs to be created by 2030, the
overarching objective is now to create jobs differently, according to the
principles of decent work, and to meet the targets in SDG 8, especially
“To reduce the gender gap and add up to US$ 6 trillion to the Target 8.5. Currently, the majority of women in the global health
global economy by 2025, nations must eliminate gender biases workforce work under conditions that do not meet the standards
and inequities for women at work, including in the health for decent work, not least because of the near universal gender pay
labour market.” James Campbell, Director, WHO Health Workforce gap. So, the objective must also be to ensure that both new jobs and
Department, December 2017 existing jobs in the global health workforce are upgraded to meet
decent work standards, not only because it is the right thing to do but
also to create a stronger foundation for better health for all.

4.2 Decent work: introduction While modern workplaces are far less dangerous and demanding than
they were historically, they are manifesting discrimination and bias in
Decent work is the second of the four workforce themes prioritized subtle ways (85). There is a large body of research that shows women
by the GEH. SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth – sets the face discrimination in almost every field of science and engineering
agenda for full and productive employment and decent work, and for (86). The discrimination also varies based on career stage and field

24
(86). As a result, men and women have different work experiences 4.4 Discrimination
even if they work in the same organization. For example, the
expectation to work long hours, to be constantly available, to adapt There are many forms of gender discrimination, including direct
to rigid career tracks and to have inflexible work schedules creates discrimination (for example, excluding women from decision-making
stress, reduces morale, and conflicts with the work–life balance and training opportunities); indirect discrimination (for example,
of employees. Women are more likely to face these challenges to exclusion of informal or home-based health workers from protective
work–life balance than men. The difficulty of keeping up with these labour laws); sexual harassment; gender stereotyping that limits
growing expectations pushes women to take up part-time jobs, or women to inferior roles and informal care roles (as in the case of
remain segregated into female-majority jobs, or take leave from work community health workers); vertical and horizontal occupational
(85) to fulfil their caring roles at homes. Women have been observed segregation; wage discrimination; and benefits and working conditions
to move towards professions that offer greater flexibility. They often discrimination (5, 94). Gender discrimination and inequality are key
have to trade off flexibility and earnings (87). Men and women may barriers to entry, re entry and retention of female health workers (5).
start off with the same salaries or lower gender pay gaps, but the gap Caregiver discrimination is prevalent in many forms, for example, by
increases over the course of their career due to career interruptions fee demotion for pregnant students, who are often left behind in their
and differences in job experience or number of hours worked (87). curriculum or practicum; or by prohibiting pregnant students from
The penalty for taking leave or time out is huge and accounts for continuing education (95).
about 67% of the total penalty from career interruptions (87). Highly
trained women pay a higher price for returning to work after leave Literature suggests that gender discrimination and gender inequality
(88, 89), and working mothers are perceived to be less committed within organizations are linked to low morale, low self-esteem, and
to work due to their family obligations and hence considered less lower productivity for the workers, and affects mental and physical
desirable for hiring or promotion (90). When it comes to hiring or health (5, 96–98). This gives rise to health system inefficiencies
promotion decisions, gender bias against female candidates favours that obstruct the pipeline of qualified and skilled health workers,
male candidates (91). create recruitment challenges, and lead to absenteeism, attrition and
maldistribution of the health workforce (5).
Some women at the workplace face an additional dilemma of “double
jeopardy” – a double burden of discrimination, not only on account of
their gender, but also because of their race or caste (92). Most of the Gender discrimination and gender inequality within
expectations at work result from the gender norms and stereotypes organizations are linked to low morale, low self-esteem, and
to which men and women are assigned. As a result, men gain lower productivity for the workers, and affects mental and
opportunities while women more often lose both in career progression physical health.
and earnings.

Female-majority jobs often face a greater burden of discrimination.

For example, the WHO report on midwives’ voices (99) highlights how
4.3 Decent work in the global health power structures and gender dynamics should be restructured to
workforce address the needs of midwives. Midwives provide high-quality care
to women, newborns and their families, but many are frustrated with
The gender and power relationships that exist within and outside their lack of voice and power to bring change. Of the nurses in the
the health system create differences in exposure and vulnerabilities study, 36% reported not being respected by their seniors, 32% said
among men and women that lead to reproduction of inequalities they would like to be heard or listened to, and about 37% of midwives
within the health system (84). Power relations, based on hierarchical faced harassment at work (99).
health systems that “rank” the value of each profession and each
person, create a workplace environment that fosters a lack of decent Women’s childbearing and family obligations also prevent them from
work conditions. undertaking health trainings or scholarships or enrolling in schools
(95), often because training is not set up to accommodate the needs
Workplace violence and discrimination is also linked to the social norms of workers with care responsibilities.
that create gender hierarchies and imbalances, starting from home and
progressing to society at large. Women face a disproportionate burden
of violence and discrimination across all sectors (80, 93).

25
 A literature review

4.5 Bias exception. Nurses and community health workers have commonly
been subject to sexual harassment despite the work environment
Women are more likely to face bias at work. It is important to note being predominantly women (106).
that gender is only one intersection, and that many women experience
additional bias due to their race, ethnicity, culture, regional, caste Sexual harassment against female health workers appears to be
or class. These types of bias lead to a double burden or “double a universal phenomenon. Migrant female health workers can be
jeopardy” faced by women with additional marginalized identities (92). particularly vulnerable to violence and harassment, as can female
Men can also face bias in female-majority jobs, which may result in health and social care workers in domestic settings. A review in
lower status. Rwanda found that approximately 39% of health workers had faced at
least one form of workplace violence, such as verbal abuse, bullying
Gender bias in global health academia is well established. One and sexual harassment, in the 12-month period prior to the study,
study found that both men and women have a subtle bias towards with women disproportionately affected (83). In Nepal, 42% of health
women when it comes to hiring and promotion. Another study workers reported experiencing sexual harassment in the form of
found that letters of recommendations are written differently for verbal and physical abuse, and almost two thirds of the health workers
men (“his research”) and women (“her teaching”) (100). These reported being harassed by their senior male colleagues (96). Lady
biases exacerbate gender gaps in academic medicine. For example, health workers in Pakistan reported experiencing sexual harassment
women represent only 20% of deans in the top 25 global schools of from both senior and junior staff, including management (107, 108).
medicine and 36% in the top 25 global schools of public health (101). In the Republic of Korea, 19.7% of women in nursing reported
Academic publishing is also a gendered system, with fewer women experiencing sexual harassment, noting that the operating theatre was
represented on editorial boards and as peer reviewers (102). Women the most frequent place for this to occur (109). Women are likely to
are likely to publish less during the first decade of their scientific experience sexual harassment, even if they are higher in the traditional
careers compared to men (103). This is evident from data revealing medical hierarchy. In a survey of physicians in the United States, 30%
that men authored about 70% of the total publications on Web of of those surveyed reported having faced a personal incident of sexual
Science between 2008 and 2012 (104). violence in the workplace (106). Threats of violence or harassment do
not only come from sources internal to the health system; for example,

4.6 Sexual harassment

Figure 4.1 Percentage of United States medical
Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances or requests
academics reporting sexual harassment
for sexual favours, whether verbal, physical or visual. There are
many forms of sexual harassment: it may include hiring, firing and
promotion decisions subject to provision of sexual favours, unwanted
sexual advances, touching, sexual violence, and inappropriate
comments or obscene remarks, which generally create a work
4%
environment for women that is hostile, intimidating and demeaning.

Men also face sexual harassment at work but women suffer the
majority by far. For example, in the United States, 30% of female
medical academics reported sexual harassment compared to 4% 30%
of men (Figure 4.1) (105). Of those who reported harassment, 47%
stated that these experiences negatively impacted their career
development (105). Female health and social care workers face 1,066 recipients of NIH academic
harassment and violence from three sources – male colleagues, male career development awards
patients and the wider community, including visitors to facilities or
men in the community if they are outreach workers. The stigma in
reporting cases in the health professions has created a misperception
that sexual harassment cases are rare. But health systems are no Source: Based on Jagsi et al. (105).

26
community health workers in Kenya experienced threats of violence
Figure 4.2 Inadequacy of global sexual harassment laws
by husbands when providing HIV testing to wives. Cases of rape were
also reported, leading to calls for security services to accompany
community health workers (108).

59 countries do not have laws

Women are likely to experience sexual harassment, even if they prohibiting sexual harassment in
are higher in the traditional medical hierarchy. the workplace

100 countries do not have civil

remedies for sexual harassment in
Sexual harassment in the workplace is difficult to combat on a global the workplace
scale, given the vast differences in laws and policies addressing or
penalizing sexual assault around the world. Figure 4.2 depicts the 110 countries do not have
number of countries that have no laws, civil remedies, or criminal criminal penalties for sexual
harassment in the workplace
penalties for workplace sexual harassment (110).

Harassment is prevalent in academic medicine as well. A meta-analysis

of studies on harassment and discrimination in medical training showed
Source: Council on Foreign Relations (110).
that around 60% of students and trainees experienced discrimination
and sexual harassment during their training period (111, 112). A recent
report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine raised concerns about the prevalence of sexual harassment strategies, based on law, to address culture, prevention, accountability
in academic sciences, engineering and medicine, which threatens the and support to survivors. Very few organizations keep systematic data
integrity of education and research in these fields (113). The survey on cases and outcomes, making it difficult to analyse the extent of
findings from this survey found as high as 50% of female medical sexual harassment and its impact on female health workers, and to
students experiencing sexual harassment from faculty or staff at one of build policy measures to eliminate it. While the #MeToo movement has
the universities in United States . built momentum towards raising the profile of sexual harassment and
assault, it remains a source of stigma and taboo. The onus of proving
Conflict-affected countries or remote settings present unique risks to guilt too often falls on the shoulders of the survivor. Since power
women in health care, where they are highly vulnerable to violence remains the underlying motive behind acts of sexual harassment and
(114). In Cambodia, women in conflict-affected areas face reported violence at work (118), survivors are often silenced or risk facing
risks to their personal safety, and loss of family contact (115). In retaliation. Where there are no proper guidelines or policies to address
Pakistan, female polio outreach workers have been murdered and incidents of sexual harassment, cases may be dealt with on an ad
attacked, not only causing tragic loss of life (116) but also stalling hoc basis, often favouring the perpetrator, who is likely to be more
elimination of polio from the country. A young midwife in Nigeria was powerful in the system (119).
abducted and killed in October 2018 (117). Failure to protect front line
female health workers in conflicts and emergencies inevitably restricts Due to imbalances of power, fear of not being believed, and the
services to highly vulnerable women desperately in need of all health prospect of retaliation, survivors of harassment have often remained
services but particularly during pregnancy and childbirth. silent. But with the #MeToo movement, the focus has rightly shifted to
addressing all forms of harassment in the workplace, including sexual
harassment (120). Issues that were once considered taboo can now
In Pakistan, female polio outreach workers have been murdered be more openly discussed in workplaces in some countries (121).
and attacked, causing not only tragic loss of life but also While this gives a unique opportunity to global health policy-makers
stalling elimination of polio from the country. to agree and commit to institutionalizing policies and culture change
to eradicate all forms of harassment and discrimination, there are still
many contexts where discussions of sexual harassment are culturally
Sexual harassment is so prevalent it cannot be treated as an inappropriate, and where women are either silenced or face the threat
individual occurrence or aberration and needs organizational of losing their jobs if they report harassment (Box 4.1).

27
 A literature review

and well-being of populations. It would improve health workforce

Box 4.1 Origin of the #MeToo movement recruitment and productivity, as well as retention. It would also have
positive effects on quality of care, which would improve patient
The #MeToo movement first originated in 2007, when Tarana
outcomes and health system efficiencies. It is the fundamental right of
Burke, an African American woman, launched a campaign
health workers to have freedom to express their opinions and be able
to reach out to sexual assault survivors in underprivileged
to participate and engage in improving the conditions of the health
communities (122).
workforce. Ensuring workplaces where all female health workers are
assured of safety, dignity and respect is essential to addressing global
This campaign turned viral when actress Alyssa Milano
health worker shortages, meeting health care demands, and unlocking
converted it into a hashtag and called on followers to share
wider social and economic potential.
their stories of sexual harassment and assault on Twitter using
the phrase “Me Too” (122).
Creating safe and enabling work environments where all
genders can work to their full potential has huge implications
for the economic productivity and well-being of populations.

Sexual harassment in the workplace has a variety of negative impacts

on female health workers, including on their physical and mental
health. Studies have shown sexual harassment experienced during
medical training can influence decisions on specialty and residency
programme selection (95). Furthermore, this effect extends beyond
the individual experiencing harassment to the health system as a
whole. Examples of systemic consequences include impediment of
health workers’ advancement, increased stress and decreased morale
and productivity, and a limited pool of health workers to deal with
today’s health challenges (5, 123). In a world needing to create an
additional 40 million health and social care sector jobs there is an
4.7 Why addressing decent work in the immediate need to record, prevent and address the causes of sexual
global health workforce matters harassment, not only because it is a human rights violation but also
because it results in attrition, loss of female talent, and reduced
Bias and discrimination rob women of opportunities but also rob health morale and productivity. The perception that certain types of work or
systems of female talent. This becomes everybody’s problem because sectors are likely to make women vulnerable to the risk of violence
it impacts the quality of health systems used by all genders. Creating and sexual harassment will affect recruitment and health worker
safe and enabling work environments where all genders can work to supply. Current levels of sexual harassment are diminishing patient
their full potential has huge implications for the economic productivity outcomes and creating major inefficiencies in health systems.

28
Chapter 5. Gender pay gap

5.1 Key messages • Women’s economic inclusion, and therefore closing the gender
pay gap, is critical to achieving the SDG overarching objective of
• Most of the gender pay gap remains unexplained by factors leaving no one behind.
such as age, experience, education, number of hours worked, or
specialty choice. This suggests discrimination and bias against
women and in favour of men.
5.2 Gender pay gap: introduction and
• The unadjusted pay gaps in health and social care, estimated at background
26% in high-income countries and 29% in upper middle-income
countries, are higher than other economic sectors. The gender pay gap – the third theme prioritized by the GEH – refers
to the difference in average earnings between men and women. Equal
• Occupational segregation by gender, with women tending to be pay refers to men and women performing the same role receiving the
clustered into lower-status and low-paid sectors and specialisms same pay – that is, equal pay for work of equal value (Figure 5.1).
in health, is associated with a gender pay gap in favour of men.
Gender pay equity was first defined by the ILO Equal Remuneration
• Equal pay for equal work legislation and strong collective Convention, 1951 (No. 100), which aimed to ensure that the work
bargaining, absent in many countries, are essential for addressing done by men and women was compensated equally (124–126).
the gender pay gap in the health sector. The Convention was the first of its kind, recognizing that women
were on the front line of production during the Second World War in
• The gender pay gap results in lower lifetime income for women, many countries and that there was a need to address gender pay
reduced access to pay-related social and health benefits (where discrimination if equality was to be achieved (125). Almost 70 years
they exist), and increased poverty for women in older age. later the Convention is still relevant, as differences in pay remain the
most prevalent form of discrimination against women.

Figure 5.1 Equal pay versus the gender pay gap

EQUAL PAY VS. THE GENDER PAY GAP

Means that mean and women Indicates the difference in

performing the same role must average earnings between
receive the same pay men and women

$ $

*for representation purposes only

29
 A literature review

Currently, awareness of the gender pay gap and the implications for annual salaries, particularly for higher-level positions. Since men are
women of unequal pay are of higher profile politically than ever before, more likely to hold positions of leadership where such benefits are
and a global framework for action has been set within the SDGs. available, total compensation is a better measure than hourly wages
SDG Target 8.5 aims to achieve “equal pay for work of equal value” (130, 131).
by 2030. Also, 2017 saw the launch of the Equal Pay International
Coalition, a multistakeholder partnership including ILO, UN Women It is also important to note that the gender pay gap, by definition,
and OECD, established to drive concerted action to close the gender measures paid work and so omits the substantial amount of unpaid
pay gap. WHO is currently working with the ILO to analyse labour force health and social care work done by women. In Lesotho, in response
survey data for around 104 countries to generate more insights. to the increase in HIV/AIDS, women were expected to take up most of
the informal and predominantly unpaid care. There was no expectation
At the meeting of the G7 held in Canada 2018, commitments that men would work for free (108). Including unpaid work would
were made to prioritize action on the gender pay gap as a way to substantially increase the gender pay gap between men and women.
achieve economic equality. Measures such as prohibiting employers
from asking about previous salaries and ensuring some form of UN Women concluded that globally women earn 77 cents for every
transparency on pay determinations were prioritized. Following this, dollar earned by men – a gap that will take an estimated 70 years to
gender equality and women’s empowerment, including reducing close (132). In high-income countries women earn 75% of the pay
the gender pay gap, have been put onto the agenda for the 2019 of their male counterparts, and in low-income countries, 83% (133).
G7 meeting in France (127). Similarly, recognizing that no Group of ILO’s 2018 report found significant differences between countries,
Twenty (G20) country has yet closed the gaps in women’s economic with the mean hourly gender pay gap ranging from 34% in Pakistan to
participation, a political commitment was made by the G20 to reduce –10.3% in the Philippines, meaning that women in the formal labour
these gaps by 25% by 2025 (128). market in the Philippines earn 10% more on average than men (129).

The SDG uses average hourly earnings for men and women as its
measure (Indicator 8.5.1). Differences in the methodology used lead Globally women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men –
to different estimates of the gender pay gap. A 2018 ILO report on a gap that it is estimated will take 70 years to close.
the gender pay gap comparing average (mean) hourly wages for
men and women from 73 countries found a global gender pay gap
of 16% (129). Using a measure comparing median earnings of men Most of the studies evaluating the gender pay gap and the factors
and women, however, increased the gap to 22%. A complementary contributing to wage differentials between men and women have
measure, the weighted gender pay gap, allows for the clustering been based on data from high-income countries, especially the United
of men and women into different occupations, analyses gaps in States. Due to limited data from low-income countries, there are
occupational subgroups and then weights them reflecting the size very few cross-country or regional comparisons. Currently the few
of each subgroup in the total workforce. Using this methodology, the comparative studies that exist have compared high-income countries,
mean hourly gender pay gap identified by the 2018 ILO data was such as European countries (134).
positive in all but two countries, and the mean hourly global gender
pay gap increased from about 16% to 19% (129). Clearly, adopting As shown in Figure 5.2, the OECD collects data on the gender wage
the same measure would facilitate cross-country comparisons. (pay) gap for selected countries, with the highest gender wage (pay)
gaps found in Republic of Korea 34.6 %, Estonia 28.3%, and Japan
It is important to control for the difference in hours worked by men 24.5 %, and the lowest found in Romania 1.5 %, Costa Rica 3.0
and women and divide total compensation by hours worked to assess % and Luxembourg 3.4 % (135). Despite limitations, the current
the gender pay gap, since men may work more hours than women. evidence provides lessons to draw from and highlights the need
Women are more likely to work part time than men where the option for more research to understand the factors driving variations in
is available. Hourly wages, however, do not include bonuses, stock the gender pay gap across and within countries and occupations,
options, and other forms of compensation that may be included in particularly in low-income countries.

30
Figure 5.2 Gender wage gap by country 5.3 The gender pay gap in the global
health workforce
Romania
In global health there is limited evidence on the gender pay gap
Luxembourg
and an urgent need to understand it better. Evidence from low- and
Bulgaria middle-income countries is particularly limited. The 2017 Global
gender gap report estimated the average gender pay gap by country
Slovenia
at between 16% and 21% (30, 127). Figures from the ILO, however,
Denmark on the unadjusted gender pay gap in the health and social care
sectors, estimate it at higher than other sectors, at 26% in high-
Norway
income countries and 29% in upper-middle countries (1). Employment
Colombia sectors with a majority of female employees, such as health and
social care, are typically given lower social value and paid less. More
Hungary
evidence with better methodologies is needed, particularly from low-
France income countries, to identify gender pay gaps in the health and social
sectors, assess the causes and translate evidence into effective policy
Ireland measures.
Spain
The gender pay gap varies across different occupations within health
Cyprus care. In the United States, the health care industry has one of the
largest gender pay gaps for any sector, and there are also large
Netherlands
differences in wages between professions in health (134). In the
Portugal United States, the number of women pharmacists has increased but
the gender pay gap persists (136). The gender pay gap still existed
Slovak Republic
amongst academic pharmacists, even after allowing for qualifications
Czech Republic and years of service. Similarly, the number of women taking up
anaesthesiology in the United States is increasing but female
Finland
anaesthesiologists still earn 25% less than their male counterparts
United States compared with a 17% gap for all physicians (137–139). One study
conducted in medical faculties in the United States concluded that
EU (28 countries)
women were less likely to become full professors compared to men
Latvia and earned lower wages even after controlling for observable factors
(140). A recent survey of 65 000 physicians in the United States
Japan revealed that women doctors earned an average of 27.7% less than
Korea
their male counterparts in 2017, a total average of US$ 105 000 less
in a year (141). One study from Australia found the average gender
0 10 20 30 40
pay gap to be 16.7% (142). Even in health sectors where women play
a large role, such as dentistry, they continue to earn less than their
Note: 2017 or latest available data; based on data from OECD 2017 male colleagues (45, 143).
(https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/).

A study from Australia showed that gender pay gaps tend to be

wider in high-paying jobs, and that men receive higher returns
to schooling compared to women (142). Association between the
gender pay gap and “family gap” is also significant (144). While pay
for fathers increases with the number of children, every additional
child a woman has is associated with a drop in pay (144). The most
likely explanation for this is that men with children are considered to
be more committed to their work, and thus deserving of and more

31
 A literature review

likely to be offered higher wages, whereas women with children are 5.4 Factors that contribute to gender
considered less committed. Gaps vary, based on income levels, with pay gaps
wider gaps amongst low-income women. Thus, the women who can
least afford it are not seen as deserving by employers and perceived Research shows that both microeconomic and macroeconomic
to lack commitment (142, 144). factors affect the gender pay gap, and that there is a pay difference
between men and women regardless of the industry or profession
Research also highlights that the gender pay gap between men and studied. Additionally, non-employment-related factors, such as
women in medicine is connected with gender differences in specialty gender, race and ethnicity, create advantages for certain people, while
choice and hours worked. However, recent studies suggest the gender disadvantaging others (146). Disability is likely to be another important
gaps in physician salaries persist even after controlling for specialty, factor. It is critical, depending on the context, that the gender pay gap
practice type, and hours worked (138). Women physicians also faced is analysed with an intersectional lens.
trade-offs between career and family: one study found that women
physicians earned 11% less if they were married; 14% less if they Initially, human capital factors associated with greater work
had one child; and 22% less if they had more than one child (145). productivity, such as years of education, training, skill sets, number
On one hand, there are studies that show the gap in wages converges of hours worked and years of work experience, were thought to be
after controlling for observable factors such as specialty and numbers major drivers of gender pay gaps. However, recent studies show that
of hours worked; while other studies show a disparity in physicians’ even after controlling for such observable factors the gender pay gap
starting salaries. Limitations in these studies, due to methodological remains, and a large portion of the gap remains unexplained (142,
differences or lack of comparable data, make it difficult to draw 147–150). The 2018 ILO Global wage report (129) decomposed the
conclusions, except that more and better research is needed to gender pay gap by human capital attributes, characteristics defining
identify gender pay gaps by men and women in comparable jobs, job in a sector, and the type of workplace, and found considerable
medical sectors and levels, and the drivers of those gaps. variation between countries; however, on average, education and other
labour market factors explained relatively little of the gender pay gap
Figure 5.3 (37) shows the average female nurse earnings as a (129). The ILO concluded: “The unexplained part of the gender pay gap
percentage of men’s earnings, indicating that on average across all generally dominates almost all countries, irrespective of income group.
nurse occupations women earned only 91% of what men earned. In high-income countries, education contributes on average less than
1 percentage point of the gender pay gap, through it contributes much
more in some individual countries.”

Figure 5.3 Female earnings as a percentage of men’s

earnings among full-time, year-round nurses (2011) “The unexplained part of the gender pay gap generally
dominates almost all countries, irrespective of income group.
In high-income countries, education contributes on average
Registered
nurses less than 1 percentage point of the gender pay gap, through it
contributes much more in some individual countries.” 2018 ILO
LPN/LVN Global wage report

Average
(all nurses)
The ILO concluded that this finding on education should not be
Nurse
anesthetists surprising, since in many countries women have higher educational
levels than men in the same occupational sectors but earn less.
Nurse
practicioners Although lower-income countries and middle-income countries may
84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 have a large percentage of women with low levels of education,
those women tend to be clustered in the informal rather than the
Source: United States Census Bureau (37). formal labour market, and so do not impact gender pay gap figures.
The report puts forward several drivers of the gender pay gap: the
fact that women are not paid equally for work of equal value; the

32
clustering of women into female-majority jobs and sectors giving less likely to be major drivers of gender pay gaps. However, putting these
value and lower rewards; and the “motherhood gap”, which varies complex terms in an “unexplained” error term is problematic, as it
widely between countries and may be related to a number of factors gives no explanation on which to base policy (151). These gender
that affect working mothers, including constrained choices of more biases have implications for women’s careers, hiring rates, salaries
“family-friendly” jobs, reduced hours, career interruptions, or gender- and promotions; hence, these unseen and unfair barriers women face
biased hiring and promotion. Data from the report estimate that the in the health care labour market will need to be addressed if we are
motherhood pay gap ranges from 1% or less in Canada, Mongolia to reduce gender pay gaps (86, 134). Better research and context-
and South Africa to as much as 30% in Turkey (129). The drivers for specific data are needed to deepen our understanding of gender pay
these significant differences need to understood and built into policy gaps within the health and social sector.
measures.

Feminist economists have argued that use of gender as a dummy Gender biases have implications for women’s careers, hiring
variable in labour market analysis and wage regressions fails to rates, salaries and promotions; hence, these unseen and unfair
account for processes in which gender intersects with other social barriers women face in the health care labour market will need
stratifiers and how it shapes individual experiences of men and to be addressed if we are to reduce gender pay gaps.
women within the workforce as well as society at large. These
theorists argue that deeper understanding of discrimination is
required in labour market analysis, using feminist thinking (151, 152). The fact that there are gender pay gaps in health care is a major
An important issue is the gendered social value given to professions cause for concern at many levels as it implies that women, despite
and jobs, which attaches greater value and rewards to work typically being the majority of the global health workforce, are still unable to
done by men than to work typically done by women. This is highly gain respect and job status equal to their male counterparts. It is
relevant for “caring professions”, such as nursing, which are female- estimated that almost US$ 160 trillion is lost globally due to gender
majority occupations. differences in earnings between men and women (162). Thus, the
gender pay gap remains a huge global health concern, since building
Gender pay gaps are pervasive among all sectors, but they are greater stronger and more resilient health systems would require that those
in private organizations compared to public sector and non-profit health systems enable women to participate in the workforce to their
sectors (153). It has been argued that this is because the public full potential.
sector is expected to act as a model employer that is more equitable
and value based (154).

Occupational segregation and job sorting by sex remain the leading 5.5 Why is addressing the gender pay
factor linked to the gender pay gaps, particularly in the health and gap in the global health workforce
social care sector. Findings on occupational segregation in the important?
health sector are outlined in Chapter 3 of this review. Occupational
segregation is a dominant phenomenon within labour markets, with Addressing the gender pay gap is critical to achieving fair and
women more likely to enter teaching and nursing jobs while men resilient health systems. Gender differences in income have long-term
enter more technical and mechanical professions. However, evidence economic implications and lead to a gender wealth gap and poverty
on trends in occupational segregation are not always available to for many women in old age (163). Wealth inequalities are gaining
policy-makers, meaning they cannot make a connection between interest among scholars as wealth accumulation increases financial
low-paying jobs, in which women are often employed, and gender pay stability, opportunities, and purchasing power (164). Financial stability
gaps (94, 134, 155). Moreover, as stated above, a large part of the and empowerment are also important factors in seeking health care
gender pay gap remains unexplained. This means that studies have and continuing treatment, especially for women (165). The gender
found gender pay gaps in labour market analysis even after controlling pay gap therefore has implications for women’s own health outcomes.
for observable factors such as specialty choice, work hours, or other Addressing gender equality and the elimination of discriminatory
characteristics, and a large part remains due to “unexplained factors” practices in the workforce are closely linked.
in the regression model (142, 147–149). Discrimination as well as
subtle and unconscious bias are often difficult to control for, and are

33
 A literature review

Box 5.1 Factors contributing to gender pay gaps: key themes

INDIVIDUAL FACTORS
Differences in education, training, skills
Gender pay gaps exist even after controlling for differences in education, skill set, and training. The gaps widen with higher levels of
education for women, while men receive higher returns on schooling. Factors such as age, experience, specialty choice, and practice
settings also do not explain the gap (142, 156–158).

Differences in work experience

The gender pay gap widens with seniority (159). This phenomenon was found to be true for both physician and non-physician groups
of women (140). Large deficits in rank for senior faculty women were confirmed in logistic models that accounted for a wide range
of other professional characteristics and achievements, including total career publications, years of seniority, hours worked per week,
department type, minority status, medical versus non-medical final degree, and school (140). Gender gaps are also wider for higher-
salaried jobs (66).

Differences in numbers of hours worked, or part-time versus full-time work

Gender pay gaps are prevalent across almost all occupations but differ significantly in size. One factor that is associated with this
difference is whether an occupation is male dominated or female dominated, with male-dominated jobs being higher paid. Among
the many reasons for this is the difference in total number of hours worked, with women working fewer hours than men. Women face
constraints in balancing paid work with family responsibilities; hence they either opt out of the workforce or take up part-time work.
Women with children pay what is known as a “motherhood penalty”, whether as a single or married parent, as they are likely to work
less hours than men. The penalty is higher for women with low-paying jobs. Married men and those with dependent children, on the
other hand, gain a “fatherhood bonus” and have been found to earn higher wages than single men (142, 158, 160).

INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
Occupational segregation
Industrial and job sorting of men and women into specific types of jobs substantially contributes to men’s higher compensation,
especially in the United States and Europe. Women are concentrated in primary health care, low-grade and low-paying jobs, the public
sector, and part-time employment (94, 134, 155). Low awareness of occupational segregation and the gender pay gap contributes to
maintaining the status quo (161).

Workplace authority
The pay gap widens at executive levels and with higher levels of education.

Hiring and promotion

Subtle unconscious biases in hiring and promotion processes have implications for women’s careers and advancements that impact
their earning potential.

Collective bargaining and unions

Men tend to be more likely to be part of networks and unions. Collective bargaining has been shown to be effective in negotiating
comparable salaries. When men participate in unions and women are not union members, then even the same hourly wages may lead
to pay differentials. Female-dominated jobs and sectors are still largely non-unionized, which has also led to gender pay gaps (134).

34
Within the health workforce, it is important to address the gender pay • Understanding patterns of the gender pay gap in a particular
gap for multiple reasons, including the following. context will drive solutions and more inclusive labour markets for
women. For example, if the widest gender pay gap is amongst
• The gender pay gap is directly linked to poverty, as it has low-paid women workers, then minimum wage legislation, social
implications for lifelong financial stability. Poverty affects women protection for women on the boundaries of the informal and formal
at disproportionately higher rates compared to men (166), and labour markets, and support for collective bargaining will be
eliminating the gender pay gap could halve poverty levels for critical. If the widest gap is amongst women in higher-status jobs
women (167). or mothers or fathers, then other policy solutions will be needed.

• Earning lower pay means lower pensions and less income from Despite advances in policies and reductions in the gender pay gap
social security for retired women compared to retired men (168). over the years, a significant difference persists, calling for global
Similarly, it means women qualify for lower disability and life action to address the problem. In a recent survey on equal pay
insurance benefits. conducted in the United States, it was found that almost one third of
Americans were not aware that the gap existed and men were twice
• Wage differences lead to lower morale and motivation to work as likely to think it did not exist compared to women (156). In another
longer hours, or may cause women to quit the health workforce study, 80% of men thought their salaries were comparable to those
altogether. With the majority of the health care workforce being of women, compared to 41% of women who felt their incomes were
women, this has serious implications, as women may be more comparable to those of men (171). Thus, there is a need to increase
likely to opt for working shorter hours and part-time jobs. With a awareness of the problem in order to address it.
major and growing global shortage of health workers, addressing
the gender pay gap will improve the health workforce labour A major conclusion on the gender pay gap from this review is
supply, support achievement of universal health coverage, drive that existing data and evidence are too scarce and not sufficiently
economic growth, and help meet the health care needs of the comparable to use as the foundation for policy measures in most
global population. countries. Too much remains “unexplained”, and we need to move
beyond simple measures of the gender pay gap to more complex
• Societal expectations of gender roles may lead women to either methods that adjust for occupational segregation of men and women
delay marriage and childbearing until their thirties or to forgo it (both horizontal and vertical), take an intersectional approach relevant
completely. This phenomenon has long-term implications for the to the social context, and include the large numbers of women
health and well-being of societies (169, 170). working outside the formal, paid labour market. In the health sector,
addressing occupational segregation (Chapter 3) and the gendered
leadership gaps (Chapter 6) will both be critical to reducing gender
pay gaps.

35
 A literature review

Chapter 6. Leadership

6.1 Key messages create pathways for one gender to excel while others remain segregated
in subordinated roles. Gender gaps in leadership are pervasive in all
• Women make up 70% of the global health workforce but occupy sectors, including health. Women make up only 5% of the Fortune 500
only 25% of leadership roles. Men hold the majority of leadership CEOs (172); 24% of parliamentary seats (173); and 39% of the total
roles in health at all levels, from global to community. labour force (43). With the SDGs restating gender equality as a global
priority, addressing gender gaps in leadership is key.
• The current gender gaps in leadership are predominantly a result
of power imbalances, gender stereotyping, discrimination and
structures that create pathways for one gender to excel while
others remain segregated in subordinated roles. 6.3 Leadership and governance in the
global health and workforce
• Lack of gender balance in health leadership means global health
loses female talent, perspectives and knowledge. The women who Leadership comes in many forms and it matters at all levels of global
deliver global health do not have an equal say in its design and health. Women are leaders in their communities providing health at
delivery. the front line, they are the first responders in outbreaks and disasters,
and they are predominantly the caregivers in their homes and family.
• Women’s limited opportunity to enter leadership roles is However, due to power structures within workplaces, women remain
compounded by the intersection with other factors such as race, underrepresented in top positions.
religion, caste, class and ethnicity, which can further disadvantage
women with more than one marginalized identity (for example, a Women’s representation in top policy-making positions remains
low-caste woman). low in global health agencies, with women holding around 25% of
the most influential leadership and governance roles. As shown in
• There is evidence that women in leadership positions in health Figure 6.1, an evaluation of 140 global health organizations found
expand the agenda, giving greater priority to rights – such as that decision-making power remains largely in the hands of men,
sexual and reproductive health and rights – that apply to all with 69% of organizations and 80% of organization boards led by
genders but, where absent, can have the most negative impacts on men (82). Moreover, beyond gender parity, women have less visibility,
women’s health. less recognition and less influence than men. This shapes the health
agenda and resources at all levels – even at the community level.
• The persistent absence of female talent from leadership positions Anecdotal examples of the contribution made by community health
is likely to prove a significant barrier to the rapid scaling up of the workers is important in capturing the impact women are having on
global health and social care workforce needed to achieve the the health of their communities, but most have little or no opportunity
SDGs, including universal health coverage. for promotion to more influential leadership roles. This applies across
health professions. Most recently, nurses and midwives, in response
to leadership disempowerment, have launched the Nursing Now 2020
campaign, with one key goal being to have nurses or midwives in
6.2 Leadership and gender: background leadership roles and on governing boards at all levels in health (174).

Leadership is the fourth theme prioritized by the GEH. The current The gender gap in health leadership goes beyond the numbers.
gender gaps in leadership are predominantly a result of power Deep-rooted power structures, including patriarchal and gender bias,
imbalances, gender stereotyping, discrimination and structures that creates a preferential opportunity for men to be leaders in the mostly

36
Figure 6.1 Who leads global health organizations?

Executive Directors Board Chairs

31% 69% 20% 80%

Source: Global Health 5050: https://globalhealth5050.org/gh5050-summary-findings-on-leadership-and-parity/.

powerful, influential roles in society. In the health sector, especially Across the health workforce, women are underrepresented in the
given the historical structure of hospitals and health systems based on upper levels of management, leadership and governance. Only 31%
hierarchy and patriarchy, the power relations create an environment of ministries of health are led by women (176, 177). At the high end is
that enables men and disempowers women, limiting their ability the Africa Region with 38%, with South-East Asia at the low end with
to reach their maximum potential as leaders. A contextual analysis 18% of ministries of health led by women (177) (Figure 6.2).
of women in the health workforce shows there are unique barriers
women face based on gender. They are less invested in and supported In examining health leadership, Women in Global Health found on
in their roles, as they operate in environments that are not enabling average 25% of Member State chief delegates, to the World Health
for all genders (2). Assembly, were women, increasing over time, since 2005, as seen
in Figure 6.3. (101). Percentages of women 2016-2016 were
26%, 31% and 29% respectively. In many cases this mirrors the
In the health sector, especially given the historical structure of underrepresentation of women in the senior levels of ministries of
hospitals and health systems based on hierarchy and patriarchy, health. For example, women held only 20% of senior roles in the
the power relations create an environment that enables men Ministry of Health in Cambodia (178). However, there is an opportunity
and disempowers women, limiting their ability to reach their to transform the health leadership to be more representative of the
maximum potential as leaders. largely women-led health workforce (Figure 6.4).

The majority of the reviews of leadership in the health workforce have

One study identified those positions that embody power, influence previously focused on women’s leadership in medicine. Emerging
and leadership as the “final male bastions” and noted that women literature has started exploring trends in other sectors, for example,
are less likely to be in positions of power and authority, have the the work undertaken by the Nursing Now campaign. Similarly,
opportunity to advance, be rewarded for the work they do, and find another study in 2006 found that despite increasing numbers of
themselves in strong support networks (175). These positions of women in pharmacy, they are still underrepresented in leadership
power and leadership roles in global health can take on many forms, roles (136). Research is expanding beyond the United States; for
from the executive team of a United Nations agency to the head of example, one study found that women are underrepresented in
a community nongovernmental organization or to the head of a local prestigious specialisms and leadership roles regardless of the rate at
health clinic. While leadership is often linked to the most senior and which women are entering the health sector in a country (45). Within
well paid positions, one can be a leader at all levels, including in anaesthesiology women’s leadership is lower than in other medical
underpaid or underrecognized roles in health. professions in the United States (179). Looking at the leadership in
the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists, a striking

37
 A literature review

Figure 6.2 Percentage of Member State ministries of health headed by women, by WHO

36%

19%

64%

24%

81%
31%

18%

76%

69%
39%

82%
61%

Source: Women in Global Health, 2018

Figure 6.3 Women’s representation as chief delegates at World Health Assembly, 2005–2015

HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE GENDER PARITY IN GLOBAL HEALTH?

2005 2015 2017

16% 22% 31%
WOMEN WOMEN WOMEN
Gender representation at the World Health Assembly 2005- 2017

WomeninGH www.womeningh.org @WomeninGH

Source: Women in Global Health, 2018

38
Figure 6.4 Global health leadership pyramid 6.4 Why addressing gender gaps in
leadership matters
Women’s representation in global health leadership, based on influence
Addressing gender gaps in leadership sets the agenda for equal
= 10%
representation of genders at all levels of the organization as well
Fortune 500 as across different sectors of health. It leads to a more empowered
Healthcare CEOs 3.7%
(1) workforce, improved motivation, reduced attrition, improved quality of
care, and better understanding of health systems, which feeds into
Heads of
global health designing more suitable solutions (183).
organizations
& boards of 25%
global health
organizations
(2)
Addressing gender gaps in leadership leads to a more
empowered workforce, improved motivation, reduced attrition,
Ministers of
Health (3) 31% improved quality of care, and better understanding of health
systems, which feeds into designing more suitable solutions.
World Health
Assembly heads 27%
of Delegations
(4) There is a need for the diversification of leadership in the health
workforce. Across sectors women are seen to exhibit transformational
Deans of top
Public Health & 28% leadership qualities, including those that focus on motivating others,
Medical Schools
(5)
supporting the advance of the whole team while attending to individual
needs, and creating excitement about the future, more frequently than
Health
and Social 70% men. With these foundational qualities, studies have confirmed that
Workforce (6) overall women were seen as more effective leaders (184). Within the
health sector, there is some evidence to indicate the same. Several
Long-Term Care 90% studies in India indicated that women leaders in health have resulted in
Workforce (7)
positive benefits such as the reduction of neonatal mortality, increased
expenditure on health facilities, antenatal care and immunizations, and
1. Fortune 500 list for healthcare sector, Fortune, 2018
2. Global Health 50/50 Report, Global Health 50/50, 2018
prioritization of issues traditionally related to women (181). Evidence
3. World Health Organization Member States, Womean in also shows that providing nurses with the opportunity to lead and shape
Global Health (data) unpublished), 2018
4. Work Health Organization’s World Health Assembly List of Delegates and Other health services leads to improvements in health outcomes and supports
Participants, Women in Global Health (data unpublished), 2018
5. QS World Ranking 2018: Top 25 Global Universities for Public Health and Medicine, 2018 innovation, recruitment and retention (185).
6. Improving employment and Working conditions in health services, international Labour
Organization, 2017
7. Improving employment and Working conditions in health services, international Labour
Organization, 2017

Source: Women in Global Health, 2018

6.5 Factors contributing to leadership
gaps in the global health workforce

lack of representation can be observed across boards (5:1, men: The lack of women in leadership is often said to result from a “glass
women), councils (15:5) and committee chairs (9:1) (180). There ceiling”, but recent literature aptly identifies that the lack of women
are gender gaps in academic medicine as well, for example, in the in leadership is more the result of a labyrinth, a twisting and turning
top 50 American medical schools only 24% of the directors were series of barriers that are both visible and invisible, rather than a
women (181). A gender analysis of Kenya’s health training institutions sudden and clear limit that prevents women from reaching the final
found that women made up 76% of the nursing profession, but men upper level of leadership (186). There are a multitude of barriers faced
held 62% of the faculty positions (182). One study found that men by women in advancing in leadership. These barriers exist at the
with 15 to 19 years of experience were 17% more likely to hold full individual, interpersonal, institutional, and community levels, and up
professorships when compared to women with the same years of
experience, even after adjusting for other factors such as number of
publications and degrees (160).

39
 A literature review

to the public policy level. The global health and social workforce has as traditionally masculine (184). In Uganda and Zambia,
a problem which is not limited to a “glass ceiling effect”. Rather, the gender norms and the understanding of key leadership traits
whole pipeline is leaking women all the way up to the top. (187). negatively impacted the advancement of women and skewed
the organizational processes leading to leadership – such as
hiring and promotion – as leadership itself was gendered (190).
The lack of women in leadership is more the result of a Leadership stereotyping is only one way in which gender norms
labyrinth, a twisting and turning series of barriers that are impact women’s advancement in the health workforce. One study
both visible and invisible, rather than a sudden and clear limit noted that gender norms influenced women’s progression to
that prevents women from reaching the final upper level of leadership at three intersecting levels – individual, household and
leadership. community – as shown in Box 6.1 (178).

• Bullying and sexual harassment have negatively impacted women’s

It is important to note that gender is only one dimension of the advancement to leadership positions (191, 194). Adverse systemic
labyrinth that women in the health workforce must negotiate on consequences include “impediment of health workers’ advancement,
their way to leadership. There are multiple ways to understand increased stress and decreased morale and productivity”, and
marginalization within health systems leadership. For example, a a “limited pool of health workers to deal with today’s health
unitary approach focuses on one primary marker of difference as challenges” (5). The story of Dr Caroline Tan, an Australian
sufficient for explaining a social problem, in isolation from other neurosurgeon, personifies the impacts of sexual harassment and
markers (for example, gender as separate from race) (188); a assault on women’s career advancement in health care. Dr Tan, who
multiple approach considers more than one explanatory factor but won a tribunal case against a fellow surgeon, faced targeted attacks
does so in an additive manner (for example, gender plus race equals by the perpetrator to undermine her credibility, a delay in the award
greater disadvantage) (188); and an intersectionality approach of her fellowship by the Royal Australian College of Surgeons, and
explicitly focuses on the relationships between factors and mutually difficulty in securing a position, despite high examination scores and
constructed processes that lead to social differences. Inequities are excellent references (195).
never the result of single, distinct factors; rather, they are the outcome
of intersections of different social locations, power relations and • The interrelationship between horizontal occupational segregation
experiences (189). Gender as one aspect of an individual’s identity and the occupational leadership hierarchy within the health
plays a major role in a person’s experience of the world, including workforce has influenced women’s career advancement and the
professional development and career advancement. However, not way women leaders are represented. In Jordan, a study found
acknowledging the dynamic interconnectedness of gender with other that two thirds of men in the health workforce were doctors,
social identities, especially when considering women who do not fulfil whereas almost 80% of nurses were women, while men held
the “white woman from the West” benchmark, is a pitfall that hinders 90% of managerial positions (196). It was noted that in South and
adoption of solutions that benefit all women. And this benchmark is Central Asia, nursing was seen as a low-status profession and
the typical image used to portray most women in leadership positions. nurses were directly managed by doctors who served in the main
decision-making roles (186). Nurses were seen as “extra hands”
The majority of the reviews and studies found similar barriers to for doctors, and were presented with few or no opportunities for
women advancing within their professions and reaching leadership career advancement and leadership (186). The Review Board of
positions across geographies and occupations. They include the the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health in the United
following. Kingdom found “overwhelming evidence” that nurses in leadership
were not being engaged adequately in policy-making or decision-
• Overall gender norms and expectations of men and women making at all levels, from local to global (186).
negatively impact women’s advancement to leadership (115, 190).
Traditional gender norms do not portray women as leaders, and • Women often report that lack of recognition and respect is a
leadership qualities are associated traditionally with masculine detriment to their career advancement and entry into leadership
traits. Women are perceived as having more communal traits, roles. One study found that women received only 1 in 10 awards in
leading to a double bind if they exhibit leadership traits perceived health and medicine (197), while another study found that female

40
 managers felt that their voices were not as respected as those
Box 6.1 Individual, household and community of their male colleagues, and also faced additional discrimination
dimensions of gender stereotyping due to younger age or perceived lower technical skills (198).
In Pakistan, where the requirement for lady health workers to
INDIVIDUAL
travel to people’s houses and to work with men clashed with
In Cambodia, it was shown that gender norms affected how
cultural norms, lady health workers reported lack of respect and
men and women engaged in the health sector, and in turn
devaluation of their work (199).
their progression to leadership (115).
• These studies also highlight the need for a deeper analysis of
HOUSEHOLD
the detrimental impact that gender inequality in health workforce
Regardless of organizational policies, women were held back
leadership is likely to have on health outcomes.
by gendered time use. In Cambodia, women’s advancement
was impacted by family responsibilities (115). In Japan, women
Removing gender gaps in leadership roles makes good business sense.
in medicine saw a “motherhood penalty” with reduced hours
It leads to the creation of a workforce pipeline that supplies educated,
worked, and several years of unemployment during early
trained and skilled health workers using 100% of the talent pool.
child-rearing, with consequences for their access to leadership
(45). Even in Scandinavia, where policies and cultural attitudes
promote work–life integration, women were more likely to
switch from specialties and leadership tracks after childbirth
to positions that provided more flexibility with childrearing (45).
A study of women doctors in the United Kingdom attributed
the lack of women’s leadership roles to the rigidity of career
paths leading to leadership within medicine, and reliance on
a hierarchical system that disregards the modern needs of
people to balance career expectations with other responsibilities
outside work (191).

COMMUNITY
In a review of the post-conflict health system in Cambodia,
women had reduced clinical time due to community
expectations of gender roles. For example, women reported
being unable to work night shifts due to disapproval from the
community (115). In Zimbabwe, men were more likely to be
selected for very remote and rural areas, where they were
able to gain invaluable career experiences. These experiences
supported men’s career advancement over women through
increased promotions, and participation in international
trainings and workshops (192). In Afghanistan, women were
able to gain increased access to resources at the community
level as community health workers, due to gendered social
norms, but men were more likely to hold leadership positions
and in turn control resource allocation (193).

41
 A literature review

SECTION 3. CONCLUSIONS
Chapter 7. Conclusions: policy context,
findings, and next steps

This chapter brings together the findings of the GEH literature review, transformative policy development and implementation capacity to
draws conclusions, and outlines next steps. All these will influence overcome gender inequities and form the foundation for the work of
gender equity in the health workforce. Since countries have different the GEH, including this report.
starting points in terms of health systems, resource levels, health
worker supply, gender equality and socioeconomic context, there
can be no universal blueprint for addressing gender equality in the
Box 7.1 Working for Health: five-year action
health workforce. All policy measures will need to be contextualized to
plan for health employment and inclusive
suit the local situation, with all genders in the local health workforce
economic growth 2017–2021 (WHO, ILO, OECD)
having a voice in the decision-making process.

RECOMMENDATION 2
The findings of this report and the Gender at Work framework (200)
Maximize women’s economic participation and foster their
will form the foundation for the next phase of gender policy work by
empowerment through institutionalizing their leadership,
the GEH, with the aim of supporting country-level implementation and
addressing gender biases and inequities in education and the
measurement of context- and evidence-based policy solutions.
health labour market, and tackling gender concerns in health
reform processes.
7.1 Policy context
DELIVERABLES
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the overarching
2.1 Gender-transformative global policy guidance developed
goal to reach universal health coverage, the Global Strategy on
and regional and national initiatives accelerated to analyse
Human Resources for Health, and the joint WHO, ILO and OECD
and overcome gender biases and inequalities in education
Working for Health five-year action plan (Box 7.1) together create
and the health labour market across the health and social
a strong platform for addressing the gender inequality that causes
workforce (for example, increasing opportunities for formal
inefficiencies in the health workforce. They also set a timetable, since
education, transforming unpaid care and informal work into
the commitments of the five-year action plan are to be delivered by
decent jobs, equal pay for work of equal value, decent working
2021, and the SDGs, universal health coverage and Global Strategy
conditions and occupational safety and health, promoting
on Human Resources for Health have a timeline of 2030.
employment free from harassment, discrimination and
violence, equal representation in management and leadership
There is no health without the people who deliver health care.
positions, social protection/child care, and elderly care).
With growing global demand for health care and a projected health
worker shortage, there is an urgent need to scale up the numbers of
2.2 Gender-transformative policy development and
new health worker jobs in high-, middle- and low-income countries.
implementation capacity to overcome gender biases and
Since women form the majority of health and social care workers,
inequalities in education and the health labour market
the Working for Health five-year action plan 2017–2021 recognizes
supported.
the importance and urgency of addressing gender inequity in the
health workforce. The deliverables of the plan include gender-

42
7.2 Findings of the GEH literature 7.2.2 Overarching findings from the GEH literature
review review
Of the eight overarching findings (summarized in Figure 7.2), five
The findings of the GEH literature review are divided into two parts: highlight serious deficiencies in data and research, which limit
compilation of a comprehensive global picture upon which to base
1. findings from each of the four focus areas covered by the report; policy.

2. overarching findings and conclusions generated from the exercise. First, the majority of the 170 studies identified and reviewed in this
report come from the global North and report findings from the
The following subsections highlight what the literature review found – global North, many of which are not transferable to settings with
or did not find – in the sources that were reviewed. different cultures and resource levels. There are major gaps in data
and research from all regions, but the most serious gaps on gender
7.2.1 Key findings of the GEH literature review on the and equity in the health workforce are in low- and middle-income
four focus themes countries. This is of particular concern since the most rapid and
Key findings from the four focus areas of the GEH literature review radical progress is needed in low- and middle-income countries to
are summarized in Figure 7.1. Each theme is explored in depth in a reach the SDGs, attain universal health coverage and achieve the
separate chapter of this report. health for all targets by 2030.

Figure 7.1 Key finding in four focus areas of GEH literature review

Horizontal and vertical occupational segregation by gender is a

universal pattern in health, varies with context. Women 70% global health workforce but hold only 25% senior roles
Driven by gender norms and stereotypes of jobs culturally labelled Gender leadership gaps driven by stereotypes, discrimination, power
‘men’s’ or ‘women’s’ work imbalance, privilege
Gender discrimination constrains women’s leadership/seniority Women’s disadvantage intersects with/multiplied by other identities eg
race, class
Gender stereotypes constrain men eg entering nursing
Global health weakened by loss female talent, ideas, knowledge
Women in health typically clustered into lower status/lower paid
jobs Women leaders often expand health agenda, strengthening health for all
Female majority professions given lower social value, status & pay Gendered leadership gap in health is a barrier to reaching SDGs and UHC

OCCUPATIONAL
SEGREGATION LEADERSHIP

DECENT WORK: GENDER PAY GAP (GPG)

DISCRIMINATION SEXUAL
HARASSMENT BIAS

Large % women in health workforce face bias and discrimination GPG in health 26-26%, higher than average for other sectors
Female health workers face burden sexual harassment causing Most of GPG in health is unexplained by observable factors eg
harm, ill health, attrition, loss morale, stress education
Many countries lack laws and social protection that are the Occupational segregation, women in lower status/paid roles, drives GPG.
foundation for gender equality at work Much of women’s work health/social care unpaid and excluded in GPG
Male healthworkers more likely to be organised in trade unions data
than female Equal pay laws and collective bargaining absent in many countries
Frontline female healthworkers in conflict/emergencies/remote GPG leads to lifetime economic disadvantage for women
areas face violence, injury & death
Closing GPG essential to reaching SDGs

43
 A literature review

Figure 7.2 Key overarching findings of GEH literature review

Overarching Findings from literature review:

• 170 studies in this review, most from global North
• Major gaps in data and research from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) on
gender and equity dimensions health workforce
• Major gaps in implementation research on impact of policy change or gender
OCCUPATIONAL
transformative approaches in different cultural settings
SEGREGATION LEADERSHIP
• Major gaps in data in all areas, particularly sexual harassment and data comparable
across countries on the gender pay gap
• Studies limited in methodological approaches. Very few adopt an intersectionality
lens or use mixed methods approaches
• Occupational segregation, vertical and horizontal, is major driver and consequence
DECENT WORK: GENDER PAY of gender inequality
DISCRIMINATION SEXUAL GAP (GPG)
• Critical role of women in health (70% health workforce) is often overlooked, so
HARASSMENT BIAS
priority not given to addressing gender/equity in workforce
• Gender inequality in health and social care workforce will limit delivery of UHC &
health for all

In addition, widespread gaps in the data and literature were found from Finally, in the list of deficiencies in the data and literature, studies
countries of all income levels on implementation, application of gender- identified for the review were limited in methodological approaches.
transformative policy measures and what works to change the health Although in many countries female health workers are clustered into
system weaknesses and deficiencies caused by gender inequality. This different sectors of health and social care by social identities such
will be an important focus for the work of the GEH going forward. as race, ethnicity, class, and migrant status, very few studies take
an intersectional approach to highlight how gender disadvantage in
Major gaps and lack of comparable data were also found in countries employment can be compounded by other social identities. Some
from all regions. Examples include sexual harassment and gender countries are now investigating pay gaps based on disability and race,
pay gap data. Despite the prominence the #MeToo movement has in addition to gender. It is critical to take an intersectional approach to
given to the issue of sexual harassment in the last year, a disturbing understand how multiple identities interact with gender in the health
59 countries still lack legislation prohibiting sexual harassment in workforce to compound inequity.
the workplace. The #MeToo movement has prompted women in
health in some countries to speak about their experience of sexual Three further overarching conclusions from this review also need
harassment and abuse at work. Although, from confidential reports, emphasis. The first is the near universal and pronounced occupational
sexual harassment of female health workers by co-workers, patients segregation of women and men within the health workforce. This
and members of the community appear to be widespread, with report emphasizes that the fast-growing health and social care sectors
consequent harm both for women affected and for health systems, are important employers of women and critical drivers of economic
systematic collection of data and research studies are not common. A growth. But although women hold around 70% of jobs in the health
supportive legal framework and data collection are the starting points workforce, they remain largely segregated within it, both vertically
for identifying patterns of and trends in sexual harassment, abuse and horizontally. Vertical segregation, with men holding the majority of
and violence suffered by female health workers and putting in place higher-status, higher-paid roles, is a pattern found in most countries.
preventive measures and support for survivors. It is particularly acute in the health and social care sector, resulting in
an estimated gender pay gap higher than the average for other sectors
Similarly, with the gender pay gap, data collection is uneven and not of the economy. It is a paradox that even in female-majority health
always comparable across countries, while several studies conclude professions, such as nursing, the small minority of male employees
that much of the gender pay gap is “unexplained” by observable often have a “glass escalator” to the top, reaching leadership positions
factors. Clearly, research is needed to explain the “unexplained” and faster than their female colleagues. Women in the health workforce
identify solutions to inequities in pay, which have serious lifelong are disadvantaged by being clustered into lower-status and lower-
impacts for women’s income, autonomy and well-being. paid (often unpaid) roles, and are further disadvantaged by horizontal

44
occupational segregation resulting from gender norms and stereotypes in decent work for the female health and social workforce will have
that brand some jobs in health more suitable for women (nursing) or a wider social and economic multiplier – a “triple gender dividend” –
men (surgery). Women are then triply disadvantaged by social gender comprising the following.
norms that attach lower social value to majority female professions and
thereby devalue the status and pay of those professions. • Health dividend. The millions of new jobs in health and social care
needed to meet growing demand, respond to demographic changes
Occupational segregation in the health sector is driven by gender and deliver universal health coverage by 2030 will be filled.
inequality and, in turn, is the foundation for other gender inequalities
identified in this report. Occupational segregation in the health • Gender equality dividend. Investment in women and the education
workforce drives the gender pay gap and also makes lower-status of girls to enter formal, paid work will increase gender equality and
female health workers, often on insecure contracts and less unionized women’s empowerment as women gain income, education and
than men, more vulnerable to sexual harassment, abuse and violence. autonomy. In turn, this is likely to improve family education, nutrition,
women and children’s health, and other aspects of development.
There is nothing inevitable about occupational segregation by gender
in the health workforce. Education and employment patterns in many • Development dividend. New jobs will be created, fuelling economic
countries have changed rapidly over the last 25 years with far more growth.
women entering medicine and, in some countries, now forming the
majority of medical students. Countries vary, for example, in the This triple gender dividend will improve the health and lives of people
percentage of men in nursing. Occupational segregation in health is not everywhere. The health and social care worker shortage is global, and
fixed over time or across countries and policy measures can be taken to addressing gender inequality in the health workforce is everybody’s
change it. In its next phase of work, the GEH will identify good practice business.
examples to see what lessons can be learned and transferred.

A second and related point is that, despite women being the majority
of the global health workforce, their role as drivers of health is often 7.3 Next steps
unacknowledged. Trends in applications for medical training show that
health as a profession continues to attract women and is likely to remain This literature review is the foundation for the next phase of the work
a major employer of women. The lack of acknowledgement of women’s of the Global Health Workforce Network GEH, which will use these
role, however, contributes to a lack of priority given to addressing findings, together with an analysis of best practices from within and
gender inequality in the health workforce. This has to change fast, with beyond the health and social sector, to inform gender-transformative
gender-transformative policies and measures put in place if global policy and action.
targets such as universal health coverage are to be achieved.
To advance this work, the GEH will develop advocacy and policy
Critical and also largely unacknowledged is the burden of unpaid toolkits to target key stakeholders, including WHO Member States, to
health and social care work typically done by women and girls caring integrate gender-transformative health and social workforce policies
for sick and disabled family and community members. Women also into their national health workforce plans.
perform (unpaid) voluntary roles in health promotion and service
delivery. This review has focused on findings from the formal labour The GEH will also bring together various actors at the national level
market and a priority going forward will be to gather evidence on the to design and evaluate gender-transformative health workforce
unpaid health and social care work that forms an insecure foundation policy interventions, with the aim of supporting implementation and
for the global health pyramid. Women’s unpaid work must be recorded measurement of context- and evidence-based policy options. This
and valued, with measures put in place to enable women and girls will provide a platform for policy-makers to collaborate with key
engaged in unpaid work to access education, training and the formal governmental partners and external experts.
labour market, where their work would be counted and paid.
Finally, the GEH will convene a review in 2019, midway through the
Finally, a key conclusion of this report is that gender inequality in Working for Health five-year action plan 2017–2021, supporting WHO,
the health and social workforce weakens health systems and health ILO and OECD to assess progress on the two action plan deliverables
delivery. However, an alternative, far more positive future scenario is on gender equality and, on the basis of that review, recommend steps
possible. Addressing gender inequalities in global health and investing to ensure the achievement of these deliverables by 2021.

45
 A literature review

Glossary

Bias is an inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair, that often results in
discrimination (5).

Decent work is defined by the ILO as “the aspirations of people in their working lives. It involves opportunities for work that is productive
and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social
integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of
opportunity and treatment for all women and men” (201).

Discrimination in employment and occupation includes practices that place individuals in a subordinate or disadvantaged position in the
workplace or labour market because of characteristics (race, religion, sex, political opinion, national extraction, social origin, or other attribute)
that bear no relation to the persons’ competencies or the inherent requirements of the job (5).

Feminization is the movement of women into traditionally male-dominated occupations (202).

Gender is a social construction reflecting the distribution of power between women and men, girls and boys and gender-diverse persons. This
distribution of power is influenced by history, laws, policies and politics, and by economic, cultural, community and family norms that shape the
behaviours, expectations, identities and attributes considered appropriate for all people – women and men, girls and boys, and gender-diverse
people. How an individual expresses their gender identity varies across context, time, and place, and throughout their life-course. Gender
interacts with, but is distinct from, the binary categories (male, female) of biological sex. When a person’s gender identity does not correspond
with their assigned sex, they may identify as transgender (2). Gender also intersects with, and is shaped by, other axes of inequality – age,
education, economic position and power, race, and ethnicity.

Gender blind refers to the failure to recognize that the roles and responsibilities of men and boys, and women and girls, are assigned to them
in specific social, cultural, economic, and political contexts and backgrounds. Projects, programmes, policies and attitudes that are gender blind
do not take into account these different roles and diverse needs. They maintain the status quo and will not help transform the unequal structure
of gender relations (203).

Gender discrimination describes any distinction, exclusion, or restriction made on the basis of socially constructed gender roles and norms that
prevents a person from enjoying full human rights. It can be direct or indirect, or overt or covert, and is associated with negative consequences
for the person who experiences it (5).

Gender equality in the health workforce describes a condition whereby men and women can enter the health occupation of their choice,
develop the requisite skills and knowledge, be fairly paid, enjoy fair and safe working environments, and advance in a career without reference
to gender. It implies that workplaces are structured to integrate family and work and to reflect the value of caregiving for men and women (204).

Gender equity is the process of being fair to all genders. To ensure fairness, measures must often be put in place to compensate for the
historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from operating on a level playing field. Equity is the process by which equality
can be achieved as an outcome (205).

46
Gender pay gap encompasses differences in men’s and women’s average earnings, which refer to (a) remuneration in cash or in kind paid to
an employee for the work done, together with remuneration for time not worked; (b) net earnings from self-employment; or (c) total earnings
from both employment and self-employment (125).

Gender-transformative policies and programming include policies and programmes that seek to transform gender relations to promote
equality and achieve programme objectives. This approach attempts to promote gender equality by (a) fostering critical examination of
inequalities and gender roles, norms, and dynamics; (b) recognizing and strengthening positive norms that support equality and an enabling
environment; (c) promoting the relative position of women, girls, and marginalized groups; and (d) transforming the underlying social structures,
policies, and broadly held social norms that perpetuate gender inequalities (206).

Health workforce is defined by WHO as “all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance health”, including those engaged
in direct care roles (such as physicians, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, and dentists), leaders, policy-makers, researchers, management and
support staff (such as ambulance drivers and accountants). This review focuses on direct care providers (207).

Horizontal segregation refers to differences in types of occupations and sectors in which men and women are concentrated. Greater numbers
of women, for example, are concentrated in low-paying, part-time and unpaid care or domestic work as compared to men (19).

Intersectionality is a feminist theory and analytical tool for understanding and responding to the ways in which gender intersects with other
identities to create new oppressions. The experiences of marginalization and privilege are defined not only by gender but also by other identity
factors such as race, class, age, religion and sexual orientation, all of which are determined, shaped by, and embedded in social systems of
power. Intersectional paradigms view such characteristics as race and class as mutually constructed systems of power that require special
measures to reach women who face multiple forms of discrimination (191).

Non-binary, also referred to as genderqueer, is a category for gender identities that do not conform to the gender binary of masculine or
feminine. Non-binary people may express a combination of masculinity and femininity, or neither, in their gender expression. Those who
incorporate aspects of both male and female may identify as “androgynous”, “mixed gender” or “pangender”, while those who move between
genders in a fluid way may identify as “bigender”, “gender fluid” or “pangender”. Some people who move between two or more than two
genders identify as “trigender” or “pangender”. Some people identify with an additional gender, known as “third gender”, “other gender”
or sometimes “pangender”. Note that “pangender” is a flexible term. People with no gender identify as “agender”, “gender neutral”, “non-
gendered”, “genderless”, “neuter”, or “neutrois” (208).

Occupational downgrading is a phenomenon “where women choose employment below their skills level and accept poorer working
conditions” (29).

Occupational segregation is the distribution of workers across and within occupations (24).

Occupational gender segregation is the difference in the types of jobs men and women enter (19).

Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favours, whether verbal, physical, or visual. These behaviours
are illegal if the submission to such behaviours is made a condition for employment or a decision affecting the individual, or has the purpose of
interfering with an individual’s performance (209).

Substantive equality is a principle that considers the effects of past discrimination, recognizes that rights, entitlements, opportunities and
access are not equally distributed throughout society, and accepts the need to sometimes treat people differently to achieve equal results.
It allows for differential treatment to level the playing field for women, particularly where structures of dominance and subordination are
embedded in the baseline of opportunity (191).

47
 A literature review

Tokenism refers to a phenomenon whereby an organization includes a representative from a minority or disadvantaged social group in an
activity or position only in order to give an appearance of fairness and inclusion. It may be said to occur in the workplace when one group
represents less than 15% of an organization. The members of that group may be subject to predictable forms of discrimination (210).

Toxic masculinity refers to stereotypical masculine behaviours associated with the male gender. It includes the social expectation for men to
act in a dominant or “alpha male” manner. These expectations restrict men and boys from expressing their emotions or being affectionate, and
limit their emotional range to such negative expressions as anger (211). Toxic masculinity also leads men and boys to engage in higher-risk
behaviours such as use of alcohol or tobacco, violence, and aggressive driving (212). This is also related to the concept (introduced by R.W.
Connell) of “hegemonic masculinity” – an attitude that legitimizes men’s dominance over women and other gender identities that are perceived
to be feminine in a given society (213).

Unpaid care work refers to all unpaid services provided within a household for its members, including care of persons, housework and
voluntary community work (29). These activities are considered work because theoretically one could pay a third person to perform them.
“Unpaid” indicates that the individual performing the activity is not remunerated. “Care” refers to the activity that provides what is necessary for
the health, well-being, maintenance, and protection of someone or something. “Work” refers to an activity that involves mental or physical effort
and is costly in terms of time resources (29). This includes services provided by community health workers that are unpaid or on a voluntary
basis.

Vertical segregation refers to the concentration of men and women in different positions of power, leadership and decision-making, for
example, men dominating leadership positions and political life compared to women (19).

Women’s rights. The Beijing Platform for Action, in paragraph 2 of its mission statement, states: “The Platform for Action reaffirms the
fundamental principle … that the human rights of women and of the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human
rights. As an agenda for action, the Platform seeks to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and the fundamental freedoms
of all women throughout their life cycle” (214).

Workplace violence includes physical assault, verbal abuse, sexual or racial harassment, bullying or mobbing (5).

48
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Annex 1. Membership of the Gender Equity Hub in
the Global Health Workforce Network

Co-Chairs:
Women in Global Health
World Health Organization

Organizational members:
Canadian Institute for Health Information
Canadian Health Human Resources Network
Chemonics/HRH2030
DAI Global, LLC
The George Institute for Global Health
Global Association of Student and Novice Nurses (GASNN)
Frontline Health Workers’ Coalition (FHWC)
International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)
International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA)
IntraHealth International
Jhpiego
The Net Community
Public Services International (PSI)
Research in Gender Ethics (RinGs)
Save the Children
Wemos
Women Deliver

59
 A literature review

Annex 2. Literature matrix

GENDER EQULTY EVIDENCE MAPPING EXTRACTION TOOL

SR# Submission
Lessons Learned
Policy/Implications (how will the study/initiative
findings or outcomes be used in the
Limitations

Strengths

Key Results/Findings

Methods of Analysis

Input Variable(s)

Output Variable

Research Design
A) Qualitative
B) Quantitative
C) Mixed Methods

Interventions
Study Participants
A) Students in education and training
B) Graduations and early
Context

Reasearch/Program Objectives
Research Area
A) Leadership
B) Gender
C) Decent work/harassment/violence
Study Title

Year Published

2. Co-authors

1. Lead author

Type of submission

Insert your name as a reviwer

60
 Health Workforce Department
World Health Organization
20 Avenue Appia
CH1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland
www.who.int/hrh

ISBN 978-92-4-151546-7