Explore studies and perspectives on leadership challenges, traits, and opportunities for women in medicine.
Forbes: Women Leaders in Medicine
Outlines strategies to grow the number of women leaders in healthcare.
Misconceptions About Women in Leadership
Provides data on women’s representation in healthcare leadership.
Representation of Women in the Healthcare Structure
Provides data on women’s representation in healthcare leadership.
Advancing Women in Healthcare Leadership
Lancet article on systemic changes needed for equity in leadership.
Gender Differences in Experiences of ED Leadership
Compares how male and female ED chairs experience leadership roles.
feminem
From Clinician to Leader | FemInEM RAFT Module 3
An evidence-based framework for developing your leadership in emergency medicine.
AMA Podcast: Women Leaders in Medicine
A podcast offering three paths to physician success.
Advancing Women to Leadership Positions Through Individual Actions and Institutional Reform:
A case-based guide offering individual strategies and institution level solutions for advancing women leaders in medicine.
8 Ways You Can Improve Your Communication Skills
Effective communication is a critical skill for all leaders. These 8 tips can help improve your communication habits in the workplace.
Breaking Through Bias
Communication techniques to overcome workplace bias.
Your Voice & Your Value: Lessons for the Speaking Circuit
With decades of speaking experience, two clinician-educators share practical guidance on finding your voice, refining your message, and owning your worth—so you can show up with clarity and confidence.
Women at Work: Make Yourself Heard
In this special episode, HBR IdeaCast host Sarah Green Carmichael introduces Harvard Business Review’s new podcast “Women at Work,” about women’s experiences in the workplace.
Reflection Activities
The resources above offer research and perspectives on what leadership looks like for women in medicine, and the barriers that can get in the way. These activities help you apply that to your own experience and will help you reflect on where you are now, what has shaped your path, and what you want to do next.
Baseline Assessment
Take the Daring Leadership Assessment (Brené Brown) and reflect on your results. Did the assessment align with how you currently see yourself as a leader, and did it highlight any strengths or growth areas you had not fully considered?
Review the domains emphasized in the assessment. Which area do you identify with most strongly? Which ones do you feel needs the most development in your current academic or clinical role?
Personal Impact & Professional Growth
TReflect on your experiences with leadership so far. When have you felt most empowered to lead, and when have self doubt, bias, or external expectations made it harder for you to step into leadership roles?
Identify one specific action you will take this week to strengthen your leadership development, such as speaking up in a group setting, taking initiative on a task, mentoring someone, or advocating for yourself.
Looking back on your academic or professional journey, which barriers to leadership have resonated most with your experience, such as lack of confidence, limited mentorship, gender bias, work life balance challenges, or difficulty being recognized as a leader?