Healers With No Voices
Each day, across the whole world, several/ many women get ready, put their lives on the line, make the effort to step inside clinics, hospitals and communities where they care for the children, the sick, the vulnerable and re-shape their futures through constant care and protection, unfortunately, these very same women are rarely given the voice and the recognition they truly deserve.
This is evident in the 2021 report from the World Health Organization, which states that women make up 70% of the global health and social workforce but are in only 25% of senior leadership roles. How come the majority of the hands that heal only have a little to no power to voice out when critical health decisions are to be made? This is not only a problem of gender inequality but also of compassion to the people, because the healthcare system could never progress and truly grow when it silences the voices of the majority of its strength.
The Numbers Never Lie
Setting aside the majority of a system’s strength and backbone does not mean these women are incapable and weak, because if they are, they wouldn’t be able to secure 70% of the global health and social workforce. It only shows that the system wants them there, but is not ready for them to lead. The very same system that these women pour their hearts and put their lives into is the same system that is selfish enough to keep them but not give them the position to grow.
A system that ignores the hands that save lives will never wake up to a world where everyone is healed.
A Backbone Half Healed, A World Half Healed
As the saying goes, “every decision has its consequences,” and the healthcare system is no exception. Excluding women who serve as the backbone of the system has its own cost; a published research study discusses how the underrepresentation of women in healthcare leadership affects the overall growth of the system. This imbalance doesn’t mean that women are incapable, but because the doors of opportunity were never fully open for them to enter. As a matter of fact, it was evidently stated that women are more likely to respond to community concerns, prioritize children, women and marginalized groups showing their empathy especially towards the most vulnerable groups of society, it was also shown in a study about women-led countries that they have a better understanding and approach on the COVID-19 pandemic situation which evidently gives light to how women are capable of leading and they rock on being one.
When Women are Heard, Changes are Seen
When the door of opportunity hands the key to women, changes will be visibly seen. Empathy and Inclusion will come hand in hand in every place where they lead. A Global Dialogue on women leading evidently states that women are more likely to prioritize well-being and peace processes, and companies where women lead make more money and have little to no turnovers, stating the elephant in the room that when they lead in economies, those very same economies grow and glow alongside their leader.
When women are given equal ground to voice out, lead, and perform in higher positions, the workplace moves into a collaborative space, where people are heard and led with understanding rather than authority, where all decisions are made for humanity’s betterment. Every time a woman is given the chance to lead, she doesn’t just do it for herself, but she opens a path for everyone to follow.
The studies above show that the strength and wisdom to sit in leadership positions know no gender, but by opportunity. The next step is to build a system that focuses on the betterment of humanity and breaking stereotypes, rather than sticking to the old prophecy that women are made to be saved and not be the savior.
Beyond Gender: Healing Without Limits
Imagine you are a parent, a sibling, a partner, or someone who hopes for the betterment of the future and what you want your bloodline to experience. Do you want them to live in a world where there is no equality? Where your daughter, your mother, your sister, your wife, or some woman you care about still doesn’t have the opportunity to voice their opinion, to share their expertise, and to lead.
Systems not just in the health sector should not base the capability to do something on old expectations, but on their willingness to do something great, their integrity, their empathy, and their openness to understand what humanity needs. When decisions are made not because of your gender but by capability, the actions are collaborative, the ideas are brighter, and the outcomes are well-being-centered
A future where everyone has equal access to opportunities is a future where everyone can fully live in their best potential.
Equality is a Future for All
The movement toward gender equality is not about who is better gender but a call to stand together. No gender is above another, as women and women were never born to lead in opposition, but were born to work side by side with each other. This movement is not meant to make women lead and devalue men, but to create a balance and work in collaboration.
Building an equal future creates a world where empathy meets authority, compassion meets accountability, and support with courage. Equality is not about replacing and devaluing one voice with another, but it is about giving our children a system that does not leave anyone behind.
