Ladies, It's Time To Demand What's Rightfully Yours

One of the biggest issues in business is the inequality between women and men, both in how they are represented in business, and how much they are paid. When it comes to the healthcare industry, there are currently more women in medical schools than there are men, which means in the years to come women will be a force of nature in healthcare. However, this refers to doctors and not female leaders, and that’s a problem. Women are severely under-represented in academic roles and medical leadership roles. 

This is caused by three separate barriers: personal expectations that women have of leadership roles, the culture and the balance with work and life. Here’s a secret: women make fantastic leaders.​​

​By nature, women are able to organise and improve performance and efficiency of those around them. The trouble is that getting to the top in the healthcare field is about far more than knowing that you can get value medical carts here or knowing how many male and female nurses are in the facility that you work in. Women need to do more to demand what they know they are capable of. Instead of being in your career and being blocked by others who have already made it to the top, you need to dispel the preconceived notions that women are incapable of running a complex healthcare facility. Women in leadership across all industries find it very hard to be able to assert their authority and be taken seriously. Having high career aspirations as a woman is often met with laughter or disdain; we may be in 2018, but some people continue to dig their heels in about what is right and what is wrong.

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The truth is women are just as capable of leading a medical facility as men. Women make up a majority of the workforce in healthcare, but only nineteen percent of women are in CEO positions. It may be tough, to find a balance between having a stellar technical ability and list of achievements with matching the expectations of what a female leader is perceived to be. However, it’s this balance that has to be achieved to be taken seriously and promoted ahead. Instead of being looked over for every leadership role out there that you are interested in, stop waiting for people to notice you and take it upon yourself to be noticed. It’s time to stop accepting being brushed over and demand something better.

Speak to your management teams and mentors about what you could be doing to be noticed as a good leader, and then put those things into place. Go above and beyond for yourself and  be direct about what you want. Ask for those promotions and ask to be included in leadership courses and meetings. If you don’t ask, you don’t get and it’s better to ask and be told to wait than watch from the side lines and never progress in your career. Do more for yourself and you be the leader you were meant to be.

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By Iconic Chica Mag Contributors