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Washington, DC, March 8, 2024 (PAHO) – Although women make up 70% of workers in the health and care sector worldwide, only 25% occupy leadership positions. At an event to mark International Women’s Day, the Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Jarbas Barbosa, called for supporting female leadership while strengthening the health workforce after the negative impacts of the COVID pandemic. . -19.
“We cannot achieve universal health or achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without health equity and gender equality in the health sector,” said Dr. Barbosa during the high-level dialogue “Women’s leadership in the regional health and resilience agenda”, organized by the Inter-American Task Force on Women’s Leadershipwith the support of the Government of Canada and under the coordination of the Inter-American Commission of Women of the Organization of American States (CIM/OAS).
During his speech at the OAS headquarters, the PAHO Director highlighted the challenging barriers that health workers face, which impacts their economic and social well-being and that of their communities. Dr. Barbosa asked to guarantee female representation in decision-making spaces, emphasizing the importance of listening to their voices. “We must build more equitable, gender-equal, resilient and sustainable societies,” which means “investing in women and their leadership,” he stressed.
United Nations analysis Gender and equity of the global health and social workforce conducted by WHO reveals that leadership differences between men and women are the result of stereotypes, discrimination, power imbalance and privilege. Furthermore, their disadvantages multiply when intertwined with factors such as race and social class. Women hold lower-status positions and receive lower salaries compared to men in the healthcare sector. This gender pay gap, which reaches 26%, is higher than in other sectors.
PAHO is one of ten United Nations organizations where women make up more than 50% of its workforce. Furthermore, equity and gender equality are fundamental values of the Organization, integrated into all policies, programs and technical cooperation.
“At PAHO, we are committed to investing in women and firmly believe that incorporating the voices and perspectives of women and girls in decision-making is essential to building resilient health systems, something that will positively impact health and well-being. development,” he noted.
The Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, highlighted the Organization’s historical commitment to gender equality, manifested in its conventions and the Inter-American Democratic Charter. She highlighted the pioneering role of the OAS in promoting gender equality in the Americas for almost 100 years, through the Inter-American Commission on Women, and mentioned the regulatory framework built by the OAS on women’s rights, that has contributed to the regional vanguard on issues such as parity in electoral processes and greater female representation in spheres of power.
However, we recognize that gender inequalities persist in various areas, including the right to health, especially evident during the pandemic. Almagro highlighted the need to “adopt transformative approaches” to modify “the social structures and norms that perpetuate gender discrimination.”
For her part, Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, Deputy Director of PAHO, participated in the panel Women’s participation and leadership in the regional health agenda: Opportunities and challenges. She highlighted the Organization’s commitment to increasing the representation of women in leadership positions within PAHO and to ensuring that women in the region can lead productive lives and reach their full potential.
In that sense, he highlighted the Health workforce policy 2030, which seeks to incorporate a gender perspective into labor policies in the health sector. Regarding women’s access to health services, Dr. Sealey-Thomas mentioned PAHO’s cervical cancer elimination program, and emphasized the importance of improving access to HPV testing and vaccines. “Through PAHO, countries can improve access to essential tools that can save women’s lives and give them the opportunity to live productive lives so they can assume leadership positions,” she noted.
The event also featured the participation of Alejandra Mora Mora, Executive Secretary of the CIM/OAS; Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director of Women in Global Health, and virtually with Christine Harmston, Director General of the Office of International Affairs of the Health Portfolio of the Public Health Agency of Canada, along with other authorities and prominent representatives of the sector health at the regional level.
The Inter-American Task Force on Women’s Leadership is a platform made up of twelve international organizations committed to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women through greater cooperation and synergies between institutions. The following are part of the Task Force: CIM/OAS, IACHR, ECLAC, PAHO/WHO, ParlAmericas, UNDP, UN Women, CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), International IDEA, CIWiL and CLADEM.
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