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Promoting Women’s Development in Digital Health

June 27, 2022 por Reina Irene Mejía Chacón Leave a Comment


Globally, women make up 70% of the workforce in the health and social care sector. However, only 25% of women occupy leadership positions. In addition, the gender pay gap in the healthcare sector is 26%, higher than the average for other sectors (16%). It is estimated that almost $160 trillion is lost globally due to gender differences in earnings between men and women. 

According to an IDB study, women account for 60% of graduates from tertiary and university programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. In spite of that, they represent only 30% of graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). This reveals their low propensity to choose high-productivity careers and, consequently, better-paid sectors.

The same study pointed out that public visibility of female role models in leadership positions or in male-dominated careers and sectors helps to reduce gender stereotypes and encourages women’s inclination toward those careers or sectors.

Women Champions in Digital Health

If I tell you about a scientist without mentioning a name, do you picture the person as a man or as a woman? Let’s try. What does an expert in digital health look like in your mind? The “draw a scientist” experiment and other similar studies showed that many people drew a man instead of a woman as a scientist.

As a counterpoint to that experiment, in our Social Digital platform, we highlight the stories and achievements of thirty-eight women who have been selected to celebrate their leadership in digital health in Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, we asked them about the main obstacles they find in their fields. The following are some of their answers.

  • According to the champions, gender imbalance or male predominance in the field is the hardest part of being a woman working in digital health. Additionally, old stigmas and prejudices which still weigh over women hinder their work in the field. Maintaining a work-life balance has been another challenge for women in other sectors.
  • More than half of the respondents emphasized the importance of increasing educational opportunities for women. In the same way, having inspiring figures and role models can help attract more women to the field of digital health. They also pointed out that it would be beneficial to enhance women’s work environments and create support networks.
  • Some women mentioned that the most challenging part is to shatter the stigmas and prejudices that come from the past and which, unfortunately, still persist to some extent. They also mentioned that it is still difficult to overcome the barriers that usually place a man as a reference in technology. 
  • For other women, the most challenging thing is reconciling the multiple tasks that are still the responsibility of women in our society: taking care of children, the elderly, and the home; supporting children’s schooling and ensuring the family’s emotional stability. In addition, there are still important gaps in the development of co-responsibility in families, flexibility on the part of employers, and public policies. 
  • Another critical issue is that, as programs in digital health are represented mostly by men, women, and especially young women, are not taken with sufficient seriousness when addressing the issue of the potential of digital transformation in public health.
Watch our latest webinar with Women Champions in Digital Health

5 Tips to Reduce the Bias Against Women in Digital Technology

Jobs in digital technologies, and even more so in leadership positions, are mostly filled by men. This is closely linked to conservative educational processes which, even to this day, reproduce the division of “jobs for men” and “jobs for women”. Talking about inclusion and gender equality, especially in the business sectors of some countries, continues to be hardly accepted and even stigmatized.

But what can be done to change the bias against women in digital technology? Here are five tips in the words of the women champions:

  1. “The first step is training. We need to get more women involved with new technologies. As women, we need to be fearless and free ourselves from all prejudices.” 
  2. “As women, we should make an intentional effort to make our peers feel welcome and included in the field. We need to celebrate women leaders in STEM, and fight against unconscious biases in language when hiring.” 
  3. “Promoting digital transformation in education at all levels, creating inclusive digital skills, and stimulating training spaces for entrepreneurship and innovation for girls and young women.” 
  4. “Working through networks and communities where women can exchange experiences, knowledge, and opportunities in the field creates sorority and collective empathy, thus enabling that more women join the field.” 
  5. “Creating inclusive support networks in the industry through programs to motivate women to join. This field needs more women, and the type of profession cannot be a limit: managers, directors, finance specialists, lawyers, coders (key!), and accountants.  

It is within us to know more about how to reduce biases against women in any field of development and to give visibility to women who have been able to bring down the barriers they faced and become an inspiration for others.

If you want to learn more about the thirty women champion, visit this website or watch the full recording of the webinar here.


Filed Under: Digital Transformation Tagged With: Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, BID, BID, digital health, digital transformation, health, Salud, women

Reina Irene Mejía Chacón

Executive Vice President, Inter-American Development Bank. Ms. Mejia is the Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the IDB and under the direction of the Board of Executive Directors and the President of the Bank, is responsible for the operation of the Bank and provides day-to-day management oversight of, and direction to, the Vice Presidents and all other senior staff. Ms. Mejia also oversees the quality control and risk management of all Bank operations and serves as chair of Management committees responsible for the Bank’s operational activities. She advises the President on key corporate planning issues and on the selection of the Vice Presidents and senior staff and is responsible for the implementation of any business and strategic plans. Prior to joining the IDB, she spent nearly 25 years at Citibank Honduras, serving as CEO and Corporate and Investment Bank Head since 2013. She also served as President of the Boards of Citi Crédito and Citi Inmobiliaria, and as Secretary of the Board of Banco de Honduras, since 2014. In 2017, she became Secretary of the Board of Grupo Financiero Citibank Costa Rica. Among several roles prior to her appointment as CEO, Ms. Mejía served as Institutional Clients Group Director for Honduras and Nicaragua as well as Corporate Business and Public Sector Head. During her tenure at Citibank, she was a central actor in all major corporate transactions, supporting all clients. Ms. Mejía also served as President of the Honduran American Chamber of Commerce and Vice President of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean (AACCLA) in the years before joining the IDB. Among positions in her early career, she was General Manager of FUNDES Honduras, a consultancy firm specializing in the development of MSMEs. In addition, Ms. Mejía has held Board positions or senior roles at several other financial and educational institutions in Honduras and has been active in a range of women’s business-leadership initiatives. She also founded and worked for more than a decade as treasurer of the Honduras chapter of Operation Smile, which has helped more than 5,000 children by providing surgeries to correct cleft lip and palate. Strategy and Business magazine named Ms. Mejía one of the most influential women in the region in 2017, 2018 and 2019, as did Forbes Central America in 2018. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA from Southern Illinois University.

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Latin American and Caribbean countries face multiple challenges to provide quality healthcare for their citizens. In this blog, IDB Specialists and international experts discuss current health issues and hope to build a dynamic dialogue through your comments.

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