Introduction
Women in Global Health is a women-led, chapter-driven global movement working to advance gender equity, strengthen women’s leadership and transform power structures across health systems worldwide.
History and Background
Women in Global Health was founded in 2015 by four early-career women: Dr Roopa Dhatt, Caity Jackson, Kris Ronsin and Dr Désirée Lichtenstein.
The founders connected online through a shared concern that women represented a large proportion of the global health workforce but remained significantly underrepresented in senior leadership and decision-making positions.
The initiative began without institutional funding and was initially sustained entirely by volunteers. From 2015 to 2019, its members built an international network through digital advocacy, professional collaboration and grassroots organizing.
From 2020, Women in Global Health began transitioning from a volunteer-led initiative into a more sustainable global organization with professional staff, formal governance and an expanding chapter network.
In 2022, the organization entered official relations with the World Health Organization. In 2026, the WHO Executive Board renewed its status as a Non-State Actor in official relations with WHO.
Women in Global Health currently reports 65 chapters across 60 countries, a network of more than 6,000 women and over 100,000 supporters worldwide.
Mission and Purpose
Women in Global Health works to create a world in which women delivering health services are equally valued, protected, represented and empowered to lead.
The organization challenges power and privilege within health systems and promotes structural reforms in leadership, governance, workforce policies, financing and innovation.
Its work seeks to ensure that women have equitable access to leadership positions, fair compensation, safe and dignified working conditions and meaningful participation in decisions affecting health systems.
Women in Global Health also works to connect grassroots experiences with national and international policymaking. Nurses, midwives, doctors, pharmacists, researchers, community health workers, public health professionals and other women in health contribute to its priorities.
Its focus areas include women’s leadership, gender-equitable health governance, health-workforce justice, Universal Health Coverage, pandemic preparedness and response, climate and health, research, digital health and artificial intelligence.
Governance and Structure
Women in Global Health is registered in the United States as a Section 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
A Board of Directors provides governance, financial oversight and strategic direction. The Board is responsible for ensuring that the organization fulfills its mission and maintains appropriate fiscal and operational standards.
The Board is composed of women leaders connected to the organization’s global movement and chapter network. Emilia Caro serves as Board Chair, while Dr Annick Sidibe serves as Treasurer.
A Global Chapters Steering Committee provides strategic guidance representing the different regions covered by the movement.
The committee advises on resource mobilization, policy and advocacy, movement building, member engagement, learning and impact. Its structure helps ensure that chapter perspectives inform global organizational decisions.
The global secretariat works alongside national and regional chapters. This decentralized model allows women working within different health systems to define priorities according to their own political, cultural and institutional contexts.
Funding and Grants
Women in Global Health is funded through charitable donations, institutional grants, partnerships and contributions from organizations and individuals supporting gender equity and global health.
Volunteer leadership continues to play an important role, particularly within its national and regional chapters. The organization has stated that significant parts of its movement-building work remain underfunded.
Its resource-mobilization strategy seeks to diversify income, reduce dependency on a limited number of funding sources and strengthen long-term financial resilience.
Donors and institutional partners can support leadership development, advocacy, chapter activities, research, storytelling, policy engagement and the participation of women in major global health forums.
Women in Global Health is primarily an advocacy, movement-building and leadership organization rather than a general grantmaking foundation. It does not advertise a regular open grant program through which unrelated NGOs can apply for unrestricted funding.
Funding opportunities connected to particular partnerships, chapter activities or initiatives may occasionally become available. Interested organizations should monitor official announcements and avoid submitting unsolicited grant proposals unless an application process has been published.
Global Chapter Network
Women in Global Health’s chapters are central to its organizational model.
The network includes 65 chapters operating across 60 countries. Chapters bring the lived experiences of women in local health systems into national, regional and international policy discussions.
Each chapter works within its own context while remaining connected to the wider global movement. Activities may include research, leadership training, public campaigns, policy advocacy, professional networking and engagement with governments.
The chapter structure allows nurses, doctors, midwives, researchers, community health workers and other professionals to organize around shared barriers affecting women in health.
Women interested in creating a chapter can review the organization’s chapter-interest guidance. Establishing a chapter involves building a committed leadership team and demonstrating alignment with the movement’s mission and principles.
Leadership Development
Women in Global Health develops women’s leadership capacity through training, mentoring, professional visibility and collective action.
Training may cover feminist and intersectional leadership, strategic communication, public speaking, policy advocacy, media engagement and ethical storytelling.
The organization helps women understand and navigate formal and informal power structures within health institutions.
It also creates opportunities for women to present their expertise at conferences, policy meetings and international forums where health priorities are debated.
Leadership development is designed to benefit women at different stages of their careers, including emerging professionals, established practitioners, researchers and senior decision-makers.
Policy Advocacy
Women in Global Health advocates for structural reform across health governance, financing, workforce policy and innovation.
Its advocacy calls for women’s equal participation in leadership and decision-making at institutional, national and international levels.
The organization promotes gender-responsive health policies that recognize how inequalities in pay, safety, career advancement and unpaid care responsibilities affect women health workers.
It also pushes governments and global institutions to establish clear targets, financing commitments and accountability mechanisms for gender equity.
Women in Global Health participates in major policy spaces, including the World Health Assembly, United Nations General Assembly, climate conferences and G7 and G20 discussions.
Gender Equal Health and Care Workforce Initiative
The Gender Equal Health and Care Workforce Initiative was launched in 2021 and is co-led by the Government of France and Women in Global Health.
The initiative promotes gender equity across the global health and care workforce.
It encourages governments and organizations to make commitments addressing leadership inequality, occupational segregation, unsafe working conditions, discrimination and unequal pay.
The initiative recognizes that women make up much of the health and care workforce but frequently hold lower-status, lower-paid and less secure positions.
By connecting governments, international institutions and civil society, the program seeks to translate commitments into measurable institutional and policy reforms.
Universal Health Coverage and Pandemic Preparedness
Women in Global Health works to integrate gender into Universal Health Coverage and Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.
Its long-term objective is for countries to incorporate gender equity systematically into national health security and Universal Health Coverage decision-making by 2030.
The organization argues that women health workers must participate meaningfully in the development of pandemic policies because they deliver much of the frontline care during health emergencies.
Its work also highlights the importance of safe workplaces, adequate protective equipment, fair compensation and protection from violence and harassment.
Gender-responsive pandemic preparedness can strengthen health-system resilience by ensuring that policies reflect the experiences of the workers responsible for implementing them.
Research and Evidence
Women in Global Health produces policy reports, research and advocacy materials concerning women’s leadership, gender equity and health-workforce conditions.
Its research examines the representation of women in senior leadership roles, the gender composition of delegations and decision-making bodies, and barriers preventing women from advancing professionally.
Country-level research conducted through chapters helps connect global analysis with the experiences of women working in particular health systems.
The organization translates this evidence into policy recommendations for governments, multilateral institutions, donors and health-sector employers.
Research findings also support campaigns calling for fair pay, safe working environments, equal leadership opportunities and stronger accountability.
Visibility and Ethical Storytelling
Women in Global Health creates platforms through which women can share their expertise, professional experiences and leadership journeys.
Its ethical storytelling approach seeks to represent women as experts and decision-makers rather than only as beneficiaries or frontline workers.
Chapter stories highlight women addressing challenges in clinical care, public health, research, humanitarian response, health technology and community advocacy.
Greater visibility can help women gain professional recognition, influence policy and challenge stereotypes about who is qualified to lead health institutions.
The organization also campaigns against all-male panels and decision-making spaces that exclude the perspectives of women.
Partnerships and Global Engagement
Women in Global Health works with governments, international organizations, academic institutions, foundations, civil society groups and private-sector partners.
Its official relationship with the World Health Organization provides an important channel for engagement with international health policy processes.
Partnerships help the organization conduct research, deliver leadership programs, strengthen chapters and bring women’s perspectives into global decision-making spaces.
The organization also engages with donors interested in supporting gender-transformative health systems and women-led change.
Prospective partners can contact Women in Global Health to discuss financial support, collaborative advocacy and program partnerships.
Impact and Examples of Work Supported
Women in Global Health has developed from a small online initiative into a movement operating through 65 chapters across 60 countries.
Its network has increased the visibility of women health professionals and connected grassroots leaders with global policy forums.
The organization has helped place gender equity in health leadership more prominently on the international policy agenda.
Its reports have documented inequalities in leadership, compensation, working conditions and representation within global health.
Leadership programs have equipped women with advocacy, communication and policy skills, while chapter activities have enabled members to influence national and regional health discussions.
The Gender Equal Health and Care Workforce Initiative has encouraged governments and institutions to make public commitments to improving gender equality within the health workforce.
Women in Global Health’s presence at the World Health Assembly, UN meetings, climate conferences and other international platforms has helped ensure that women health workers contribute directly to decisions affecting their professions and communities.
Why Women in Global Health Matters
Women deliver a substantial proportion of health and care services worldwide but remain underrepresented in senior leadership and policymaking.
This imbalance affects workforce conditions and the quality, inclusiveness and effectiveness of health policies.
Women in Global Health addresses this problem by combining local organizing, leadership development, research and global advocacy.
Its chapter-driven model allows women closest to health-system challenges to influence solutions rather than having priorities determined only by centralized international institutions.
Advancing women’s leadership can strengthen health systems, improve institutional accountability and contribute to more equitable health outcomes.
Conclusion
Women in Global Health is a global movement advancing gender equity, women’s leadership and health-workforce justice.
Through its chapter network, policy advocacy, leadership development, research, ethical storytelling and international partnerships, the organization connects women working in health with decision-making spaces at every level.
Organizations and donors can support Women in Global Health through partnerships and financial contributions. However, prospective applicants should note that it is not a general grantmaking foundation and does not maintain a regular open funding program for unrelated NGOs.
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