Tomorrow, March 1, marks the beginning of Women’s History Month, 2022. The theme for this year is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.” At Loyal, we’re pretty excited to have the opportunity to talk to the women in healthcare we’re privileged to work and partner with about their experiences doing the work of healthcare.
“Women have long advocated for compassionate treatments and new directions in public health and in women’s mental and physical health. Women have also historically led the way in mending divisions, healing wounds, and finding peaceful solutions. This timeless work, in so many ways and in addition to so many other tasks, has helped countless individuals in our communities recover and follow their dreams.” National Women’s History Alliance
Women make up over 60% of employees entering the healthcare industry, according to McKinsey, and women hold 76% of all healthcare jobs according to the US Census. Yes, anyone in the healthcare industry can tell you what a challenge COVID-19 added to their world, but statistically, women have predominantly been the biggest group rising to meet that challenge.
For the next month, Loyal will focus on Women’s History Month, telling stories of women who are providing healing and promoting hope today, and who have done so in the past. Healthcare is a service that so many women choose, in so many ways. We want to honor those who are doing their part today, and have done their part in the past – not just as healthcare professionals, but as women paving the way for other women.
Linda Ho, Executive Director, Marketing Innovation, Technology & Operations at UCLA Health, explains that it’s not just the women on the front lines – women in administrative roles are also doing their part to provide healing and promote hope in healthcare. “I work in healthcare [at UCLA] to do my part to give back to our community. We want to help people find the information they’re looking for, the information they need to get healthy and to help their families and friends get healthy, and we want them to be able to find it quickly and easily. Everyone should have equal access to healthcare information.”
Information access has always been part of what healthcare provides, and for women, access to healthcare education was next to impossible prior to 1849. In that year, Elizabeth Blackwell, MD, became the first woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. Besides blazing a path for women to work in healthcare as physicians, she also opened an infirmary in New York City for Women and Children in 1857, “…with a mission to provide positions for women physicians.”
Women in healthcare are a huge part of our country’s history, and continue to make headlines with incredible achievements, including technological advances that give everyone equal access to the healthcare they need.
Read more on our blog!
