Women Leadership in Healthcare

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Professor

Date
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TABLE OF CONTENT

TABLE OF CONTENT..................................................................................................................ii
DEDICATION................................................................................................................................iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...............................................................................................................v
ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................................vi
Chapter 1: The problem................................................................................................................1
Introduction to the problem..........................................................................................................1
Background of the Study..............................................................................................................4
Problem Statement.......................................................................................................................6
Purpose.........................................................................................................................................8
Importance of the Study...............................................................................................................8
Research Questions......................................................................................................................9
Operational Definitions..............................................................................................................10
Limitations and Delimitations....................................................................................................11
Assumptions of the Study..........................................................................................................11
Summary....................................................................................................................................12
Chapter 2: Literature Review.....................................................................................................13
Introduction and Organization of the Chapter...........................................................................13
The Journey of Women in the United States Workforce...........................................................13
Gender Overview.......................................................................................................................16
Leadership characteristics..........................................................................................................17
Closing The Gender Gap in Healthcare Leadership..................................................................21
Advantages of having women in leadership positions...............................................................23
Theoretical Framework..............................................................................................................25
Summary....................................................................................................................................27
Chapter 3: Methodology.............................................................................................................29
Research Questions....................................................................................................................29
Research Design and Sources of Data.......................................................................................30
Research Population...................................................................................................................30
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Sampling Plan............................................................................................................................31
Data Collection Strategies: Individual Interviews.....................................................................32
Data Collection Procedures........................................................................................................32
Study Validity and Reliability....................................................................................................32
Ethical Considerations...............................................................................................................33
Human Subject Considerations..................................................................................................34
Data Analysis Procedures..........................................................................................................35
Summary....................................................................................................................................35
Chapter 4: Findings.....................................................................................................................37
Demographics of Participants....................................................................................................38
Geography and Ethnicity...........................................................................................................39
Analysis of Findings..................................................................................................................40
Leadership Strengths and Style..................................................................................................44
Summary....................................................................................................................................46
Chapter Five: Study Discussion and Conclusions....................................................................47
Data Source and Delimitation....................................................................................................47
Findings......................................................................................................................................48
Recommendations......................................................................................................................49
Conclusions................................................................................................................................49
Summary....................................................................................................................................50
References.....................................................................................................................................52
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DEDICATION
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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ABSTRACT

The need for increased diversity and leadership is a protuberant subject in today’s

healthcare services. This research project reviews women in executive healthcare leadership.

Despite data showing how women in leadership roles are increasing, women are

underrepresented in the top seats in healthcare leadership. Gender inequality is an existing

hindrance to women's success in achieving leadership in healthcare. However, women exhibit

leverage traits like transparency, compassion, and they can foster teamwork to lead organizations

to the next level of better healthcare delivery. Differences in salaries dominate in the healthcare

industry despite all genders having the same attainment of experience and age. Yet with all the

awareness of the prevailing problems in the healthcare industry, there is still a lack of proper

policy recommendations. Many women in the healthcare system struggle to reach the executive

office, lack guidance and support, face a glass ceiling and have competing priorities. Along with

the challenges of quality, ageing population, and cost, it is time to have a more policy-focused

approach and thoughtful ideas to amend the inconsistency between leadership and gender in the

healthcare sector. This paper aims to discuss women's leadership in healthcare and offer practical

suggestions on securing top executive and board seats to achieve their aspirations and goals.
 Chapter 1: The problem

Introduction to the problem.

In today's business world, women have made significant strides towards achieving top

leadership positions. According to the Department of Labor statistics conducted in 2015, women

make over 43% of all managerial positions in the United States. However, considering the top-

paid executives such as; presidents, chief operating officers, board chairpersons, and chief

executive officers of the best 500 companies, women account for only 4.8% of those positions

(Paradies, 2017). Due to this, most see that women struggle to succeed in a world dominated by

men. The same scenario applies to the healthcare industry, where women account for a small

percentage among the top executive level. According to statistics, women are extensively

involved in all levels of organizational productivity and profitability. Even so, only a small

number of women are employed as leaders in the corporate world.

Women leaders in healthcare play a vital role in helping companies to improve their

bottom line in some ways. First and foremost, companies rapidly become more consumer-

oriented when many leadership team members relate and reflect more of their customers and

employees (Kuhlmann et al., 2017). For instance, Blue care Tennessee, which Amber Cambron

leads, and a team that comprises fifty percent females, has been nationally recognized. It has

enabled its members to stay connected using communication-based texts to their families and

society, not forgetting how it has helped them live in their preferred setting. The diversity of

healthcare companies has led to better service delivery, created better financial outcomes, and

has paved the way for research and innovation.

Female physicians have continuously faced myriad challenges in medicines ranging from

promotion to sexual harassment and implicit bias to payment gaps. However, it is not surprising
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that although an equal number of women and men graduate from medical school with the same

qualifications, only a tiny fraction of female physicians become leaders in healthcare systems.

Women comprise eighty percent of the healthcare employees in the United States of America

(Kuhlmann et al.,2017). However, only three percent are elected as healthcare Chief Executive

Officers, six percent as department representatives, and nine percent as division chiefs. Despite

women having good financial performance and continuously enhancing accountability in a few

areas where they are elected, they have not been mandated to lead top positions in the healthcare

industry.

Strong women leaders like Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Marie Curie, Florence Nightingale,

and Dorothea Dix have greatly influenced the healthcare industry's transformation. These

inspirational women pioneers were able to handle the most critical health problems with

compassion. They were involved in laying out the foundation for 21st-century models for

medical industry care. Subsequently, due to their courageous leadership and other strong women

leaders, women nowadays are employed in healthcare positions that men once dominated.

Women occupy the most significant percentage in the labor pool and have a pervasive

presence as consumers in the healthcare industry. In most cases, women are donors and

volunteers who work hard towards improving the healthcare system. Women tend to make

decisions for their families on issues regarding family health. They have the mandate to impact

how care is provided. It is worth noting that female workers in the healthcare system compose

around 74% of the technical occupations and healthcare practitioners. More than 90% of nurses

are women, 36% of the physicians also comprise women. Women occupy 56% of pharmacist's

seats and 65% of physician assistants (Kuhlmann et al., 2017).

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Moreover, the healthcare system is not entirely composed of women since male workers

wholly dominate certain occupations. They include; surgeons, dentists, emergency medical

technicians, and chiropractors. A survey conducted in 2015, which involved 7,200 leaders,

revealed that women leaders in various positions performed excellently compared to the males.

Women are typically high productive leaders and can yield better results than male healthcare

workers (Kalaitzi et al.,2017). The current healthcare system of leadership is male-dominated,

and it offers no room for women to be leaders.

Women healthcare workers are not included in executive positions in healthcare

organizations. Women only occupy 11% as Chief Executive Officers in healthcare, a percentage

that has remained constant for a long time (Kalaitzi et al.,2017). A study carried out in 2012

showed that 37% of women executives in healthcare wished to be promoted to Chief Executive

Positions. The study also indicated that 79% of women agreed to raise the number of females to

secure top executive positions in healthcare organizations.

Healthcare institutions stand to profit from diverting their top management talents to

contain clinicians and women's contributions as there is low representation of women at the top

management level. Women in executive positions are beneficial to the healthcare system as they

possess qualities such as innovative thinking, compassion, and flexibility to gain more

experience. Women's presence may benefit the healthcare organizations as there can be more

accessible to clinicians' knowledge. Gender inequality affects the healthcare industry, whereby

women cannot showcase their leadership skills (Kuhlmann et al., 2017). This research paper

aims to outline women's leadership in healthcare, the problem facing them, and what can be done

to achieve their goals.

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Background of the Study

The current United States healthcare has been considered the most expensive across the

globe. However, it is in crisis as it is faced with threats regarding cost, accessibility, and

infrastructure. Brief research in 2012 indicated that the United States has the highest healthcare

expenditure of its total gross domestic product than the other world countries. The American

health care system was in question on efficiency, quality level, equity, projected longevity,

access to care which saw the United States being ranked last in those areas in the 2010 report.

Countries such as Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Britain, and Canada are ranked among the

best-performing countries in healthcare. Time has radically changed, and it is high time that

healthcare leaders need to rectify the ailing healthcare system.

Although women's leadership has not been emphasized, which hinders strong women

from showcasing their leadership roles, many women hold top leadership positions in healthcare

that serve as excellent examples of influential figures in the healthcare industry (Eagly, & Carli,

2018). One of the top leaders is Karen Lynch, president of Aetna. In the year twenty fifteen, she

became the first woman president in charge of the one hundred and sixty-year-old company. She

has tactical oversight of ninety-five percent of the firm’s revenue streams.

Christine Candio, the CEO of Saint Luke's Hospital in Saint Louis, is another solid female

healthcare leader who happened to begin her career as a nurse (Ford & Candio, 2019). She had

significantly transformed the healthcare system since the year twenty fifteen when she became

the Chief Executive officer. Christine Candio has overseen more than two dozen care sites in St.

Louis and has managed to equip Saint Luke's four hundred and ninety-three hospital beds.

Ruth Brinkley is the chief executive officer of Kentucky one health. She is famous for the

successful rollout of KentuckyOne in the year twenty twelve and brokered an agreement making
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facilities of University of Louisville partners of KentuckyOne (Brinkley, 2016). Also, Kathy

Lancaster has been the Chief Financial Officer of Kaiser Permanente since 2015. She is

responsible for the supply chain, controller's office, capital planning, revenue cycle, treasury, and

financial services. Judy Murphy is the Chief Nursing Officer of International Business Machines

Global Healthcare. She is famous for advocating for patient support, mentoring women in

healthcare, and improving health information technology. She was also the deputy national

coordinator and Chief Financial Officer for programs and policy at the National Coordinator's

office.

Surgeons and dentists, in 2010, stated that medical innovation is not all about discovering

new interventions, but it consists of executing the existing ones flawlessly. The view is

theoretical, but if women were in the top executive teams that decide appropriate protocols, their

presence would help bring about new leadership transformations for an effective healthcare unit.

Along with quality and cost containment questions, it is time to discover and implement kind

regard to solving gender parity in the healthcare leadership administration (Aij, & Teunissen,

2017). Females workers make up the most significant number of healthcare workers and aim to

advance into managerial positions in the healthcare unit. Women are currently in charge of mid-

level leadership and management. Unfortunately, male healthcare workers continue dominating

the healthcare workforce leadership despite most healthcare workforce being females. It is

completely unfair!

There remain questions about how women are treated in the healthcare industry up to

date. What are some of the experiences and hindrances these female workers face when

acquiring leadership in this male-dominated healthcare system? What differentiates successful

women from those who are yet to be successful? Which character traits attributes to the few
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successful women in their leadership positions? This study attempted to provide answers to these

questions through a phenomenological and qualitative analysis.

Problem Statement

A research carried out in 2012 by the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners

confirmed that gender parity had greatly dominated the healthcare industry. After this research

aired out the ailing healthcare system, a few changes were made to narrow the gap. The first

study was carried out in 1990, whereby it did not see the gender gap is narrowed. It has remained

a problem in the healthcare workforce. The 2012 study also showed how Chief Executive

Officers seats for women workers had slightly declined compared to male workers who secured

the Chief Executive Officer positions.

In healthcare institutions and other workforce, female workers usually work in the middle

management seats, whereas male workers secure the top managerial seats. Although some

women workers have secured the chief seats, they are just a few compared to the number of

males in executive-level positions in the healthcare industry.

Women are mistreated, as they are under-represented despite dominating many

industries. It takes a woman a long time before being elected for top positions, especially in

healthcare. Female officials only occupy 13% of chief executive officers and a third of executive

teams in the healthcare industry (Kuhlmann et al., 2017). Unfortunately, according to the trends

in healthcare systems, it can take women on average four to six years longer to have the chief

executive officer positions.

Female workers have continuously faced myriad challenges in the healthcare workforce

ranging from promotion to discrimination and implicit bias to payment gaps. However, it is not

surprising that although an equal number of women and men graduate from medical school with
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the same qualifications, only a tiny fraction of female physicians become leaders in healthcare

systems. Women comprise eighty percent of the healthcare employees in the United States of

America. However, only 3% are elected as healthcare Chief Executive Officers, 6% as

department representatives, and 9% as division chiefs (Kuhlmann et al., 2017).

Despite women having good financial performance and continuously enhancing

accountability in a few areas where they are elected, they have not been mandated to lead top

positions in the healthcare industry. Although the future of the female task force seems to be

bright, women are faced with many challenges such as lack of mentorship, glass ceilings, gender

stereotyping at the workplace, and competing priorities.

The American Council of Hypnotist Examiners reported that women earned about

$134,100 yearly while men said on a yearly salary of $166,900. Therefore, female workers

earned $32,800 less every year than their male colleagues, equal to 20% less even though women

workers and their male counterparts in the healthcare workforce had the same qualifications,

including education level, age, and experience (Ford & Candio, 2019).

Concerning advancement and promotion, the conservative career advancement ladder for

women has not been favorable at all. The obstacles facing the healthcare industry and, more so,

female workers fall into different categories, namely, resistance, leadership, prejudice,

discrimination and bias, and family responsibilities. Reportedly, female workers are in most

cases elected in the middle-level management seats, and they find it challenging for high-level

promotions in the healthcare industry. However, some female workers have managed to

overcome resistance barriers, accept the challenges, and secure an executive position in the top-

level management in the healthcare industry.

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The main objective of this study is to present the leadership of women in the healthcare

industry in the United States with particular importance on the challenges they face, success

stories, and how to address the challenges facing women workers in the healthcare statement.

The findings from this study will significantly contribute to curing the ailing healthcare realm. It

will help women in this field identify strategies and tactics to overcome the limits and barriers

they face while they struggle for leadership in the healthcare industry.

Purpose

The research goal is to identify the obstacles, barriers, gender gap, attributes of a good

healthcare leader, advantages of having women in leadership positions, and the general overview

of healthcare women leadership. As a result, this research will help identify the factors that Help

Increase the number of women in health care leadership positions and the advantages of having

women in leadership positions. These findings will impact women aspiring to be healthcare

leaders, and they will work hard and smart towards achieving their goals and objectives. This

study will address what can be done to bridge the gap of gender parity in the male-dominated

healthcare workforce. In addition to that, this study will air out the leadership unit in the

healthcare system in the United States.

Importance of the Study

Women have evolved from the primary roles of homemaker and motherhood, joining the

workforce role. The 2013 research study conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of

Labor Statistics, reported that about 67 million women were already working in the United

States, equal to about 47% of the entire workforce. However, only 2% of female workers secured

the Chief Executive Officers position in 2006 with Fortune 500 companies (Kuhlmann et al.,
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2017). The rate at which women were represented increased by only 0.7% between 2002 and

2005. It indicates that although professional women employees are equal to male workers in the

leading sector in the healthcare industry, women's promotion to senior executive positions has

been disparate.

The female workers are vastly underrepresented in high positions across companies and

the healthcare industry irrespective of females employed in the organization's management roles.

Although various research concerning leadership in the healthcare industry, minimal literature

has discussed gender gap bridging and the characteristics that a person should have to be a good

leader.

The societal mentality and norms in the healthcare workplace, which have traditionally

been considered masculine, play a significant role in the success of women's leadership. These

male-dominated customs have contributed mainly to barrier construction and imbalance of

power for women to further their professions. Looking closely at this male-controlled authority is

essential when analyzing women's leadership in healthcare.

Over the years, gender inequality has dominated the workforce sector, especially the healthcare

system, where women have not been given a chance to showcase their abilities, goals, and

objectives to improve the healthcare system. Women lack the opportunity to further their careers

due to a lack of promotion in the lead unit. Women are the most significant consumer as they are

more in numbers in the workforce sector, yet they are denied the mandate to have a hand at the

top executive seats. It will be of great Help since it will help address gender imparity in the

healthcare workforce. The information gained in healthcare study may offer encouragement,

motivation, and education for women to more closely recognize and alter workplace norms that

hinder advancement for females as leaders in the healthcare system.

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Research Questions

The study discovered the challenges that women workers face when struggling to lead the

healthcare workforce. The research further investigated the attributes of a good leader, the

gender-based analysis, and female leadership in the healthcare system. Three questions address

the research questions;

(1) What obstacles have women faced when struggling for a leadership position in the

healthcare workforce?

(2) What are the leadership traits that the few successful women leaders have in the

healthcare industry?

(3) Ways in which gender imbalance has affected women's leadership?

Operational Definitions

Definitions of terms used in this study are presented in this section. Whenever definitions of

terms are given, they become the foundations in the literature. Terms definitions used in this

study include:

Gender: This refers to psychological and social conceptions regarding feminism and the

masculinist of a person. It is a term used to explain an individual belief about sex-based

categories.

Glass Ceiling: This is the notion that shows the invisible barriers that stop willing, ambitious,

and able women from rising to authority positions in many organizations

Healthcare executive: This refers to an employed person in a healthcare organization whose roles

and responsibilities include; planning the operations in the healthcare unit, directing, influencing

strategies in the organization, and enhancing the development and growth of the healthcare

industry. The healthcare executive is in charge of staffing and organizing the functions of the
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organizations. Thou not limited, the positions may include; (CEO) Chief Executive Officer,

(CMO) Chief Medical Officer, (CDO) Chief Development Officer, (CNO) Chief Nursing

Officer, and Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Limitations and Delimitations

The study consisted of a selected group of 12 females that currently works in the

healthcare industry, whereby 9 of them are middle and low-level executives, whereas 3 of them

were Chief Executive Officers. Before the commencement of this research, women required a

minimum of five years of experience in the health industry. The sample questions were enclosed

only in the United States of America. The tool of this study consisted of questionnaires,

interviews both telephone and face-to-face interviews that were all recorded. This study limited

the female participants to be of white ethnicity.

The researcher's experience in a top-level position in healthcare may potentially bring

bias to the qualitative study being surveyed. Nevertheless, the background of the researcher

regarding the interview process, qualitative analysis, data collection, not forgetting the

interviewer's understanding with top-level professionals in healthcare, should lessen the

researcher's consideration and bias associated with the study.

The researcher's opinion is that they were limited to exploring racial differences, although

research of this kind has previously been carried out. This study considered women in the

healthcare industry located in California, Virginia, Florida, Washington Dc, and Texas.

Assumptions of the Study

The following assumptions were made in this study:

(1) The participant’s information was genuine and honest.

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(2) The researcher would not give room for any biased information and influences on

participants' responses.

(3) The study assumed that gender would potentiate the participant's career advancement due

to the literature review.

(4) The participant of the selected women will be enough sample to represent the entire

female workforce fraternity in the healthcare industry.

(5) The participants would share almost the same information regardless of the city their jobs

are located.

Summary

In the starting chapter, the researcher conferred how women compose about half of the

workforce in the United States. Yet, gender inequality still dominates women's occupations in

the executive positions in the healthcare industry. It clearly shows how inequality exists in the

healthcare field, yet about 74% of the workforce is female-oriented. The researcher tabled a

current study review concerning the gender gap imparities that dominate the healthcare field.
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Chapter 2: Literature Review

Introduction and Organization of the Chapter

This phenomenological, qualitative research aimed to identify the hurdles that successful

healthcare women at the top level have overcome in their journey to the top. There are

considerable data available debating women and the gender difference existing in the corporate

world. However, the data is shallow when it comes precisely to women in top leadership roles in

the healthcare industry.

When attaining a complete understanding of the importance and problems of this

research, the history of the journey women has experienced in the work environment will be

discussed first. Then review the present literature concerning gender and leadership

characteristics. Afterwards, present the theoretical framework applied to this research. Then

check the most critical leadership theories followed by discussing challenges for women in

leadership. Finally, review the effects of having women performing executive roles in healthcare.

The Journey of Women in the United States Workforce

The workforce is a crucial industry combing all historical, political, social, and

demographic forces that mutually affect a population. A robust, increasing workforce is a vital

contributor to the economic prosperity and growth of any country. Dramatic changes are

enhanced whenever there is a change in the labor force in America. After world war 11, the

number of women workforces has drastically increased in the United States as in the earlier case

wherein every ten workers, and only two were females.

World war 11 greatly benefited women in that they were required to fill the vacant

healthcare positions as males were recruited in the armed forces. From 1940 to around 1945, the
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women's labor force had risen from 27% to 37%. (Bond et al., 2019). A brief study conducted in

1945 showed that almost one in five married women had joined the workforce. In 1920, there

was a significant transformation in women's lives as they were granted their right to cast votes.

The Title IX of the Education Amendment barred sex discrimination in all education programs

for individuals receiving federal assistance. Although women were granted all those rights, they

were still denied career and employment choices. Women's employment transformation

happened in many phases. Up to around the 1940s, the salary of female workers who were

married rose steadily.

During World war 11, female workers' salaries accelerated. The households that

contained single workers continued with this formality in 1960, resulting from claims that men

should be the breadwinners whereas women should be homemakers. Today's workforce consists

of around 55% being composed of female workers. However, the rapid increase of female

workers in the force brought about a decline in fertility, increased white-collar jobs, which led to

the Industrial Revolution, and educational advancements. Despite the rapid progress by the

females, they have not yet achieved the domination of the leadership in diverse workforces, more

so the healthcare industry. The leadership in the American workforce has remained to be male-

dominated.

Although some female workers have acquired the executive seats, most women are still

struggling to get those seats. In the 1980 era, women's advancement was popular as they were

trying to acquire the executive chairs, but their efforts went unrewarded (Bond et al., 2019). The

wall street journal of 1986 reported a glass ceiling that makes the female workforce not get the

leadership position. This concept was created to describe and explain the factitious and invisible

barriers established in the world of business and which have contributed to women's failure in
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acquiring leadership positions. Glass ceiling concept also described that women have not yet

reached the management seats. The ceiling is defined as glass as the problem is transparent

though not apparent to the viewer, but it is genuine. The ceiling clearly shows how difficult it is

for women to acquire the leadership ladder. It further signifies that whatever is seen on the other

side is inaccessible but evident to an individual looking through it.

In 1991, the Labor Department formally addressed the obstacle that acknowledged the

existence of a glass ceiling grounded on organizational bias and workforce attitude, and it

hindered a person from being promoted into management ranks. Bob Dole introduced the Glass

Ceiling Act in 1991, Bob Dole. President George Bush further signed it, and a commission was

formed to abolish the glass ceiling (Bond et al., 2019). The commission comprised 21 members,

and they had the following qualifications: multi-ethnic, gender-diverse, and bi- partisan. They

have given the role offered recommendations on abolishing the glass ceiling and leadership in

the business world.

In 1995, the commission successfully released its recommendation report. They

acknowledged the existence of the genuine and invisible obstacle that hindered women and

minorities from acquiring executive positions in various organizations. The information through

its chairman further indicated that the glass ceiling was a social injustice that had affected the

business world in the United States by blocking qualified and talented applicants from top-level

seats just because of their gender or race.

The report showed that the number of women obtaining a master's degree was about

46%. Men workers occupied 96% of top-level positions. It stated that female manager’s salary

was equal to 70% less their male counterparts (Kuhlmann et al., 2017). However, the report

showed how stereotyping had affected the workforce in America. There was a fear that women
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would be affected by their roles as house makers, making them quit the job or perform poorly. In

around 2000, the exclusion methods and barriers gradually changed as females began to be

accepted to work in higher authority positions.

Gender Overview

Female activists have contributed significantly so much in fighting for the rights of

women workers. The activists also led to the (WTUL) Women's Trade Union League when

women realized they were not considered and included in the (AFL) American Federation of

Labor. Activists such as Elizabeth, Cady Stanton, and Susan B (Abraham, 2016). Anthony had

the plan to work hard to create conducive working conditions for female workers and provide

education opportunities. In 1922, they marked their success by abolishing the eight working

hours, females working at night, abolishing a minimum wage, and abolishing child labor.

Women in the workforce enjoy the activists' fruits up to date as they paved the way by

providing at least a conducive working condition. Despite the hard work by the activists to better

the working life of females, there still exists some barriers in the workforce. One being a male or

female is a measure to identify one productive level in the force. Sex difference should only be

used to refer to the chromosomal or reproductive system of an individual.

Gender differences are distinguished through the lenses of the language-writings-systems

of each sex, anatomy, and political -cultural-social dimensions (Abraham, 2016). Gender

expectations of each sex behavior are programmed in early life, such as early in kindergarten,

whereby it stems from parent and society beliefs.

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Leadership characteristics.

Health care leadership is defined by effectively motivating and influencing other people,

thinking critically, and offering solutions to complex problems while still maintaining the

organization’s values. A good healthcare leader should have mentor others. A leader should

teach and guide the less experienced juniors for them to offer better services as required. The

leader should develop the mentality that whatever they educate the youngsters will be passed to

the next generation when they retire.

Mentorship can be formally done, for instance, in the company-sponsored initiative

whereby leaders and mentees may choose to participate fully. It can also be informally

conducted to create a relationship with someone who admires you and considers you their role

model. Mentorship, whether conducted formally or informally, it provides a golden opportunity

to help up-and-coming professionals challenge themselves, set goals, and shape their career path.

Also, it assists up-and-coming professionals in challenging themselves, carving their career path,

and setting objectives (Guzmán et al., 2020). In most cases, leaders want to give back since they

had mentors who impacted their careers and leadership. When leaders mentor others, they also

benefit from learning new ideas and concepts as every day is a learning day.

Successful leaders should challenge the status quo. Great leaders should be thoughtful

and deliberate and always be willing to step out of their comfort zones. They should be

concerned in trying new things_ be it testing a new idea, process, or any new approach (Guzmán

et al., 2020). They should develop the behavior of attending healthcare seminars to interact with

other leaders and learn new things (Aij, & Teunissen, 2017). Leaders sometimes learn from their

juniors, and they tend to apply the learned lessons in their duty which makes them successful.
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Leaders should provide education to others. Providing education to others is a critical element in

public health and healthcare.

Great leaders are responsible for educating those following their career paths and passing

on knowledge to other people about healthcare issues. For instance, the COVID 19 pandemic

calls for the public to be taught how to protect themselves from the pandemic and how to behave

if infected and update the members.

Humility virtue is another character trait required for a healthcare leader to be successful.

They should never forget that "pride comes before a fall." They should identify different

ideologies, accept the base of knowledge developments, and adjust direction appropriately

(Guzmán et al., 2020). For instance, when COVID 19 pandemic hit the world (in January and

February), healthcare leaders did not introduce the earing of face masks as they did not

understand how aerosolized the virus was and that it has the primary form of transmission.

However, this is not the case today, as leaders admitted their knowledge changed and

championed a better approach to handling COVID 19.

Creating opportunities for others is another aspect that identifies a good leader. The

influence of focusing on the coming generations of leaders cannot be understated. Thinking

outside the box, posing a challenge on the status quo, educating and mentoring others are ways

that health professionals can create opportunities for upcoming leaders—those ways when

perfectly done, help the next generation have good leadership (Guzmán et al., 2020). Healthcare

leaders ought to take a step back from the limelight and give somebody else a chance to express

themselves, see what they can achieve, and challenge themselves. It will help the workers

aspiring to be leaders to build their foundation, rectify their mistakes, and give them room for

their personal goals.

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Integrity is a critical value that a leader should possess. Despite the state of any situation,

a good leader should inspire with their principles without complaining. They should avoid

making false promises and coming up with rules or regulations that best suit them. They should

behave accordingly, even when nobody is following or monitoring them. Respect is a measure of

integrity whereby a good leader should show respect to every person irrespective of their

education level, gender, age, and ethnicity (Guzmán et al., 2020). A person aspiring to be a

leader should explore how to cultivate a climate of respect and be friendly with other people.

Honesty virtue is a requirement for an individual aspiring to be a leader. Honesty entails

telling the truth and how to build and enhancing trust between leaders and juniors. A leader

should not discourage others whenever they fail to achieve the set conditions and organization

objectives. Still, they should encourage them to work hard. Trust and respect are acquired when a

person is honest and therefore values integrity.

Expressing gratitude and appreciation for achievement is a measure of qualification for a

leadership position. A good leader should be gracious and always say "thank you" whenever

done a favor. They should take their time to make appreciation phone calls, conduct a

thanksgiving meeting or send a follow-up email.

A successful leader and one who is aspiring to be a leader should develop trustworthy

virtue. They should create the behavior of following their commitments. However,

trustworthiness can be measured when a person delivers what they have promised. Hence, they

should avoid making promises that they cannot fulfil. A leader ought to keep their word. They

should learn to keep secrets the information of employees, their weaknesses and shortcomings.

Whenever a leader or a person seeking leadership feels that they cannot complete the allocated

task, they should be open and let others or the person in charge know.
 20

Leadership does not give room for laziness. A leader or an aspiring person should be

extremely hardworking. They should strive to produce high-level services and deliver the

allocated task at the right time regardless of the nature of the job. A leader should be responsible

for the area of duty allocated. They should take care of all material possession or any information

regarding the organization. They ought to be organized and always plan their works and

assigning of duties to the juniors effectively.

Patience is a necessity in leadership. A person in administration should be patient to

tolerate delays, unexpected problems, or any obstacles in their duty areas. Whenever they make

new laws or changes in the organization, they should give it time to be correctly implemented. A

leader should not rush to make decisions based on the current experience, but they should take

their time to think effectively and make the necessary consultations.

An innovative leader is a great reward to any organization. A visionary leader does not

explicitly mean that the leader should be a genius or more experienced. Still, it reflects giving

other employees room and freedom to develop their valuable ideas (Aij, & Teunissen, 2017).

Many organizations deny the staff an opportunity to demonstrate their opinions which could

otherwise be advantageous to the organization. Leaders should always be ready and open to

learning new things, even from the minor hierarchy staff in the organization. Innovative leaders

always think outside the box and strive to find a solution to the organization's woes. They should

construct research, innovation, and development laboratories to encourage innovation within the

organization.

Leadership is measured by how an individual portrays self-confidence traits. They should

always know the leadership skills which they have and their competencies. Self-confident

leaders tend to develop high self-esteem and self-control in their reign (Aij, & Teunissen, 2017).
 21

They tend to strongly believe that they can make a change in the organization. Self-confidence

gives leaders a wing to fly, as well as the ability to take risks. Companies leaders take charge of

the company's fraternity with confidence and positivity. Self-confident leaders are better

positioned to make decisions and solve the organization's conflicts and obstacles with ease and

effectively. Also, they do not procrastinate, ignore or accept defeat at any time.

A visionary leader is an asset to any organization. Such a leader is far-sighted and is

constantly inspired by what the organization can become. They work hard towards achieving the

organization's mission and vision objectives. Visionary leaders are always ready to take risks in

the transformation of the organization. Such leaders fetch ideas and information from the

employees who can help attain a better future (Aij, & Teunissen, 2017). A leader should not look

down upon any ideas generated by the low-level staff.

Good communication skills identify a good leader from the rest who does not have the

skills. To be said to possess communication skills, they should be good listeners and think before

they talk. Leaders should relay inspiring and encouraging information (Aij, & Teunissen, 2017).

Leaders should communicate any changes to employees on time and use the proper means. They

should share duties and responsibilities and address any mistakes done in the organizations

effectively without hurting anybody by their words.

Closing The Gender Gap in Healthcare Leadership

In the Healthcare industry, women exceed men in terms of their share in the workforce

and their influence on consumers. In the United States, women consumers influence their

families on healthcare decisions by around eighty percent. Women also control around sixty-five

percent of the hospital workforce, exceeding many industries such as the technology industry.
 22

Women constitute only twenty-six percentages, and the financial services industry comprises

only forty-six percent of the workforce.

Women are mistreated, as they are under-represented despite dominating many

industries. It takes a woman a long time before being elected for top positions, especially in

healthcare. Female officials only occupy thirteen percent of chief executive officers and a third

of executive teams in the healthcare industry (Seo et al., 2017). Unfortunately, according to the

trends in healthcare systems, it can take women on average four to six years longer to have the

chief executive officer positions.

Availability of high-quality healthcare is the basis of human capital development and is

vital for poverty reduction and creating sustainable economies (Seo et al., 2017) The role women

play as leaders in healthcare is integral in improving the health care systems. Women make

around seventy percent of the forty-three million health care employees across the globe. The

majority of women are decision-makers of their families for meeting health needs. Due to this, it

seems helpful for everyone if women were represented in top leadership positions of health care

firms. Although there are many women nurses, pharmacists, doctors, and other health care

personnel, study shows that there is still lack of gender parity in top leadership positions.

Women leaders in healthcare play a vital role in helping companies to improve their

bottom line in some ways. First and foremost, companies rapidly become more consumer-

oriented when many leadership team members relate and reflect more of their customers and

employees (Seo et al., 2017). For instance, Blue care Tennessee, which Amber Cambron leads,

and a team that comprises fifty percent females, has been nationally recognized. It has enabled

its members to stay connected using communication-based texts to their families and society, not

forgetting how it has helped them live in their preferred setting. The diversity of healthcare
 23

companies has led to better service delivery, created better financial outcomes, and has paved the

way for research and innovation.

Female workers have continuously faced myriad challenges in medicines ranging from

promotion to sexual harassment and implicit bias to payment gaps. However, it is not surprising

that although an equal number of women and men graduate from medical school with the same

qualifications, only a tiny fraction of female physicians become leaders in healthcare systems.

Women comprise eighty percent of the healthcare employees in the United States of America

(Kuhlmann et al., 2017). However, only three percent are elected as healthcare Chief Executive

Officers, six percent as department representatives, and nine percent as division chiefs. Despite

women having good financial performance and continuously enhancing accountability in a few

areas where they are elected, they have not been mandated to lead top positions in the healthcare

industry.

Advantages of having women in leadership positions

Women in executive positions regularly deliver considerably positive dividends.

According to statistics, companies with women in executive-level are valued forty-two million

dollars more than other companies. In addition, women-led firms are usually more profitable.

Study shows that firms with solid female leadership recorded a 10% return on annual equity,

compared to seven percent for firms without women supervision (Eagly & Carli, 2018).

Moreover, a worldwide survey by the Peterson Institute for International Economics of

twenty-one thousand companies from nine countries showed that having women in top positions

is associated with profitability and performance. In addition, a study conducted by California

Women Business Leaders on the number of women directors and executive officers discovered

that of the four-hundred biggest public companies in California, twenty-five top companies with
 24

majority women decision-makers recorded a seventy-four percent higher average return on

equity and assets compared to the median of other companies surveyed.

Women workers occupy half the number of workers across the globe. The persisting

imbalance of leadership between males and females is still a threat to the female workforce.

Research shows that companies that embrace female leadership remain firm in times of crises,

pandemics, or financial crises (Eagly & Carli, 2018). Women leaders are very organized and are

very compassionate. There is a slight difference in intelligence and understanding between

female and male workers, whereby female workers stand in a better position of intelligence and

learning. Yet, they are not given a chance to showcase their leadership skills.

Multiple researches have coincidentally reported that an organization with women as

board members significantly shows better financial position than male-oriented board member's

organizations. The survey shows that investment, sales, and equity returns are more excellent in

organizations with female leaders. A worldwide talent management firm, namely the

Development Dimensions International, reported that many organizations with female workers

as leaders and board members witnessed an increase in performance by around 86 % than their

competitors.

Women in leadership and board management in various companies offer a better job

economy in the United States. More job opportunities are created as the country tends to be

economically stable. The land becomes more productive, and various developments are carried

out in the country. The number of jobs will proportionately increase where individuals work, be

it in healthcare or any other jobs but for as long as individuals secure works and can afford their

standard of living.
 25

Women have good relationship-building traits. Research conducted by Harvard Business

Review reported that females are better positioned to create a friendship with another person,

unlike their male counterparts. Organizations benefit from this fact as this friendly environment

is yields better productivity in the organization (Eagly & Carli, 2018). Clients feel the need to

become associated with such a welcoming and friendly environment. More sales and massive

expansion of such organizations are witnessed in the female leadership-oriented organization.

Female leaders possess good networking skills, which enables them to have the ability to

collaborate with their clients, departments, and workmates easily. When compared to men,

women are more cooperative than men. Men tend to overestimate their competencies, while they

tend to despise the capabilities of their colleagues (Eagly & Carli, 2018). On the other hand,

women stand in a better position to judge their abilities, and therefore they are not opposed to

helping and getting suggestions from colleagues.

Theoretical Framework

Although there is no theoretical framework to this study of women's leadership in

healthcare, there are about four obstacles that face female workers that the researcher outlined

(Braidotti, 2019). These barriers include; leadership style, resistance, prejudice, discrimination

and bias, and family responsibility.

To begin with, individuals exhibit different leadership traits. Males are at many times

associated with leadership traits than women. There exists a predominant consensus that discrete

styles of leadership exist. Female leaders have the norm of demonstrating various leadership

traits that are more transformational than men in leadership (Bokhari et al., 2017). Female

leaders possess more rewarding conduct than male leaders. Men, on the other hand, have more
 26

disciplinary and corrective actions, which equal transactional performances. Women are in most

have more participative and collaborative behaviors than men in the healthcare workforce.

Resistance is based on the challenges that women leaders face when using the leadership

ladder to achieve their goals and objectives. Females tend to resist society when they try to break

the set social roles where they are forced to work in a self-actualizing manner (ALobaid et al.,

2020). Positive incentives, transformational leadership, and rewards are the most suitable styles

that greatly influence the organization's success. Women and men in the healthcare workforce

differ in the leadership styles they have. However, female leader approaches tend to be more

suitable and preferred as they appear to be more transformational and less transactional than

male leaders. Generally, leadership that offers transformations is the most effective style.

Prejudice and discrimination are a barrier that affects women in the healthcare industry.

Some female workers have successfully acquired management seats in lower, middle, and high-

level positions. However, the still a continuous low number of female executives in the

healthcare industry. 1960 saw the passing of the federal legislation that had the aim to empower

women in acquiring the top seats. Before 1960, sex-based discrimination was the norm as it

seemed part of the workforce operations (Paradies, 2017). The 1964 Civil Rights Act addressed

women's discrimination based on origin, color, race, religion, and sex, declared officially illegal.

However, some organizations adhered to these rules while some did not.

Discrimination in the workforce affects women's performance and career placement in

their workplace. Women have the same qualifications as men, yet they receive low salaries and

don't get promoted to executive positions (Paradies, 2017). A study carried out in 2012 indicated

that women who had the same level of education and experience earned around 37% less than

their male colleagues (Eagly & Carli, 2018). It stated that male workers received more
 27

compensation than their male counterparts. Prejudice has seen a person being judged by their

gender, education. It is mainly done in job evaluation, labor division, and job placement.

Family responsibility is a critical aspect to consider in the healthcare workforce. Female

workers have the responsibility to perform house chores and be good mothers to their children.

They are responsible for arranging their children's activities and caring for the disadvantaged

members of society (ALobaid et al., 2020). They are the bridge in connection to the extended

family, attending societal-based events and organizing family celebrations. Men spend half the

time spent by females about household responsibilities. Women tend to take more care of their

children compared to men. A woman's years of giving birth often concede with their career.

Thus, they need to work hard to balance work and family.

Summary

Female workers are faced with both internal and external obstacles while seeking to

secure top-level positions in the healthcare industry. The barriers that include; leadership style,

resistance, prejudice, discrimination and bias, and family responsibility threaten the women

workers. However, there exists no theoretical framework for scrutinizing barriers facing women's

leadership in healthcare, but this framework identified several categories that hindered the

success of women in the healthcare sector. They include; family responsibilities, resistance,

prejudice and discrimination, and leadership style.

These barriers exist up to date for female workers in executive roles, although the

research does not authenticate any particular gender-typical limitations for top-level leadership.

Literature supports the notion that gender differences are in existence. The cultural insights and

stereotypes make women in executive positions feel isolated. The healthcare workforce has 76%
 28

women, yet they are not represented equally in top-level management, especially in executive

seats (Paradies, 2017). The healthcare industry is male-dominated.

 29

Chapter 3: Methodology

This study aimed to scrutinize the problems, if any, those female workers face in the

leading sector in the healthcare workforce and the success journey of the few successful women

in healthcare leadership. This research foundation is grounded on a complete literature review

based on leadership theories and a healthcare industry view regarding male domination in a

leadership role. This chapter outlined the methods used to conduct the research.

The researcher clearly understood that many research methods relate to each other in

terms of research questions, results, and methods. The qualitative review enables the researcher

to work with unstructured and complex data to derive a new understanding. On the other hand,

the phenomenological study allows for descriptive, engaging, reflective, and an interpretive

inquiry mode from which participants' experiences and reviews are extensively considered.

Phenomenological approaches attempt to directly explore conscious experiences through

a particular form of personal introspection than attaining data using cognitive exploration and

observation methods. It leads to a better understanding of the phenomenon essence and structure

of a group or individual.

Research Questions

This research explored the challenges and obstacles that female workers face in healthcare

leadership, success in the healthcare workforce leadership, the leadership traits, experiences, and

characteristics of healthcare leadership.

The research question was addressed in the following ways;

(1) What leadership characteristics are portrayed by successful executive women leaders that

other female workers can practice to attain top seats?

 30

(2) What obstacles, if any, affect female workers in their acquiring top seats in the healthcare

workforce?

These questions were addressed using questionnaires and interview protocol.

Research Design and Sources of Data

This research focused on the experiences of female healthcare workers. A small number

of these female workers were used as a sample to help achieve the purpose. A small number of

those sample women were orally interviewed, and the session was recorded. The aim was to gain

insight into their unique challenges and obstacles in acquiring leadership positions (Rahi, 2017).

The already successful women leaders in the healthcare workforce interview aimed to gain

insight into their leadership journey, how they acquired the top-level seats, and their leadership

traits and experiences.

The qualitative inquiry attempts to understand discovery and the phenomena of the

outlined experiences. The majority of the qualitative researchers report on how fascinated they

are by the information provided by interviewees. There are four leading qualitative research

approaches: transcribing and recording, documents and text analysis, subject’s observation, and

personal interviews (Rahi, 2017). This research used personal interviews. The researcher allowed

the interviewee to describe their challenges, experiences, achievements, goals, and mission. The

employee's experiences, beliefs, understanding, and perspectives regarding healthcare leadership

formed the primary sources of knowledge and information.

Research Population

The target population in this research project involved female healthcare workers. The

study consisted of a selected group of 12 females who currently work in the healthcare industry,
 31

whereby 9 of them are middle and low-level executives, whereas 3 are Chief Executive Officers.

They were located in California, Virginia, Florida, Washington Dc, and Texas. The researcher

had colleagues and professional networks in those states. Also, the samples were over five years

in the healthcare workforce. The research included academic medical facilities, home-based

healthcare agencies, and hospitals. Since this study design used a non-probability method of

sampling, the information acquired from this research cannot be generalized to a larger

population.

Sampling Plan

This study used personal contacts to identify the study participants (Alves et al., 2018).

Individuals with whom the researcher had a special relationship were completely excluded from

this research study. The participants were invited to the study and informed about it via

electronic mail. The following steps were followed in distinguishing the participant;

(1) The researcher communicated to the participants through electronic mail to invite

them to the study and inform them about the research.

(2) The communication at this stage involved thanking all the participants for their will

to participate in this study, and prior planning regarding venue, date, and time of the

study was made. It was at this stage that a questionnaire was provided to the

participants.

(3) Having identified the date, venue, and time of the study, interview confirmation was

provided to the participant.

 32

Data Collection Strategies: Individual Interviews

The researcher used lengthy interviews of 60-80 minutes with participants to give ample

time for fetching all the valuable information for this study (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). The

researcher used the interview data collection method as face-to-face communication helped the

researcher note and identify nonverbal cues. Only one participant who preferred telephone call

because of her tight schedule. Both interviews and telephone calls were recorded. As evident in

the phenomenological interview, the contributors collaborate with the researcher. The researcher

is also required to listen keenly to avoid omitting any information. Both teams agreed upon the

interview time to avoid tediousness. The researcher conducted a pilot study with a colleague to

determine the time best suited the interview, but it was not included in the final research.

Participants were allowed to do most of the talking to allow research to grasp all

information. It gave the researcher a chance to make respectable conclusions. After the collection

of data, content analysis was acutely conducted (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). The data was then

analyzed and reviewed to discover common themes and trends.

Data Collection Procedures

The interviews were audio-recorded with the participant's consent. The data was gathered

by collecting all the information provided from the demographic questionnaires and interviews

from the participants (Langley et al., 2016). Hyper Transcribe software was used to enhance the

accuracy of data where the researcher transcribed all the interviews.

Study Validity and Reliability

Validity is the act of being undisputable of the accuracy and the strength of an individual

conclusion. Although some researchers have declared validity an incorrect term for qualitative
 33

studies, they confirm that qualifying measures were essential for their studies. Validity suggests

to state that the findings are really about what they seem to be. The researcher made sure that the

data reflected what the participants had said or done (Korkmaz et al., 2017). Transcription was

accurately done to reflect all the information said during the interview or actual research.

Interpretation of information was based on the participant's perspective. The researcher

also reported the participant's events, experiences, and behavior meanings. The researcher

enhanced the validity of this research by being the only source of the transcribed data. It enabled

the researcher to be familiar with the data. Several processes were used to enhance the validity of

the internal study.

Two experts were chosen to comment, review and validate the protocol of the interview

via email. The experts were women who were holders of doctoral degrees in leadership studies.

They were provided with an electronic form of the questionnaire where they were supposed to go

through the study and rank each question in one of the following categories; (a) irrelevant or

remove, (b) requires no modification or accepted, (c) valid but requires modifications. They were

required to provide alternatives in the case of modification. There was a creation of a codebook

where transcripts were coded and reviewed.

Ethical Considerations

Ethics is a crucial aspect to any researcher to enhance the validity of the research

information (Korkmaz et al., 2017). A researcher's credibility depends on methodological-based

competence, professional integrity, and, most importantly, intellectual rigor. Honesty is required

by both the researcher and the participant to ensure that true information is provided for the

study. It saw the importance of examining several issues that should be considered when

determining the study-related ethical training (Korkmaz et al., 2017). They included; information
 34

privacy, related legal issues, participant's treatment, citing sourced materials, honesty, data

security, and integrity, among many things.

The researcher made the participants feel comfortable in their participation role by

explaining that they could answer questions they felt comfortable with. They were also supposed

to ignore the questions that they were not comfortable with (Korkmaz et al., 2017). The

researcher created awareness of the importance of the research, data security, and how the data

will be used. The researcher ensured total privacy of the respondent's information.

Human Subject Considerations

Respondent’s identities, contribution, and participation in the study will still be treated as

confidential and private material. The researcher beliefs that all information obtained is true and

that it is not misleading or malicious. The participants' security was guaranteed as they were

given pseudonyms, and their identities and places of work were not exposed. No anticipations of

economic, physical, or legal risks to any of the respondents.

Email confidentiality and filled questionnaires have been maintained all along, and all

respondents were assured of their confidentiality. The researcher allowed the respondent to

choose the time they were comfortable with for the scheduling of interviews.

The socio-demographics aspects of the respondent have been aggregately reported.

Readers of this study can have the ability to determine the role of women in the healthcare

workforce and the experience of those female workers who participated. After concluding the

research project, the confidential documents will be destroyed. The researcher will be the only

one to access the data and secure it. Respondents' discomfort was minimized since they were

given the mandate to choose the interview venue, day, and time.
 35

Data Analysis Procedures

When examining women in the healthcare leadership, the responses were organized into

dominant themes according to the primary meaning. Statements that had underlying meaning but

used different words were grouped (Langley et al., 2016). The researcher determined the

comparative frequency of the female healthcare worker’s barriers, obstacles, experiences, and

leadership success in the healthcare workforce. Open-ended interview questions were involved in

this research.

Probes were used to collect data, and the open-ended method allowed the interviewer to

have the ability to use some discretion over the asked questions. After analyzing, identifying, and

accumulating the data, the data trends were carefully examined (Langley et al., 2016). The

researcher coded interview transcripts to identify the patterns, barriers, and women leadership in

the healthcare workforce. The study used the logic of analytic inquiry induction. It allowed the

researcher to locate trends and patterns to help understand leadership and women in the

healthcare industry.

The data were coded, and transcription was done perfectly. Coding of data served the

purpose of summarizing and condensing data. Similar themes and phrases were analyzed from

all respondents using the Hyper Research qualitative software (Langley et al., 2016). All

respondents received a thank you letter for their successful participation in their research. They

were also instructed that they would receive a copy of the study findings for safety purposes.

Summary

Although much research has been conducted regarding women and leadership in the

healthcare industry, much has been omitted in the literature on the obstacles they face when

acquiring top positions. However, this research study aimed at researching the barriers and
 36

obstacles faced by female workers when trying to acquire top-level positions. This chapter

discussed how qualified respondents were selected and the questionnaire and interview method

arrangement. This chapter aimed at acquiring data that is very vital for the research conduction.

Finally, this chapter discussed ethics and reliability as well as data analysis procedures.
 37

Chapter 4: Findings

This phenomenological research study aimed to examine and identify women leadership

in the healthcare system, the obstacles women face when trying to climb the leadership ladder,

and the success stories for the few women workers who are successful in leadership. Analyzing

the experiences, individual reflections, perceptions and memories of female workers, both in a

leadership position and the normal workers, allowed the researcher to learn more about women

leadership in healthcare. Chapter four presents the research findings, interpretations of interviews

and questionnaires, and data analysis.

Data for his study was acquired using interviews that addressed the research questions.

There was the involvement of six interview questions used to collect data to answer the research

questions. The six questions were broad enough to capture any information that was vital for the

research. The interview allowed the respondents to add more details that they felt omitted in the

questions asked. The respondents, who owned the executive positions, were also allowed to

discuss the leadership traits and characteristics they believe they acquired and have led to their

success in leadership.

This study involved 11 participants who were interviewed, and one respondent preferred

to fill a questionnaire form. All participants choose different venues, dates, and times for the

interview. All respondents agreed the interview be audio recorded, whereby the researcher

transcribed the recordings in Hyper Transcribe. The data was then uploaded in Hyper Research

for analytic coding. When using the transcripts, the data were assembled into themes that

imitated the question study. Chapter four is arranged in the various section; respondents

demographic, analysis of the findings and finally, the results summary.

 38

Demographics of Participants

To fulfil the agreement between the researcher and the respondent, names, place of work, and

the company the respondents work for were not revealed. Personal background, age and

education was provided in this study. They were reported as follows;

(1) Respondent 1: A chief Executive Officer for ten years.

(2) Respondent 2: A nurse for five years

(3) Respondent 3: A clinical Officer employed for eight years

(4) Respondent 4: A Chief Clinical Officer working for nine years.

(5) Respondent 5: A gynecologist employed for six years.

(6) Respondent 6: A clinical officer employed for seven years

(7) Respondent 7: A Chief Finance Officer working for 13 years.

(8) Respondent 8: A Laboratory Technician employed for eight years

(9) Respondent 9: A Pharmacist employed for six years.

(10) Respondent 10: A doctor employed for ten years.

(11) Respondent 11: A surgeon employed for 15 years.

(12) Respondent 12: A doctor employed for eight years.

The interview protocol was not to disclose the participant’s details. The researcher allowed the

respondent's voices to be heard by reducing interpretation and including participants' quotes.

Figure 1 outlines the information regarding the background demographics for female workers.

Research has shown that marriage roles and parenthood influence making decisions and the

female roles and responsibilities in the healthcare workforce. All-female workers who

participated in the research were married. The number of children they had is represented below;
 39

Percentage (%)
10%

20%

50%

20%

5 3 3 1

Figure 2 represents the number of ages and the age gap of the respondents.

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
30-39 40-49 50-59 60-65

Percentage Number of Participants

Geography and Ethnicity.

 40

All respondents characterized themselves as Caucasian or white on the filled and reverted

a few days before the interview. The respondents were all working in America. The participants

were located as shown in the figure below;

Figure 3

3.5

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
California Virginia Florida Washington Dc Texas

Participants

Analysis of Findings

The career path of the respondents varied, and they were varied. Two of twelve females began

their careers from scratch.

(1) Participant started her career as a Nurse Officer.

(2) The respondent stated that her career started by being a college Laboratory Technician.

The other women who participated in the interview began their healthcare careers after

graduating with bachelor’s degrees. All participants coincidentally spoke of the obstacles and

challenges they face in the healthcare leadership system. They also had one theme of balancing
 41

family responsibilities and their work. The challenges these women workers faced are analyzed

as follows;

Gender: Two of these women in the study were workers of the same group. They talked

about how gender imparity had affected them in acquiring leadership in the healthcare system.

They further declared the healthcare leadership male-dominated, although a few female workers

had acquired those executive seats. The successful women in leadership stated how they fought

gender imbalance until they acquired those executive seats. Two women (Respondent 3 and 4)

discussed the network that male workers had and utilized those networks to maintain and recruit

more male executives.

Respondents 1 and 7 discussed the leadership traits and characteristics they acquired,

which helped them acquire the executive seats. They included self-confidence, integrity,

compassion and care, honesty, urge to help, possession of good communication skills, and they

talked about courage as a leadership trait they had (Aij, & Teunissen, 2017). They further talked

about the effort they made to overcome the leadership barriers and obstacles. Determination,

resilience and hard work greatly contributed to their success. They were holders of PhD degrees

which they stated helped them for qualification purposes. However, loneliness is a challenge

they face in their duty area as they are just a few in the executive positions. Their male

counterparts, being the majority, promote each other and have big egos, and they tend to despise

them when on duty. Subject 7 stated that "I feel very strong, and I will never let gender imparity

determine my success and victory. I will not accommodate fear of being despised because of my

gender, but I will use my strengths to fight for my rights".

Subject 1 stated that female workers should not use any woman like features to complete

the work. She stated how she is petite and hates attention. Female workers should be properly
 42

dressed whenever at work or when attending interviews. She further stated the numerous steps

that men and women can implement to assist women in ascending to leadership roles. For

example, both genders should be empowered and confident to seek attention to gender inequality

in the workplace. Healthcare organizations should consider implementing assessment tools such

as metrics to evaluate gender parity. In addition, university and school classrooms should reflect

gender equality in faculty and leadership (Cimirotić et al.,2017). Women in charge should

consider hiring more women to increase gender equality by hiring female leaders. Women are an

important component of the healthcare system as their determination and leadership traits help

them increase the profit margin, resulting in an organization's success. Gender equality inspires

future generations, which pave the way for many women to become leaders.

Family Responsibilities: 90 per cent of the participants had children, and all of them were

married. They declared family commitments and responsibilities being a challenge they face

when trying to balance family and work. Participant 2 had a six-month-old child who needed her

attention very much, yet she talked of how challenging it is to balance family responsibilities

with work. She also had two other children between the ages of 7 and 8 who needed her

attention. Three respondents talked about how having a supportive family is vital. They said their

husbands supported them fully. They said that they had exchanged their house roles with their

husbands to enable them further their education. Subject 4 stated that it takes a unique husband

to help you fully through this time-consuming healthcare work.

Respondent 8 spoke on how she nearly got divorced when she was going through her

doctorate studies. Her husband at times felt that she did not give him enough time, and he felt

lonely, yet he had married. Her husband further claimed how their children missed their motherly

love, care and attention because of her tight schedule. She claimed how she would get to work
 43

for the whole day and, in the evening, would attend her doctorate class; by the time she would go

back to her home, their children were already asleep.

Confidence: Out of the ten female healthcare workers, 2 discussed how self-confidence

was important and helped them acquire leadership seats. They also insisted on how lack of

confidence can lead to failure in their career and leadership journey. One participant talked about

how she lacked confidence because she did not become part and parcel of her childhood life. She

also narrated how she once lacked confidence when she was new in the healthcare career and lost

her scholarship to the top university (ALobaid et al., 2020). She learnt from her mistakes and

narrated how her husband motivated her and taught her to be self–confident. She said that she

enjoys the fruits of being self-confident and has enabled her to succeed in her career.

Subject 7 discussed imposter syndrome. It is a feeling that makes somebody feel that they

are fake; they don't have the necessary skills and knowledge to be a leader; being in this career

by mistake makes a person doubt their capabilities. Persons with the imposter phenomenon tend

to feel that they do not deserve their achievements. Studies showed that this syndrome could

affect both genders. She said that all healthcare workers and female workers must avoid such

feelings and thoughts as they will affect their careers.

Mentorship: This is having a wise person who can be a counsellor, parent, teacher,

colleague or any person to act as a senior sponsor or an influential supporter. The selected

individuals work as a senior sponsor or an influencer. A mentor can help an individual to acquire

the desired occupation or act as an allusion to provide career assistance and advice.

Figure 4 represents the participant’s mentorship.

 44

Mentorship percentage (%)

Female Male

Leadership Strengths and Style

The participants reported different leadership strengths and styles. Table I presents a

summary of the findings (Van et al., 2019)

Participant Number Personal Leadership Strengths

1 Honest

Humble

Good listening skills

2 Honest

Innovative

Listens

3 Diligent

Handwork

Has good communication skills

 45

4 Truthful

Enthusiastic

compassionate

5 Innovative

Optimistic

Persistent

6 Determined

Kind

7 Truthful

Assertive

A good judge

Kind

8 Honest

Determined

Compassionate

9 Accepts others

Assertive

Calm

Determined

10 Collaborative

Determined

Humble
 46

Independent

11 Determined

Kind

Collaborative

12 Calm

Determined

Good communicator

Summary

This chapter presented the findings of the 12 women who participated in the research. It

also outlined themes and data derivative by the study scrutiny of the questionnaires and

interviews. The challenges reported by those women included; family responsibility, gender, and

self-confidence. The information acquired in this chapter will be of great help to all those female

leaders who aspire to be healthcare leaders.

 47

Chapter Five: Study Discussion and Conclusions

Although female numbers have continuously increased in the healthcare workforce, they

are not represented equally in the top seats of leadership and management here in the United

States. This study aimed to examine women leadership in the healthcare system and identify the

success, challenges, or obstacles they face (Cimirotić et al.,2017). A sample size of 12 women

healthcare workers was used. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted and audio recorded,

and there were research questions that guided the study all along. The respondents had

experience as they were employed for over five years.

Data Source and Delimitation

All interviews were recorded and then copied using the Hyper Transcribe Software. The

transcriptions were later reviewed to distinguish themes, and codes were attached using the

Hyper Research software.

The delimitations related to this study included;

(1) Participants were currently employed in the healthcare system

(2) Respondents responses were based on their experiences and personal views, and it was

assumed they gave credible information and were honest.

(3) Participants worked in the United States.

(4) This study involved female workers who had executive positions and those yet to achieve

the top positions.

 48

Findings

The healthcare industry is comprised of over 74% women workers, but a disparity

continues to exist between the number of female workers and those holding the executive’s seats.

Women still face challenges in acquiring leadership in this male-dominated healthcare leadership

system. The few successful women believed in themselves, and they broke the leadership barrier,

thus acquiring the executive seats.

The findings are grouped as follows,

Discrimination, bias, and prejudice: This is based on the stereotypes that define the variances for

men and women and act as an outside blockade (Braidotti, 2019). The relationship between

gender characteristics creates the labor division, job placement, and performance evaluation as a

foundation. Women have many leadership traits, yet they are denied a chance to showcase them

in leadership. Women develop agentic behaviors, which makes them discriminated against and

penalized when attending interviews.

Resistance: Resistance is based on the challenges women leaders face when using the leadership

ladder to achieve their ambitions and goals (ALobaid et al., 2020). Females tend to resist society

when they try to break the set social roles where they are forced to work in a self-actualizing

manner.

Leadership styles: There exists the main consensus that distinct leadership styles exist (Bokhari

et al., 2017). Female leaders have the formality of demonstrating numerous leadership traits that

are more transformational than male workers in leadership.

Family responsibilities: Women face many challenges when trying to balance work and their

family responsibilities (ALobaid et al., 2020). Men spend half the time spent by women on

household responsibilities. Women have the responsibility to take care of their children.
 49

Recommendations.

The results of this study cannot be generalized, although this study helped identify the

obstacles faced by female workers in the healthcare industry.

Recommendations for this study are;

(1) Since this study was restricted to 12 participants, more participants are required to

provide more data.

(2) This study had respondents' ages between 30 to 60 years; their experiences varied

because of their age differences; as a result, future research should include samples of the

same age bracket.

(3) Many female workers lacked self-confidence; thus, future research should identify the

connection between confidence and communal features.

(4) Future research should determine ways in which men can guide and inspire female

advancement in the healthcare industry.

(5) This research recommends that future research be carried out to compare and contract

ladies and gentlemen leadership in the healthcare system as this study focused on female

leadership alone.

(6) Further research should be conducted to analyze the role of government in the healthcare

leadership unit.

Conclusions

The following conclusion was made;

(1) Women still experience discrimination, prejudice and bias in the 21st century in the

healthcare workforce.
 50

(2) The majority of women experience resistance when trying to climb the corporate ladder.

It results from how women feel between balancing communal characteristics and having

leadership characteristics to become a good leader.

(3) This study reported that women, both leaders and workers lacked self-confidence always

or at their point in life. They said how lack of self-confidence had messed them in various

job interviews.

(4) The respondents insisted that balancing career advancement with family responsibilities,

especially in this 21st century, is challenging. 11 women had children, but they could not

give them ample time.

(5) Gender imparity is a challenge facing female workers in the healthcare system. They

comprise the majority of the health workers, yet they are not given the mandate to occupy

at least half of the executive seats.

(6) This study outlined the distinctions in the leadership practices and characteristics of male

and female healthcare workers.

Summary

The female workforce has increased rapidly since World War Two. Although there is still

a certainty that women devastated the barriers a long time ago, fewer women are employed in the

top-level healthcare seat. Many changes need to be made to help women achieve top authority

and to overcome discrimination. It is clear that the healthcare industry is a male-dominated field,

yet males consist of a small percentage of the healthcare workforce.

Although this study had several limitations, the data collected from the 12 healthcare

female workers' respondents demonstrated the obstacles women face up to date. This research

further outlined several conclusions that were derivative from the results. Balancing family
 51

responsibilities, resistance, and discrimination hinders female workers' success in the leadership

journey.
 52

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