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Review
. 2023 Mar 28;ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print).
doi: 10.1108/JHOM-02-2022-0053.

Exploring perceived barriers for advancement to leadership positions in healthcare: a thematic synthesis of women's experiences

Alexandra Claire Haines  1 , Eamonn McKeown  1
Affiliations
Review

Exploring perceived barriers for advancement to leadership positions in healthcare: a thematic synthesis of women's experiences

Alexandra Claire Haines et al. J Health Organ Manag. .

Abstract

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the voices of women describing the perceived barriers for advancing to leadership positions in healthcare.

Design/methodology/approach: A systematic search was conducted through Elton B Stephans Company (EBSCO) host research platform using the databases Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Complete, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) Complete and American Psychological Association (APA) PsycInfo. Nine papers were selected for this review. Thomas and Harden's (2008) method of thematic synthesis was used drawing from eight qualitative papers and one mixed methods paper describing women's lived experiences in, or advancing to, leadership positions in the healthcare sector. Analysis was conducted using three steps of thematic synthesis: the inductive coding of the text, the development of descriptive themes and the generation of analytical themes.

Findings: Through the method of thematic synthesis, six descriptive themes (barriers) emerged: internalised feelings, work-life balance, lack of support, stereotypes, discriminatory behaviours and organisational culture. From these, three analytical themes were identified: personal, interpersonal and organisational.

Research limitations/implications: This review looked at nine papers and documented women's voices. However, the women were in disparate geographical areas across the world and did not consider the specific cultural context in which the women were located. The healthcare sector is very large, and therefore, whilst there are shared commonalities, the disparateness could be a limitation.

Practical implications: Barriers were categorised as either structural barriers or attitudinal barriers to determine the policy and practice.

Originality/value: This research is crucial to better understanding what remedies need to be implemented to address gender disparity in the sector.

Keywords: Barriers; Gender; Healthcare; Leaders; Leadership; Qualitative; Underrepresentation; Women.

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References

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    1. Al-Sawai, A. (2013), “Leadership of healthcare professionals: where do we stand?”, Oman Medical Journal, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 285-287, doi: 10.5001/omj.2013.79.
    1. Ayeleke, R.O., Dunham, A., North, N. and Wallis, K. (2018), “The concept of leadership in the health care sector”, Leadership, pp. 83-95, doi: 10.5772/intechopen.76133.
    1. Bismark, M., Morris, J., Thomas, L., Loh, E., Phelps, G. and Dickinson, H. (2015), “Reasons and remedies for under-representation of women in medical leadership roles: a qualitative study from Australia”, BMJ Open, Vol. 5 No. 11, pp. 1-9, doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009384.
    1. Cooke, A., Smith, D. and Booth, A. (2012), “Beyond PICO: the SPIDER tool for qualitative evidence synthesis”, Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 22 No. 10, pp. 1435-1443.

Further reading

    1. Catalyst (2020), “Women business leaders: global statistics”, available at: https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-management/ (accessed 31 August 2021).
    1. Global Health 50/50 (2021), “Gender Equality: flying blind in a time of crisis”, available at: https://genderjustice.org.za/publication/gender-equality-flying-blind-in... (accessed 6 September 2021).

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