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Forbes
08-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Women Can Drive Mission-Driven Marketing In Healthcare
Kamya Elawadhi is Chief Client Officer at Doceree. Women are increasingly finding themselves at the heart of transformative efforts in the healthcare marketing sector, a field that is at an exciting juncture. Currently, we are witnessing an increasing number of women in leadership roles across industries, who are rewriting the rules of engagement through their efforts. And in marketing, in particular, the number of women in the field has been growing. In 2021, research by LinkedIn found that women made up about 66% of healthcare marketing roles in North America. As a woman in the healthcare digital marketing space, I've seen how leveraging the power of strategy and communication can redefine how marketers connect with healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients. With a focus on mission-driven strategies, a keen strategic vision and a constant commitment to innovation, I believe women leaders in this space have an opportunity to propel the sector forward. Let's explore the pivotal role women play in mission-driven marketing in healthcare and how we can continue making our impact felt. Understanding Mission-Driven Marketing But first, we need to understand what mission-driven marketing is. In healthcare, mission-driven marketing brings together marketing efforts with the core objectives and values of healthcare brands, such as improving patient outcomes and advancing welfare. Unlike traditional marketing strategies that focus heavily on profit generation and increasing brand visibility, mission-driven marketers put their energy into crafting campaigns that eventually lead to meaningful impact. Through mission-driven marketing, marketers can help deliver consistent messaging to health brands' audiences and enable pharma brands to build trust with patients and HCPs. Shaping Purpose-Driven Strategies To have the greatest impact, women marketing leaders should base their efforts around embedding mission-driven strategies within marketing campaigns, as well as fostering a culture of inclusivity. This can ensure contemporary marketing campaigns work toward achieving broader industry goals, such as improving medicine affordability and patient outcomes. Another important step is balancing business objectives with ethical considerations, as this can lead to campaigns that not only drive engagement but also work toward the idea of improving patient care. Women leaders can also champion data-driven approaches to measure the impact of mission-driven initiatives. For instance, teams can use analytics to track how marketing strategies are impacting medicine affordability. This blend of empathy and data-backed precision can empower marketers to create healthcare marketing strategies that are good for patients while offering greater results for healthcare brands. Relatable And Responsible Storytelling There's no denying that storytelling is at the core of mission-driven marketing efforts. Women within the healthcare marketing ecosystem can craft compelling narratives to humanize healthcare by focusing on real patient experiences. This can result in campaigns that resonate with audiences emotionally. I am increasingly seeing brand campaigns that share narratives highlighting resilience and hope. These campaigns prioritize key ideas such as consent and representation, ensuring no story is shared in an irresponsible manner. This, in turn, can make healthcare marketing more relatable. However, a key to delivering these campaigns effectively is empathy. This is especially important when tackling sensitive topics, such as mental health or chronic illness. Another important consideration when treading the murky waters of healthcare marketing is avoiding ethical pitfalls. The world of healthcare marketing is a tightly controlled space, with regulatory guidelines such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) offering a tight framework to work within. As such, it's important to stay informed about legal and ethical guidelines to create campaigns and stories that are responsible and compliant. Expanding Access and Engagement Many marketing teams are using AI- and machine learning-based tools to improve communication and target their messaging. By analyzing user data, women in marketing are well-positioned to create targeted campaigns that address specific health needs. Women also have an opportunity to lead the push for more inclusive digital platforms and develop campaigns focused on low-income or marginalized communities, including women. These campaigns can help break down barriers in healthcare, aligning with the mission of equitable healthcare access for all. Ultimately, I believe integrating technology and narrating stories in a humane manner will help make digital campaigns both impactful and inclusive. Overcoming Challenges: Navigating A Complex Landscape Despite their contributions, women in healthcare marketing can face complex challenges, including gender bias and resource constraints. Yet, I've seen women continue to work hard to drive forward mission-driven marketing campaigns and prioritize long-term impact over immediate profits. Moving forward, women can push for more support for social impact initiatives and use data to demonstrate a return on investment in terms of patient trust and brand loyalty. Along with this, consider mentoring the next generation of female marketers. This can help foster women's empowerment and support the sustainability of mission-driven marketing. The Future: Women Leading With Vision With emerging trends in healthcare such as value-based care aligning closely with the goals of mission-driven marketing, the future for the latter looks good, and I believe women are poised to take charge in such efforts. In the future, I expect to see more women experimenting with AI-driven campaigns and rising to executive roles. As a result, their influence will continue to shape healthcare marketing. By prioritizing mission over metrics, women can continue to redefine success and create brands that inspire trust and drive meaningful change. Despite challenges, women's resilience and vision are set to pave the way for a more inclusive, impactful future for healthcare marketing. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Irish Times
26-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
‘Being a mother can hold you back at work - my peers can stay later, go on work trips'
When it comes to working and having children, it's more difficult for women to climb to the top of their profession. From the gender pay and promotions gap , the childcare and domestic juggle and the women's health gap , many structural and societal barriers are put in the way. We all know some parents who've both made it professionally and seem to have it all figured out. But have they really or are they stressed out of their minds? Numerous research studies and books show that when women have children , they suffer a motherhood penalty at work: fewer promotions and hiring opportunities, lower salaries and a drop in their career trajectory compared to male counterparts and those without children. When men marry however, they start earning more and that's true at every age from 20 to 64, according to US data . Whether women have children or not, making it to the corner office is a huge challenge. In 2025 in Ireland, the two least likely roles for women to hold in senior management are CEO (6.2 per cent) and chairperson (2.5 per cent), according to Grant Thornton's annual Women in Business Report. There's hope though. Some roles such as chief human resources officer (48.8 per cent) and chief financial officer (43.8 per cent) are among those most commonly held by women in senior management in Ireland. READ MORE Sadly, more than one in seven (16.3 per cent) businesses had no women in senior management roles. [ Will part-time work or staying at home with children leave you poorer in old age? Here's what to do now Opens in new window ] This week I spoke to women in the tech and legal sectors, some of the best paid professions in the State, to see how they've tried to make motherhood and professional success more compatible. Women who work and have children are struggling Last week's National Women's Health Survey in the Irish Examiner found that a third of women say they cannot afford to have children or won't until they reach certain financial or career goals. Kids are expensive and it is understandable that women want to increase their financial stability, and their ability to take maternity leave or reduced hours, before making that choice one way or the other. And there's no doubt they are seeing that women who work and have kids are struggling. The many women I spoke to, who tried to continue working at a high level professionally after having two or more children, said career and family success requires strong organisational skills, a supportive partner, full-time flexible childcare and help from family, neighbours and friends along the way. Anecdotally, couples at the top of their professions who 'have it all' – at least from the outside – tend to have full-time minders or nannies who look after their young children and household tasks, including meal preparation. Making this happen takes some serious cash and is out of reach for most parents, and likely impossible for single parents. At an average of €19 an hour in suburban Dublin and 10-hour days, that equates to an average salary of almost €50k before tax. When the kids are older, many families reduce the minder's hours to after school and evenings. Jennie* and her husband work in tech and they have a minder who looks after their primary school age children from lunch to 6.30pm. 'When the kids were younger, we'd drop them to creche at 7.30am and pick up at 6pm. They were the last kids in the creche and it almost broke me. We thought one person probably needed to give up their job or we needed to move out of Dublin,' she says. Covid put the brakes on that decision by allowing them to work from home, easing the pressure a bit. If they'd left Dublin and moved closer to family support, it would have involved a long commute for one while the other would be in the car driving the kids everywhere instead of walking, or doing a short drive, to school. Jennie is the only woman on her senior management team with a family or in a relationship. Everyone else either has a full-time stay at home wife or they are single. 'It's important to work but you need to do it so it doesn't cost you everything. It can hold you back though; my peers can stay later, go on work trips.' Living by a 'spaghetti junction of spreadsheets' Some dual income parents have a web of support involving several people – a childminder every day and a cleaner/cook once or twice a week – with both parents working from home two days a week and extended family or close neighbours filling in the gaps. Anne*, who worked in large legal firms from 1996 to 2016, and her husband decided to have several children and she left the profession to work for herself in a related field with more flexibility. Managing the children and the household takes a 'spaghetti junction of spreadsheets' and messaging apps she said. And the organisational role still falls largely on women. Things have changed in the last 10 years though. 'Conversations around the legal boardroom table have changed. Men are saying no to things now because they're dads (age 35 to 45) and want to be there to support their wife and kids. I'm seeing more dads [in the legal profession] at kids' matches and doing school runs. They're in as much of a sweat now as their wives and partners are.' The long hours work culture means parents are always on, even when they're at home, says Jane* who also left the legal profession for a more flexible job. Her husband recently reached the top of his game in law but it's a real juggle. [ A 9-5 work schedule operates on the assumption someone else is looking after your house and kids all day Opens in new window ] 'You need to get home at 6pm or 7pm for the minder so you have a couple of hours with the kids. Once they're in bed, you log back on at 9pm or 10pm and work for a few more hours. Sometimes you're working weekends. 'Weekends tend to be full of activities with the kids; going to matches and flying around to different activities. There's not enough time with the kids or one another. It's difficult to find time for yourself to (exercise) and to be together as a couple. People are wrecked, running around all the time.' Some employers have really stepped up to help parents by providing working from home options and more flexible hours and the Government's hot dinners and childcare supports are good initiatives, says Anne. She's scathing however when it comes to schools. 'Schools need to be more mindful of the people behind the children, especially when they're organising multiple midday events or ringing because a child forgot something. Some people can't leave work – or they have to take a half day off for each event – and if they're not there, the child will feel they're the only one without a parent attending. The guilt is terrible.' Ireland's professions are still structured around the one earner, one stay at home parent model, despite the higher educational levels of both men and women, and the financial necessity for most families of two incomes. Something has got to give. *Names have been changed Margaret E Ward is chief executive of Clear Eye, a leadership consultancy. margaret@
Bloomberg
23-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
UK Retailers Boost Women on Boards to Almost Half, Study Finds
UK retailers have made 'huge strides' on boardroom gender equality with the number of women now close to parity, a study found. The proportion of female board members has risen to 47% from 32% in 2021, according to a report by the British Retail Consortium and executive search firm The MBS Group published Tuesday.
News24
11-06-2025
- Politics
- News24
ANC tightens its rules on selection of local government leaders
The ANC is implementing stricter selection processes for party leadership positions in preparation for the 2026 local government elections. These measures aim to improve the party's image and enhance service delivery by appointing qualified leaders who can properly manage municipalities. The new rules reflect the ANC's effort to 'clean its membership' and ensure those in leadership positions are adequately qualified for their roles. The African National Congress (ANC) is implementing stricter selection processes for party leadership positions in preparation for the 2026 local government elections. Secretary General Fikile Mbalula has instructed provincial structures to begin selecting quality members with proper qualifications and without tainted histories. His views were supported by the head of the party's electoral committee, Kgalema Motlanthe, who emphasised educational qualifications. Motlanthe also highlighted the importance of considering women first in all positions. The party has given the provincial structure a strict task of selecting quality members with no criminal record or facing an internal disciplinary hearing. With the 2026 local government around the corner, Mbalula has called on the party structure to commence with the selection processes of the leadership, including the mayors. In a letter sent to provincial secretaries and ANC deployees dated 22 May, Mbalula informed them about the candidates' selection process deadline. According to Mbalula, all the selection processes should be done by the end of July 2026. He said this was to enable the party to be ready for the 2026 local government elections, which are expected to take place at the end of 2026. He instructed the provincial leadership and the party deployees to urgently establish the provincial list committees (PLCs). 'Kindly find attached the letter to all provincial secretaries and NEC deployees on the deadlines for the candidate selection process. This is for the establishment of the PLCs as a matter of urgency. The Elections Committee will be making follow-up on each province in this regard,' read Mbalula's letter. Insiders say the party is tightening the rules of deploying qualified people in government who would help redeem its dignity and improve service delivery. The names that are going to be nominated are going to be subjected to rigorous vetting processes and thorough educational background checks. Source The source said strict rules aim to change the image of the party, which had been appointing people who cannot read or interpret the financial report. 'We have a lot of problems in municipalities because many leaders are failing the communities as a result of not understanding simple things,' said the source. Mbalula's letter was also sent to the party's electoral committee led by the party's former deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe. Motlanthe requested the provincial secretaries to submit the names of the recommended members of the provincial list committee, which shall manage and coordinate the 2026 local government elections candidates' selection process. The CVs and proof of qualifications for the recommended members must also be submitted, and failure to do so shall result in disqualification. The Electoral Committee shall submit recommendations for the appointment of PLC members for approval by the NEC, and names without CVs and qualifications will not be included in the submission Motlanthe Motlanthe said the PLC members must be respected and disciplined members of the ANC and Alliance who may not stand for any elected positions in the ANC and shall not be available for nomination and selection as public representatives. 'All PLC members must have a tertiary qualification coupled with political and/or government experience. All PLC members must have no pending criminal charges or ongoing ANC disciplinary proceedings against them,' read Motlanthe's letter dated 22 May. Insiders say this is part of the ANC's cleaning its membership campaign. 'The reason for starting early is to enable the party to screen all the people who would be running the structures and selecting those who will be leading or be deployed in local government, like mayors, speakers and chief whips,' said the source. To ensure that the people running the selection process do not have an interest in the party-political positions, Motlanthe requested the PECs to nominate three senior ANC members who no longer occupy elected positions in the NEC or PEC or REC, with no direct personal interest in the outcome of the candidate selection process. He also said two of those nominated three individuals must be women. Each of the leagues' provincial executives may also nominate one list committee member who meets the above criteria. Each of the Alliance partners plus Sanco may nominate one list committee member who meets the above criteria. Motlanthe According to the new rules, provincial secretaries and electoral committee members are not eligible to occupy leadership positions at the national, provincial or regional levels in their organisations. 'The Provincial Secretary will provide administrative support for the PLC and will ensure that all organisational structures implement the processes and abide by the rules determined by the Executive Committee (EC). The Provincial Secretary or Convenor shall not sit on the PLC. A provincial staff member or volunteer must be appointed as list administrator to assist the PLC by the provincial secretary and approved by the EC,' said Motlanthe. Motlanthe said all the structures must assume that the elections would be held before the end of November; all the processes need to be concluded by the end of July 2026.
Sky News
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Archbishop of Canterbury job advert goes live – and for the first time they could be a woman
A job description for the next Archbishop of Canterbury has gone live, seeking a leader with the "utmost integrity" - and, for the first time in the church's history, they could be a woman. Justin Welby left the vacancy in January after resigning following a damning review into the Church of England 's handling of a sexual abuse scandal. The archbishop is the most senior bishop and is the spiritual leader of the church and worldwide Anglican Communion. This week, a so-called 'statement of needs' was published by the Diocese of Canterbury, setting out a long list of requirements for the 106th archbishop. These include: A person with "theological depth" who is a strong communicator with people of all ages and backgrounds; Someone of the "utmost integrity who is able to speak honestly" about issues and injustices in the church; A "servant leader who shows compassion towards the disadvantaged and marginalised"; Being "unapologetic about offering a Christian perspective to local, national, and international dialogue"; A willingness to ordain and consecrate both men and women, support the ministry of both, and may themselves be male or female; Having previously "worked, and will continue to work constructively" around ongoing discussions around blessing services for same-sex couples, but also someone who can "embrace" both those who support and oppose same-sex marriage in the church. Women have been ordained in the Church of England for a number of years, but no woman has ever been in the top role. Candidates have historically already held senior leadership roles. They must be at least 30 years old - and generally younger than 70. Typically, rather than applying, candidates are "invited" to take part in the process. Earlier this year, a public consultation with over 11,000 people took place to give people the opportunity to submit candidates and desirable qualities. It is thought the candidate could be announced by the autumn, a year after Mr Welby resigned from the job. Mr Welby announced he was stepping down in November 2024 following failures in handling a church abuse scandal involving barrister and religious camp leader John Smyth QC. He is thought to be the most prolific abuser associated with the church.
