ArticleBMJ global health2025
Exploring the perceived impact and influence of women leaders across sub-Saharan Africa on health policy and gender equity.
Article in BMJ global health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Strengthening women's leadership in health systems through innovation and intersectionality.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionWomen make up a significant portion of the global health workforce but are under-represented in leadership roles. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), 70% of the health workforce is women, yet only 38% hold leadership positions in health ministries. This gap can lead to gender biases in health research and policymaking, perpetuating systemic gender biases. Despite these barriers, women leaders are making an impact globally. However, evidence of their impact is lacking.
methodsWe conducted an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study to identify perceptions of women leaders' influence and impact within the fields of reproductive, maternal, child and adolescent health and nutrition and immunisation across SSA. The study included a multicountry online survey with men and women leaders and key informant interviews with a subset of women leaders. Descriptive statistics were computed with SPSS, and thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo.
results408 women and men leaders completed at least one section of the survey; 34 women leaders participated in key informant interviews. Women leaders are conducting their leadership differently, using identity-derived power and the power of the collective to influence health policy and programme change. They have unique access to communities and can build trust with marginalised groups. Women leaders also prioritise women-centric and neglected health issues, demonstrating ethical responsibility through transparency, commitment to inclusion, accountability and maximising impact with limited resources.
conclusionThe findings from this study underscore the critical role of women leaders in advancing health policy and gender equity across SSA. Women leaders' impact can be amplified and enhanced through targeted investments that strengthen enabling environments, foster allyship, champion gender integration activities implemented by women leaders and support their unique networks. Such investments will benefit women and adolescent girls and contribute to achieving broader public health goals and sustainable development.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.