Leadership for Health: How Women in Power Make a Difference

Around the world, women who are most adversely affected by limited access to contraceptives also have little influence in shaping reproductive health policies, research has shown. Intuition might suggest having more women leaders would improve contraceptive access and more broadly, women’s health outcomes.

But is that true?

Darden Assistant Professor of Business Administration Dwaipayan Roy wanted to find out if additional research would support that notion. Roy teamed with Amir Karimi, assistant professor with the Alvarez College of Business at the University of Texas at San Antonio, to seek answers by applying their expertise of supply chain management, econometric tools, and diversity and inclusion.

The answer based on their analysis was a resounding “yes.” Findings from Roy’s and Karimi’s research recently was published in the journal “Production and Operations Management.” To investigate the question, the researchers gathered and studied data to gauge the effect of female decision-makers on the procurement quantity of contraceptives in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

“Our analysis offers insights on the positive and synergistic impact of women health ministers and parliamentarians on contraceptive procurement, highlighting their pivotal role in improving contraceptive access in some of the most underserved regions of the world,” Roy said. “Our results have broad implications for national governments, international development organizations, and businesses.”

The Darden Report caught up with Roy to learn more about “Procurement for Empowerment: The Impact of Female Decision-Makers in Reproductive Health Supply Chains.”

Q: Why did you choose to research this area?

A: Contraceptive access remains very limited in LMICs. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, up to 35% of women who intend to delay or prevent pregnancies lack access to any contraceptives compared to only about 6% of women in North America and Europe. Resources in these countries are limited and reproductive health has not traditionally been a priority for national governments.

With respect to reproductive health, women and men also have different awareness levels and life experiences. For example, it is women who die during childbirth, it is women who bear the brunt of restrictive abortion policies, it is women who experience postpartum depression. We were curious to see whether such differences translated into women health ministers and parliamentarians being more committed advocates for reproductive health, in comparison to their counterparts who were men.

Having more women as health ministers and parliamentarians may be challenging, but the research offers takeaways that can help organizations to manage supply chains that are more inclusive of traditionally marginalized communities, resulting in better societal outcomes.

What are some of the countries that you analyzed?

We compiled data from six different sources to analyze the impact of women health ministers and parliamentarians on the procurement quantity of contraceptives. Our study sample includes 101 low- and middle-income countries spanning six continents over 16 years between 2000 and 2015. Some of these countries include Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Ghana in Africa; Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica in Latin America; and Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Nepal in Asia.

What were your key findings?

In those countries we studied, the research found that a female (vs. male) health minister is associated with an average 66% increase in the procurement quantity of contraceptives. We also found that the increased representation of female parliamentarians together with a female health minister result in even higher increases in the country’s procurement quantity of contraceptives. That is, women leaders made a difference! And that too, substantively in terms of advancing the reproductive health agenda in their countries.

For these countries, what are the implications for the findings for women generally and potentially for their work-related interests?

The health benefits are the most obvious. It is widely recognized that improved access to contraceptives empowers women to exercise their reproductive rights by preventing unintended pregnancies and their consequent adverse consequences like thwarted professional goals, unsafe abortions and maternal deaths. Contraceptives also offer protection against sexually transmitted diseases, help to regulate menstrual cycles, and can be used to treat ongoing health problems like endometriosis. In resource-limited settings like LMICs where reproductive health issues have often been overlooked, the passionate dedication and advocacy of women leaders can bring more attention to this under-prioritized issue, contributing to improved health outcomes for women. For international development organizations like USAID and UNFPA that are tirelessly working to advance global health equity, it would be crucial to tap into the influence of women leaders in national governments to further improve women’s health outcomes in LMICs.

However, additional research is needed to understand if the increased representation of women leaders in national governments translates into more women-friendly workplace policies at the country-level, for example, longer maternity leave period, government-sponsored childcare subsidies, etc.

How does this research and its findings relate to the broader issue of opportunities for females for careers in government, nonprofits or businesses?

Our research emphasizes the need to have more women in influential decision-making roles, whether in businesses or in national governments! But how can businesses and national governments do so? One way would be to appoint more women board directors and CEOs with the expectation they will advance more women-friendly workplaces and workplace policies at the company-level. Another way is to develop mentorship programs that can help to nurture an internal pipeline of women leaders. The concept of men as allies for women, particularly in areas where women are underrepresented also needs to gain greater traction in practice.

At the country level, the intentional appointment of women as health ministers, fielding more women candidates in elections, and implementing quotas for women parliamentarians are some of the ways to increase the representation of women in influential positions in the government.