Becker's Hospital Review

WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP 51 Women more likely to 'boomerang' in healthcare By Alexis Kayser H ealthcare is an established hotspot for "boomer- ang" employees: those who leave an organization and return to it at a later time. But recent research shows that the industry itself has the highest return rate among women who took a career break. Data from LinkedIn's Economic Graph team, released Feb. 29, found that hospitals and healthcare have the highest return rate of women who have taken time away from the workforce, with 51.6% who leave eventually coming back. Across all sectors, only about a third of women return to the same industry they originally left. Hospitals and healthcare had a notably higher return rate than other industries — financial services saw a 41.7% re- turn rate, while women returned to professional services, which includes accounting and consulting firms, 38.1% of the time. Overall, women in the U.S. are 43% more likely to list a ca- reer break on their LinkedIn profile than their male coun- terparts. Only 4.3% of women who returned to the same industry secured positions at a higher level of seniority, compared to 13.9% who changed industries. LinkedIn also observed different reasons between men and women for career breaks. Women are most likely to leave their jobs to serve as full-time parents, look after their health and well-being or assume caregiving responsibil- ities. Men, on the other hand, primarily leave their jobs upon retirement, a career transition or a professional de- velopment opportunity. n are juggling — work, partner, kids, self-care — accept that sometimes you will drop something. Just make sure you are not always dropping the same thing. Mary Leonard, MD. Physician-in-Chief at Stanford Medicine Children's Health (Palo Alto, Calif.): Take your time to find your passion. It may take a lot of experimenting — and trial and error — to find out what makes you want to get out of bed in the morning. I trained in general pediatrics but I always knew I wanted to be a subspecialist. I found my passion in nephrology because of my early interest in chemistry. From there, my focus shied into preparing the next generation of junior physician-scientists and creating a workforce that is representative of the communities it serves. I found the combination of being a clinician and researcher was the perfect fit to helping improve the well-being of children everywhere. Teresa Neely. Vice President and Regional COO at UW Health (Madison, Wis.): It is such a pleasure and responsibility to be a leader in healthcare, as our work impacts the lives of those we lead and those we serve. My approach to leadership is to "leave it better than you found it." Be your authentic self and transparent, and take the time to invest in people, because we do better when we raise each other up. Actions speak louder than words, but words matter. Jennifer Peters. Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative and Legal Officer at Lifepoint Health (Brentwood, Tenn.): On International Women's Day, we are reminded of the importance of gender equity in healthcare and our responsibility as leaders to continue to champion it. I am inspired every day by the women I encounter across Lifepoint Health and across the healthcare industry who are leaders, mentors and advocates for their colleagues and for their patients and communities. Since women make up the majority of the healthcare workforce, we must do all that we can to li up one another and ensure that women's voices are heard and celebrated in every room and corner of healthcare and in each of the regions we serve. LaVonne Pulliam. Chief Compliance Officer at University Hospitals (Cleveland): As a leader, it's critical to create and foster an environment where your team is comfortable raising concerns without fear of the consequences. Teams who do this well surface creative, innovative solutions and are able to address issues faster. e old adage that culture eats strategy for breakfast still rings true. My other piece of advice is that there is not one "right" path to achieving your career goals. ere are well-traveled, traditional paths, but they are not the only paths to success. ere are new paths being forged by women today. Your path is the right path for you. Don't count yourself out because it doesn't look like someone else's. Charlette Stallworth. Vice President of Business Development and Innovation at Stanford Medicine Children's Health (Palo Alto, Calif.): Be brave, set goals and give yourself permission to change course. I have been an Army officer, a wife, a commercial banker, a mother and a healthcare executive — not a typical path, but amazing for me. Go for what you want knowing that you are supported by the efforts of the women who came before you and the current networks of women in healthcare. We've got you, and you've got this! n "Closing the health gap for women could add $1 trillion annually to our global economy by 2040. It is clear that our best efforts are not yet enough. Looking back, we can see that the women's healthcare landscape was designed for us, but not WITH us. Today, it is still true in many nations. If we wish to actualize the truest meaning of "health" care for the women of our future, we must learn to include, listen to and believe women." — Monique Gary, DO

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