Becker's ASC Review

38 HEALTHCARE NEWS 38 Workplace gender parity still 50 years away, report says By Kelly Gooch While women have made workplace gains over the last 10 years, they still face significant challenges in their roles and careers. is is the primary finding from the "Women in the Workplace" report, published Sept. 17 by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Co. For the report, analysts collected information from 281 companies across the U.S. and Canada, surveyed more than 15,000 employees from 27 companies, and interviewed 27 women and non-binary individuals, including women of color, LGBTQ+ women and women with disabilities. Companies from the private, public and social sectors submitted data for the report, including 26 companies grouped under "healthcare systems and services." Women's representation has increased across the pipeline over the past 10 years, according to the report. Women today make up 29% of C-suite positions, 29% of senior vice president positions and 34% of vice president positions, compared to 17%, 23% and 27% in 2015, respectively. e authors attributed progress for women in senior leadership primarily to a reduction in line roles (positions with profit- and-loss responsibility and/or a focus on core operations). But women continue to experience more competence-based microaggressions than their male counterparts, according to the report. irty-eight percent of working women reported having their judgment questioned in their area of expertise. Twenty-six percent of men said the same. Additionally, 39% of women reported being interrupted or spoken over more than others. Twenty percent of men said the same. And 18% of women said they had been mistaken for someone at a much lower level than they are, compared to 10% of men. "Men and women are less likely to be interrupted or spoken over than they were five years ago — a sign that increased awareness around an issue can lead to cultural change," the report authors wrote. "However, women remain twice as likely as men to experience this." e report also found that women today are just as likely to experience "othering" microaggressions as they were five years ago, particularly women of color, LGBTQ+ women and women with disabilities. Overall, the report authors estimate that at the current rate of progress, it will take nearly 50 years to reach parity for all women in corporate America. n Hospital operating margins to stay low in 2025: Moody's By Laura Dyrda H ospital labor costs rocketed over the last four years, hitting margins and cash flow hard, according to Moody's. And the problem isn't going away any time soon. "The steep rise in healthcare wages over the last three years remains a structural problem and credit risk for the hospital industry," states Moody's Oct. 15 report on hospital financial performance. "While the wage growth rate will remain low in 2025, average hourly earnings will continue to top prior years. Reimbursement increases from payors, particularly government ones will not keep up with higher wages." Moody's noted the median operating cash flow margin was 8.5% for nonprofit hospitals in 2019, before the pandemic, and dropped since then to 5.3% in 2023. Growing expenses in labor and supply costs are driving the change, with salaries and benefits comprising 53% of nonprofit hospitals' expenses, according to Moody's. Supply costs comprise 21% of the expenses, based on 2023 medians. "We expect operating margins to remain below historical levels in 2025," the report states. Nonprofit hospital operating margins are 4.2% on average, according to Kaufman Hall's National Hospital Flash Report released Oct. 3. From January to August, operating margins are 14% above where they were in 2023 but down 11% from 2021. Labor costs shot up during the pandemic when hospitals needed expensive nurse staffing agencies to quickly increase staffing as they filled to capacity with COVID-19 patients. When the demand for nurses dropped, hospitals focused on hiring full time staff to reduce reliance on temporary labor. Hospitals now have more control over staffing costs and are offering more flexibility to permanent team members, according to the report, but it won't be enough to completely calm financial challenges. "While hospitals are reporting lower expected wage increases for coming years, the existing high rates will persist," the report states. "Hospitals are taking steps to offset this hurdle by aiming to reduce current costs through improving efficiencies, scrutinizing the hiring process more closely, decreasing patient length of stay and aiming to find a better fit between employees' roles and their skill set." n

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