The results of a 2015 HIMSS survey of 20,000 women in health IT on workplace, job satisfaction, recognition and opportunities to move up – coupled with another on salaries for women in this field compared with compensation for men – spoke clearly to HIMSS Executive Vice President Carla Smith.
Both surveys revealed pressing needs for resources and community for women in health IT.
Men, on average, earned $126,262, compared with $100,762 for women in the HIMSS Compensation Survey of 1,900 healthcare professionals that included CEOs and CIOs.
Moreover, women landing their first executive positions make just 63 percent of what men make in their first executive role.
"I firmly believe sunlight is the great disinfectant: It's a great way to start conversations and help people be more informed," Smith said at a HIMSS16 session where she presented the findings of the compensation survey.
She saw the disparity, but also recognized the opportunity to do something about it – to change the status quo.
Not one to procrastinate, Smith gathered together a roundtable of some of the most powerful women in the industry. They met at HIMSS16 to better define the situation, build a community and create an awards program, all to provide women support, recognition, concrete solutions, share ideas, offer resources and content.
Content is where Healthcare IT News comes in. Today we launch a dedicated section of the website – "a room of one's own," so to speak – exclusively focused on news, career advice, profiles, success stories and recognition of women in health IT and the issues that are most pressing to us.
We are also launching a Women in Health IT newsletter, which will be emailed the fourth Tuesday of each month.
Virginia Woolf's slender masterpiece "A Room of One's Own," which explores themes related to women writers and female fictional characters, was published in 1929, at a time when male authors dominated the literary world even more than they do today.
It's much the same in the realm of healthcare IT. The disparities may not be as wide as they once were, but they persist. As we see it, closing those gaps and achieving parity – both in opportunity and compensation – will elevate the entire healthcare IT industry.
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