Leads Award recognizes leaders promoting female leadership in healthcare

The fourth edition of the Leads ‘Alessandra Pederzoli’ award was held at the Ministry of Health’s Auditorium Cosimo Piccinno to recognize individuals driving innovation and gender equality in healthcare. Seventeen protagonists and three special mentions were honored for their efforts to dismantle barriers preventing women from accessing top leadership roles.

Awards were distributed across six categories: the public sector, the private sector, other organizations, Leads members, emergency medicine supporting victims of violence, and STEM and artificial intelligence. The jury was chaired by Antonella Polimeni, rector of Sapienza University of Rome.

The initiative highlights a significant gender gap in the sector. According to a report by the Observatory on Gender Equity in Healthcare Leadership, a collaboration between Leads and the University of Milan, women constitute approximately 70% of the healthcare workforce, yet they hold only 36% of senior leadership positions.