Women in Hospital Chief Executive Officer Positions: Fact or Fiction

Are women represented in hospital CEO positions? Twenty-three hospitals in three counties were surveyedto answer this question. Surveys were done to determine the number and percentage of women in hospitalCEO positions. Also identified were the beds controlled by women hospital CEOs within each county. Fromthe county with the lowest percentage of women in CEO positions, an American College of HealthcareExecutives survey, Gender and Career in Healthcare Management (GCHM), was conducted.Two counties were above the national average for women CEOs at 23.3%. One county was at 25% and theother county was at 33%. The first county was at 52% and the second county was at 27% for control ofpercentage of beds by women hospital CEOs. The third county which was below the national average forwomen was at 11% with 1.3% of the beds controlled by women. In the results of the GCHM, womenrespondents were satisfied with advancement, infrequently engaging in informal networking within theircurrent organizations, and perceived male stereotyping and preconceptions of women's roles and abilities asthe primary barrier to advancement. More research needs to be conducted on the counties with womenhospital CEOs to identify the strategies that helped make these women in CEO positions a fact