WOMEN IN HEALTH IT

Trudeau, a self-proclaimed feminist, on working with President Trump, de-stigmatizing mental health and appointing women to corporate boards to improve decision-making.

A recognized healthcare executive and thought leader who leads HIMSS North America, Executive Vice President Carla Smith, has been named as one of the Most Powerful Women in Healthcare IT by Health Data Management.

The awards, which Trump gave at the U.S. State Department, honor women who have overcome injustice to transform society. 

In taking stock of the year just past, Intel executives found diversity and inclusion are driving evolution and reinvention. “Meeting our diversity hiring and retention goals in 2016 demanded a continued dedication to inclusive hiring practices, introduction of innovative, research-based programs such as the WarmLine and multicultural retention and progression study, and establishing equity across the company through evaluating pay, progression and advancement of women and underrepresented minorities,” writes Danielle Brown, Intel’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, and VP of Human Services, in a February 28 blog. Progress toward Intel’s goals included: • Intel exceeded the 2016 hiring target with 45.1 percent diverse hiring – an achievement Brown notes the technology giant is committed to surpassing in 2017. • The company saw gains in the overall representation of women, which rose 2.3 points since 2014 to 25.8 percent. • It hit its year-end goal of achieving 100 percent pay parity for both women and underrepresented minorities and achieved promotion parity for females and underrepresented minorities as well. • Intel met its overall diverse retention goal, retaining diverse employees compensated at better than parity, which means the company retained the overall diverse population at a higher rate than the counterpart majority. Brown pointed out there is still much work to be done to achieve our 2020 goal of full representation, namely with increasing the number of underrepresented minorities and countering the retention issue. Representation of underrepresented minorities in Intel’s U.S. workforce has increased from 12.3 percent in 2014 to 12.5 percent in 2016, leaving room for improvement in 2017. “We endeavor toward our goal of full representation, as Intel firmly believes that reaching a critical mass of women and underrepresented minorities in our workforce through creating an environment where everyone can thrive, brings ample benefits not only to Intel but the entire tech industry,” Brown wrote.

President Trump, Vice President Pence and Ivanka Trump met March 27 at a roundtable of business women and entrepreneurs. Meeting in the Roosevelt Room in the West Wing of the White House, the president, reading from prepared remarks, offered promising comments and compliments. From his remarks, we gleaned three promises and a couple of kudos. Promise: “Empowering and promoting women in business is an absolute priority in the Trump administration because I know how crucial women are as job creators, role models, and leaders all throughout our communities.” Promise: “We must ensure that our economy is a place where women can work and thrive. We will continue to address the barriers faced by women professionals and entrepreneurs, including access to capital, access to markets, and access to networks. We will make it very easy.  It's going to be a lot easier.  You do an amazing job.  And for a while it was a very, very tough -- almost impossible – job.” Promise: “My administration will also continue to advocate for policies that support working families, including making childcare more affordable and accessible.” Kudo: “Now you're providing hundreds of jobs across our country – thousands of jobs.  And you're really an inspiration to everybody – and that's men and women, believe me.  A lot of men out there, they're not doing what you're able to do.”  Kudo: “Today, women are the primary source of income in 40 percent of American households with children under the age of 15. We also know that companies that promote women to senior leadership roles realize significantly better profits, according to statistics, than their competitors.”

New research from Accenture concludes technology can help women advance at work and help close the gender pay gap. The report “Getting to Equal 2017” identifies several critical factors  that affect a women’s ability to achieve equal pay as early as university. For example, young women lag in adopting new technologies quickly – 45 percent vs. 63 percent, compared with young men. There are gaps too in taking coding and computing courses – 68 percent vs. 83 percent. The findings are based on insights and analysis from more than 28,000 women and men in 29 countries. The report offers what researchers call three powerful equalizers that could reduce the pay gap by 35 percent worldwide and add $3.9 trillion to women’s income by 2030. They are: Digital Fluency: The extent to which people use digital technologies to connect, learn, work – helping to get more women into paid work. Career Strategy: The need for women to aim high, make informed choices and manage their careers proactively. Tech Immersion: The opportunity to acquire greater tech and stronger digital skills – dramatically increasing women’s earning potential and opportunity for senior roles. Applying these career accelerators, combined with support from business, government and academia, could reduce the pay gap by 35 percent by 2030, boosting women’s income $3.9 trillion, according to Accenture The report also dives into the differences between men and women undergrads to examine how decisions made in college can impact women’s earnings later on –  factors that put women on the fast-track toward manager.  “The future workforce must be an equal workforce,” said Julie Sweet, Accenture’s chief executive officer – North America, in a statement. “The gender pay gap is an economic and competitive imperative that matters to everyone, and we must all take action to create significant opportunities for women and close the gap more quickly. “Gender equality is an essential element of an inclusive workplace, and this extends to pay.” Accenture Chairman and CEO Pierre Nanterme, added. “Business, government and academia all have an important role to play in closing the gap. Collaboration among these organizations is key to providing the right opportunities, environments and role models to lead the way for change.”

She comes to the North Carolina medical center from UC Davis, where she oversees its academic, research and clinical programs.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma calls Obamacare a broken promise during the meeting.

Healthcare IT News puts the spotlight on professional women working in healthcare and information technology with this roundup of articles and opinions.

Pascual will also serve as professor of pediatrics and collaborate with NewYork-Presbyterian.