Gender equality in leading cancer centers

Abstract

Background: Gender equality policy has been instituted in institutions across the European Union and the United States. Based on landscapes drawn over a decade ago about gender inequalities in health management. Oncology is projected to be a significant burden for healthcare systems very soon. Aim: to record leadership gender status in most prominent oncology institutions in 2022. Materials and methods: We searched the Organisation of European Cancer Institute website and the National Cancer Center Network Member Institutions website. We recorded the gender of the legal representative of the center (CEO/director). Results: The Organisation of the European Cancer Institute has a membership of 123 cancer centers, seven outside the European Union. Those situated in the EU have 17 leaders of the female sex (out of 116; 14,66%). While in the US, there are seven leaders of the female gender (out of 32; 21,88%). Conclusion: The introduction of gender equality policy in recent years slowly impacts the predominance of the male gender in leading positions of oncology centers.

Keywords

• gender equality
• leadership
• oncology