The dynamics of gender and leadership in healthcare management in Lebanon : reflections in times of change

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore several healthcare organizations in Lebanon from a gender and leadership perspective and identify strengths and weaknesses in promoting gender equity in their management, focusing on gender disparities (if any) and the reasons for them. It will further delve into the different processes and initiatives that healthcare organizations in Lebanon work on and adopt to promote gender equity. This study will tap on Joan Acker’s ‘gendered organization’ framework and the four processes attributed to the framework to further examine if healthcare organizations create a synergy between the concept of gender equity and senior management. The analysis that was carried out reflects the situation of the healthcare organizations in the Lebanese context and portrays how these organizations view and identify with gender-related concepts in the work place. The results indicate that the notion of gender equity is well accepted and implemented by the healthcare organizations despite nuances specific to each organization in the sample.