Women in HIT Leadership, Part 3: The Future of the CIO Role

Women and men are inherently different.

Men are better negotiators, more confident, and more likely to take risks. Women, on the other hand, are better team players and are more mission-driven.

We’ve heard these sentiments so many times — and for so long — that they’ve become widely accepted as facts. The reality, according to a Harvard Business Review, is that there are differences between men and women. “But they’re not rooted in fixed gender traits,” it states. “Rather, they stem from organizational structures, company practices, and patterns of interaction that position men and women differently, creating systematically different experiences for them.”

In other words, the reason women occupy fewer leadership roles in fields like healthcare IT is more about nurture, and less about nature. It can be a very discouraging thing to hear. But it also can be inspiring, according to Women in Health IT Leadership panelists, who believe it’s time to move past the (justified) anger many women feel and work to forge change.

Recently we spoke with three influential women about the challenges they’ve faced in their careers, what they consider to be core competencies for female leaders, and why diverse representation is so critical in today’s environment. The panelists — Sarah Richardson, California Market CIO, Healthcare Partners; Julie Bonello, CIO, Rush Health; and Tressa Springmann, CIO, LifeBridge Health — also share their thoughts on how to encourage a healthy work/life balance, how to build a safe culture, why mentoring matters so much, and the discussion that needs to happen on a wider scale.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3



* Creating a safe environment: “Make yourself available.”

* New parent groups – “It creates a really good camaraderie.”

* Safe & sick leave: “You don’t owe an explanation”

* Learning from male-dominated environments

* “I observed a lot about what behaviors I needed to exhibit.”

* Different paths to leadership roles

* “The CIO job is just one of several technology leadership positions.”



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Bold Statements

What I’m finding is men are sometimes more tentative to have those conversations. They’re scared that they might screw up and say something that further creates this lack of parity or perception of equities. And so we have to create a safe environment.

If there are folks who are worried or reluctant or don’t feel safe — because, sadly, sometimes that happens with a leadership transition — there are actually accommodations in place so that when you need to take that time, you go ahead and take it. You don’t owe an explanation.

I look around a lot and I observed a lot. I thought about what behaviors I need to exhibit to move ahead. In an environment like consulting, you’re on different projects all the time. So it was a great learning opportunity.

I’ve noticed more and more that while it’s important for us to have that aspect of STEM within technology, what’s also important is that you have the ability to communicate and understand all aspects of operations, marketing, leadership, etc., and the acumen to understand how technology complements the business.

Gamble:  Are there ways to try to help make sure an environment is safe? Open discussion, of course, is important,