Enhancing diversity in public health scholarship: the role of publication mentorship

Javadi, Dena; Hussain, Sameera

doi:10.1093/heapol/czaa104

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Providing mentors and mentees with an initial training workshop aimed at making the relationship as successful as possible proved to be beneficial and well received by participants. We proposed a model that provided structure for initiating the relationship while offering room for different forms of relating as a way to foster a lasting mentorship partnership [ 37 , 38 ]. Regular sessions for mentors and mentees separately also provided participants with an opportunity to collectively reflect on issues faced by women researchers, by challenges that SRHR researchers encounter, and to create personal and professional bonds between them.…”

Section: Discussion and Lessons Learnedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting early-career women researchers: lessons from a global mentorship programme

Brizuela

Chebet

Thorson

2023

Global Health Action

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mentorship is an important contributor to strengthening research capacity among health researchers. Formal mentorship programmes, targeting women mentees can help mitigate some of the gendered power dynamics and can also help early career researchers learn from others’ experiences of navigating these challenges. In 2020, the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction at the World Health Organization launched a mentorship programme geared towards early career women researchers. This paper describes the process of designing and implementing a mentorship programme for early career women sexual and reproductive health and rights researchers from low- and middle-income countries including valuable lessons learned vis-à-vis existing evidence. Some of these findings have been incorporated into iterations of the programme launched in 2022. Critical points include: ensuring considerations for language and geographical distribution; allowing mentees to participate in the matching process; providing training and opportunities to network and learn from other participants; offering the support and structure for developing these relationships. Providing women researchers with the tools – through mentorship – to navigate the unique challenges they face in their career journeys, can have a lasting impact on research capacity. Countries and institutions committed to strengthening research capacity need to focus on the holistic growth and motivation of individuals in a way that ensures gender equality.

show abstract

Section: Discussion and Lessons Learnedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting early-career women researchers: lessons from a global mentorship programme

Brizuela

Chebet

Thorson

2023

Global Health Action

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Most resources (n = 20, 64.52%) did not have a specific global health focus area. Ten resources (32.23%) identified women first authors [3,8,9,27,[30][31][32][33][34][35], and of those, nine (29.03%) were also affiliated with institutions in high-income countries [3,8,9,27,[30][31][32][33][34][35]. As far as time commitments are concerned, most resources were not time bound (n = 18, 58.06%).…”

Section: Description Of Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We found one single-focus program called the Alliance-HSG Publication Mentorship Program, a sixmonth program for women working on health policy and systems research (HPSR) [9], but most resources (n = 14, 45.16%) featured multiple components [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44].…”

Section: Description Of Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The barriers preventing women from obtaining leadership positions are many and include, but are not limited to, gender biases, stereotypes, discrimination (both overt and covert), hostile work environments, power imbalances, sexual harassment, and reduced access to networks and mentors. These factors are exacerbated for women of color and women in minority groups [2,[7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The absence of women in positions of leadership has detrimental consequences for the entire population. Leaving women out of leadership unjustly limits diversity of perspectives and unique considerations that women bring to decision-making tables [3,9]. For example, women in leadership tend to fund educational and health programs more than their male counterparts and prioritize the needs of women, children, and marginalized groups [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A Scoping Review on Resources, Tools, and Programs to Support Women’s Leadership in Global Health: What Is Available, What Works, and How Do We Know?

Chung¹,

El‐Harakeh²,

Weinberg³

et al. 2023

agh

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The unequal representation of women in global health leadership is a prevalent issue laterally across global health fields and vertically down experience levels. Although women compose much of the workforce, gender-based barriers prevent female talent from filling their appropriate leadership roles, which funnels unique expertise and problem-solving skills on a diversity of health topics out of positions of leadership. Currently, many calls to action have been proposed to raise awareness of the lack of women’s global health leadership, with Women in Global Health as one of the more prominent movements. This paper evaluates how the priorities and strategies for leadership training and development set forth by such movements have changed the landscape of available programs and resources for women in global health, based on availability, success, and evaluation. Objectives: This manuscript maps existing programs and resources that support women’s leadership in global health and describes available evaluations and documented outcomes. Methods: We used a dual approach of a peer-reviewed and gray literature search to build a comprehensive list of existing programs and resources designed to support women’s leadership in global health. Out of 54 items included for full-text review and 22 gray literature items screened for inclusion, a total of 31 resources were processed in the final extraction. We used descriptive quantitative analysis for categorical and binary variables, while qualitative data from evaluations were analyzed for outcomes. Findings: Resources were in the form of conferences, supplemental resources to conferences, certificate programs, coursework, stand-alone documents, single-focus programs, and mostly multicomponent programs. Most resources did not have a global health focus area, and a third of the total resources identified women first authors from predominantly high-income countries. About half of the resources mention mentorship and networking as activities incorporated as part of the resource. Over half of the resources did not have a target audience, and most resources were free to users. While there is a lack of consistent and meaningful evaluation of the resources, the available captured metrics of success were described as the number of career-advancing opportunities after using the resources. Examples of opportunities include enrollment in graduate school, receiving academic promotions, participating in internships, presenting at conferences, and publications. Conclusion: While the supply of existing programming and resources to advance women’s leadership in the global health field is limited in terms of quantity, it is rich in diverse formats, content, and implementation. This scoping review supports the notion that empowered female leadership in global health requires a complementary support system that encourages the unique needs and talents of female leaders. Such a support system needs inclusive targeting regardless of experience level, academic degree, or location. Furthermore, evaluations of resources will be critical in maintaining meaningful interventions that effectively dismantle the infrastructures that continue to limit the success of women leaders in global health.

show abstract

Making progress in early-career publishing: evolutions of the women’s publication mentorship programme

Jalaghonia,

Kwamie

2023

Health Policy and Planning

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mentorship is vital for early-career researchers, especially women from low- and middle-income countries seeking to publish their work. This paper explores the evolution of the Women’s Publication Mentorship Programme, a collaborative initiative pioneered by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, further strengthened through the partnership of Health Systems Global, and Health Policy and Planning. Over a span of five years and encompassing three cohorts, the program supported 45 early-career researchers from 24 countries, resulting in insightful papers on equity-oriented health system topics. Beyond the direct outcomes of strengthening the writing skills of first-time women authors and facilitating paper publications, the Programme has also influenced Health System Global's strategic approach and conceptual framework for systemic capacity strengthening in health policy and systems research. It has also played a pivotal role in addressing the longstanding gender imbalance in global health authorship. Amid these achievements, our program consistently evolved, drawing from lessons of the past cohort. Challenges, such as the need for extended paper development timelines, addressing language barriers, and strengthening methodological rigor in initial manuscripts, were met with solutions. Insights and experiences from previous participants translated into tangible results, notably elevating the quality of journal supplement publications. This commentary explores key lessons from the second cohort's journey and its evolving nature. It also highlights persistent challenges and provides practical recommendations for organizations to enhance their mentorship programs, ultimately fostering the career growth of early-career researchers in health policy and systems research.

show abstract

Enhancing diversity in public health scholarship: the role of publication mentorship

Cited by 4 publications

References 20 publications

Supporting early-career women researchers: lessons from a global mentorship programme

Supporting early-career women researchers: lessons from a global mentorship programme

A Scoping Review on Resources, Tools, and Programs to Support Women’s Leadership in Global Health: What Is Available, What Works, and How Do We Know?

Making progress in early-career publishing: evolutions of the women’s publication mentorship programme

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Enhancing diversity in public health scholarship: the role of publication mentorship

Cited by 4 publications

References 20 publications

Supporting early-career women researchers: lessons from a global mentorship programme

Supporting early-career women researchers: lessons from a global mentorship programme

A Scoping Review on Resources, Tools, and Programs to Support Women&rsquo;s Leadership in Global Health: What Is Available, What Works, and How Do We Know?

Making progress in early-career publishing: evolutions of the women’s publication mentorship programme

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

A Scoping Review on Resources, Tools, and Programs to Support Women’s Leadership in Global Health: What Is Available, What Works, and How Do We Know?