Highlights of 2025 & Opportunities for 2026
2025 in Review: A Year of Momentum, Progress and Visibility
📝 Published Thought Leadership: Advancing Gender-Equitable Leadership
For International Women’s Day, we were proud to contribute to the national conversation on gender equity by publishing our perspective piece titled “Reimagining systems to elevate women in global health leadership” in Insight+, the news platform of the Medical Journal of Australia. In this article, we explored the systemic barriers that continue to hold women back from leadership roles in global health and outlined tangible pathways for reform. The piece sparked meaningful conversations within the Australian global health community and reinforced the urgency of transforming our systems to unlock women’s full leadership potential.
🔗 Read the article: https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2025/8/reimagining-systems-to-elevate-women-in-global-health-leadership/
The Medical Journal of Australia also featured our work in a dedicated podcast episode exploring gender inequality in health leadership, widening our reach and elevating our advocacy to new audiences.
🔗 Listen to the podcast: https://www.mja.com.au/podcast/222/4/mja-podcasts-2025-episode-5-gender-inequality-health
👩💼🌍 Amplifying Voices: 2025 Profiling Series
In 2025, we launched our first-ever Profiling Series to strengthen our commitment to spotlighting and increasing the visibility of women who are transforming global health across Australia and our region. Throughout the year, we showcased leaders from research, policy, community health, humanitarian response, and clinical practice, each sharing their unique pathways, challenges, and reflections on gender, equity, and leadership.
These stories not only celebrate individual achievements but also highlight the collective power of women driving meaningful change in global health. By aligning the Profiling series with key moments such as International Women’s Day, Refugee Week, World Field Epidemiology Day, and International Week of Science and Peace, we amplified its reach and significance within the community.
🔗 Explore the series: https://www.wghaustralia.org/profiling-series
🎤 Webinar: Gender Justice in Global Health
The topic for our annual webinar for this year was ‘Gender Justice in Global Health: What it Means for Australia and the Region’, held virtually on 27 November 2025. We were honoured to feature Professor Fran Baum AO, one of the lead commissioners for the Lancet Commission on Gender, who presented key findings from the Commission and reflected on their implications for Australia and our region moving forward. She was joined by an expert panel featuring Ms Heather Keighley and Dr Adele Murdolo, with the discussion moderated by WGH-A Chair A/Prof Meru Sheel.
Together, they led a powerful and interactive conversation on where Australia stands, and what must change, to advance gender-transformative leadership and policy. The webinar has already sparked ongoing conversations across our community that will inform and shape our 2026 agenda. Stay tuned for more!
🔗 If you missed this webinar, you can watch it here: https://www.wghaustralia.org/news/event-recap-gender-justice-in-global-health-what-it-means-for-australia-and-the-region
👋WGH-A Committee updates
This year, we were delighted to welcome Emily Zhou and Alice McCann, PhD students based in Sydney, to the WGH-A Secretariat. They bring fresh perspectives, strong research backgrounds, and a passion for advancing gender equity in global health, helping to shape our work in 2026 and beyond.
We also sadly bid farewell to Professor Michelle Dickson, Associate Professor Roxanna Pebdani, and Jane Hawtin, who have stepped down from the Committee due to the completion of their terms and/or other work commitments. We sincerely thank them for their dedication, leadership, and invaluable contributions, which have played a key role in strengthening WGH-A and advancing our mission.
💙 Thank you to our 2025 Committee
We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to the incredible members of the WGH-A Committee who have generously volunteered their time, expertise, and leadership in 2025, to drive our advocacy, events, profiling series, and strategic vision. We are deeply grateful for every contribution, every hour of work, and every act of leadership that has helped elevate gender justice in global health across Australia. Thank you for your service, commitment, and passion. WGH-A would not be where it is today without you. 💙✨
_________________________________________________________________________
We need you! Opportunities for Member Involvement in 2026
Opportunity 1: Join our working group for Advancing Advocacy: ‘Closing the Gender Data Gap’
🎤 Are you an expert in law, advocacy, government, or policy? If so, we’d love for you to join our working group to help develop a crucial policy brief.
Building on your feedback and insights for advocacy gathered in 2024, WGH-A’s committee members formed an internal working group in 2025 to identify gaps that would align with our advocacy priorities. We learned that some of the biggest health employers in Australia do not report on critical gender equality data and we reached consensus on the topic: Invisible Data, Invisible Inequality: Why Australia Must Close the Gender Data Gap in Health.
Context: Every year, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) collects and publishes data on workplace gender equality on over 5 million employees across Australia. However, some of the country’s largest employers in the health sector - the State and Territory Governments – are exempt, meaning they are not required (and do not) report their workplace gender data. Without these data, it is impossible to form a complete picture of gender equality across Australia’s health workforce.
To better understand and address this critical gap, Women in Global Health Australia is now opening up the working group to all WGH-A members. This next phase will focus on shaping and advancing this important initiative to increase visibility and accountability around gender equality in Australia’s health system and driving advocacy that leads to real, systemic change. We’re seeking motivated WGH-A members with expertise in the law, advocacy, government and policy to join us to help advocate for the systemic change needed to close Australia’s health systems gender data gap.
If you have these skills – or other relevant experience that you believe could contribute to this effort – please get in touch with us at wghaustralasia@womeningh.org. Your voice and expertise can help us close the gap and make gender equity in health visible and actionable!
Opportunity 2: Contribute to a Special Collection on Women’s Leadership in Health
WGH-A Chair A/Prof Meru Sheel, and Committee members A/Prof Zohra Lassi and Prof Jaya Dantas are serving as Guest Editors for a Special Collection on “Advancing Women’s Leadership in Health Systems: Pathways, Practices, and Global Perspectives” to be published in Women’s Health by Sage Journals.
If you have background and expertise in this area, the editors invite you to submit a review or research article for consideration in the Special Collection. Submission deadline for this special issue is 20th July 2026.
For more information, please contact A/Prof Meru Sheel at meru.sheel@sydney.edu.au or Stephanie Shroot (stephanie.shroot@sagepub.co.uk). This is a fantastic chance to contribute to a global conversation on women’s leadership in health!
Opportunity 3: Join Women in Global Health Australia Committee in 2026
🌟Call out for new members🌟
With several members stepping down or completing their terms in 2025, we are refreshing the WGH-A committee in 2026. Watch out for a fresh call for committee nomination in Q1 of 2026.
As a committee member, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to national conversations on equity and leadership, lead or support transformative initiatives and be part of a dynamic network committed to advancing women in global health.
WGH-A thrives when our committee reflects the rich diversity of Australia’s global health community. We particularly welcome members who are:
● 🌏 Located across Australia — especially those in NT, WA and Tasmania or are based outside major cities
● 🎓 Bringing diverse expertise — especially in policy, advocacy, program design, communications, implementation, or community engagement.
● 💬 Committed to gender equity and inclusive leadership in global health
● 🤝 Collaborative and community-minded, ready to support events, initiatives, and strategic growth
Whether you are early-career, mid-career, or an experienced leader, we encourage you to apply.
Stay tuned for more details on the application process in January! 💙✨
________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for your ongoing support, allyship, and friendship. Thank you for being part of our community and for continuing to champion gender justice in global health. I look forward to engaging more with all of you in 2026.
Wishing you a joyful holiday season, a restful break, and a Happy New Year filled with hope, health, and continued progress!