The COVID-19 pandemic has had an outsized impact on women and girls, especially women of color. It has also shown time and again that when women lead, they can have enormous positive effects on the health and lives of all people.The inclusion of women in COVID-19 decision-making bodies globally has been sparse — only 3.5% of 115 identified COVID-19 decision-making and expert task forces have gender parity in their membership. But the Biden-Harris Administration chose a different, more diverse path when forming its Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board. This session will feature four women who served on the COVID-19 Advisory Board, who will discuss why bringing a gendered and intersectional lens to the pandemic response is critical for progress. Dr. Michele Barry, Founder of WomenLift Health and Director of the Center for Innovation in Global Health, will make welcome remarks.

Guest experts:

Dr. Celine Gounder, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, NYU Grossman School of Medicine (Biography)

Dr. Jill Jim, Executive Director, Navajo Department of Health (Biography)

Dr. Julie Morita, Executive Vice President, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Biography)

Loyce Pace, Director of the Office of Global Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services (Biography)

Amie Batson, Series Moderator, Executive Director, WomenLift Health (Biography)

Speakers served on the Biden-Harris Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board in their personal capacity.

COVID-19 has demanded the world’s attention, tested the resilience of health systems, and exacerbated existing inequalities. As countries grapple with its long-term effects, ensuring women’s voices and perspectives are included in the response is an urgent priority to improve health outcomes. 

This virtual speaker series will explore the gender and power dynamics at play in this health emergency, offer a look into the challenges women face and outline immediate and long-term actions we can take to prioritize women’s leadership. 

If interested, you can view recordings from previous speaker series events here.