Male allyship to advance women’s leadership in global health academia: A qualitative study

Women are underrepresented in leadership positions within global health. Although women leaders have been shown to foster inclusive work environments and prioritize improvements in women’s health, they face barriers to their advancement, including microaggressions and disproportionate caregiving responsibilities. Male allyship can facilitate the elevation of women into global health leadership roles. This study explores the experiences of global health leaders in academia of male allyship and identifies actions and best practices to support the growth of women’s leadership in global health. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-one global health leaders (11 females, 10 males) from U.S. and Canadian academic institutions. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded using a combined inductive-deductive approach. Participants identified barriers and outlined potential approaches to support women’s advancement to leadership roles. For the individual male ally, recommendations included completing a self-assessment (to mitigate counterproductive behaviors and biases), engaging in effective mentorship practices, advocating publicly, and serving as a positive role model. Recommendations at the institutional level emphasize the importance of cultivating an enabling environment that facilitates open dialogue, establishing goals and metrics; and implementing allyship training with periodic evaluation. At the societal level, participants suggested promoting early education and shared caregiving to shift cultural norms on gender roles. This paper provides a framework of actions and resources to cultivate and support male allyship for women’s leadership advancement in global health. Effective male allyship begins with acknowledging power dynamics and an understanding of how intersectionality, beyond gender alone, shapes women’s careers and workplace dynamics. Additionally, mentorship and collaborative peer support are critical to promoting women’s career development. Individual allyship when combined with institutional and societal actions and policies, can facilitate the advancement of women in global health leadership roles.