International Woman's Day 2026 - "Give to Gain"

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Alex Ryan, Chair of IHPN’s Women Leaders Network (WLN) and Group Director of Service Development at Acacium Group reflect on the progess that the WLN has achieved in the past twelve months

Yesterday marked International Women’s Day, with the theme this year of “Give to Gain” – emphasising the power of “reciprocity and support” and that “when people, organizations, and communities give generously, opportunities and support for women increase.”

This really struck a chord with me as Chair of IHPN’s Women Leaders Network (WLN) which aims to do just that and create a supportive and empowering environment for both current and future women leaders in independent healthcare.

The “Give to Gain” ethos behind this year’s International Women’s Day makes clear that “whether through donations, knowledge, resources, infrastructure, visibility, advocacy, education, training, mentoring, or time, contributing to women’s advancement helps create a more supportive and interconnected world.”

In the last year the WLN has focused particularly on two of these areas:

• giving a platform to, and increasing the visibility of, women leaders across the independent healthcare sector and beyond
• introducing our new mentoring programme to help support and foster the professional growth of women working in the impendent sector

Providing access to a strong network of women leaders, where members can connect and share experiences is a key priority of the WLN and in the last year we have hosted a number of fantastic networking events attended by women from across the independent healthcare sector at all stages in their career. As part of these events, we’ve been delighted to showcase some truly inspirational speakers including Sabina Hafesji, Co-chair and co-founder of the NHS Muslim Women’s Network, and my fantastic colleague Nicola Ellis-Webb, Healthcare Services Director at Acacium Group, who spoke about their experiences as women of colour in the healthcare sector. We’ve also had Dr Harriet Lewis (MD), Associate Director of Clinical Risk at WTW who has had a fascinating career both as a surgeon in the NHS and in the Royal Navy and now in a healthcare management role, along with Executive Coach and Mentor Ali Mortimer, and Independent Healthcare NED Natalie Ceeney CBE.

Last week to mark International Women’s Day we brought together women from across the sector at our event in Manchester to hear from healthcare experts including Lucy Jones, Chief Clinical Officer at Oviva; Gynaecologist and Obstetrician Dr Nickkho-Amiry; as well as Julie Rogers, CEO of the Healthcare People Management Association.

In taking the time to speak to and meet women from across the independent healthcare sector, these women have been so generous with giving their insights and words of wisdom to our members with conversations tackling a range of themes including:

• The importance of having confidence in your own skills and experience but also being able to lean into others in areas where you are still developing
• Using your network of mentors and allies to support you in your career – both men and women
• Understand your career is unlikely to be linear – being able to navigate changes along the way is essential

Last summer the WLN was proud to launch our mentoring scheme for women working in independent healthcare which aims to help connect mentors working in a variety of roles in the sector with those who are looking for some guidance and support in taking their career to the next stage.

We currently have over 20 brilliant women (and two fantastic men) who have put themselves forward as mentors who have a huge range of experience in operations, commercial growth and strategy, medical governance, policy and communications, marketing and legal skills. There is very much someone for everyone in our mentoring scheme and we are encouraging women from across the IHPN membership to make full use of this new resource. Whether you are looking for practical advice or insight in your specific field of work wanting to develop leadership and management skills to support with career progression, are keen to build new connections and networks or simply have a much-needed outlet to discuss career frustrations and find encouragement – there is a mentor for you.

Mentoring is a true embodiment of the “Give to gain” mantra – not only benefitting the mentee with support and guidance from someone who’s “been there, done that”, but is something that can also be hugely rewarding role for the mentor themselves.

We’ve already had some brilliant feedback from women who have been mentored as part of the scheme – whether that’s support with reviewing CVs, providing advice and guidance on a range of issues from managing career transition or workload, with one mentee securing a new promotion following her mentoring experience and the confidence and support it gave her.

In the coming year, the WLN will build on this work and continue to provide more networking events and mentoring opportunities to women across the independent healthcare sector, along with an additional focus on how we can support the provision of women’s healthcare across the UK.

This International Women’s Day, we are asking you as members to think about how you can play your part and “Give to Gain” whether through donations, knowledge, resources, infrastructure, visibility, advocacy, education, training, mentoring, or time, and support the advancement of women in your organisations.