By Levis Nderitu
On the face of it, the social sector is driven by progressive values of equity and inclusivity. However, in practice, we often don’t live up to these goals.
For example, in global health, women make up 70 percent of the sector, but their representation in leadership is only 30 percent. The FAIR SHARE Monitor, which measures women’s leadership in large social sector organizations, found that men are currently three times more likely to reach a formal leadership position than women in these organizations.
Systemic biases and structural barriers impede women’s growth within the sector. The problem is so deep-rooted that it cannot be solved without truly visionary and feminist leadership.
But how do you turn this vision into reality? And when it comes to organizations with global operations, how do you drive equitable organizational culture in such diverse and decentralized setups?
When I joined PATH as its first Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, these were the challenges, and they were daunting.
PATH is a global nonprofit dedicated to achieving health equity. We employ over 3,000 people globally, working in over 70 countries across Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, North America, and Europe.
At PATH, we have not fully figured it out, but we see our efforts as a continuous and iterative journey, with room to adjust course as needed. While we are still early on in our journey, the following five lessons capture how PATH is moving forward toward its goal of becoming an inclusive, equitable, and gender-intentional organization.
1.Good intentions are… well, good, but fall short without a coherent strategy.
PATH has always upheld the values of respect and inclusivity, and our leadership has invested in turning intention into action. In 2023, we focused our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work through the lens of five guiding principles: it must be intentional, unifying, measurable, simplified, and global. This not only helped in refocusing our efforts but also in integrating DEI principles across our people, business practices, and public health programming.
Similarly, gender equity has long been a part of PATH’s broader efforts in public health, but it was only this year that we released our comprehensive gender strategy. PATH’s Gender Strategy 2025 focuses on integrating gender into our business strategy and leveraging our communications, advocacy, and partnerships to inspire change in our sector. The objective is to generate insights and address gender bias and barriers to improve health outcomes for all individuals.
2.Data-driven decisions make a difference.
You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Using data from employee engagement and inclusion surveys, people analytics, and listening sessions, we’ve been able to track progress and identify gaps. We became one of the first global health organizations to launch an annual DEI transparency report. PATH has been recognized as a consistently High Performer in the 2024 Global Health 50/50 gender equality index, which analyzes eight variables, including a commitment to gender equality, workplace gender equality policy, and board diversity and inclusion policy, among others.
This year, for the first time since 2020, PATH achieved gender parity across all levels of the organization, a milestone that underscores our dedication to gender equality.
As per 2024 data, our Executive Team is now 56% women, representing a 55% increase since 2022. We have also achieved 44% racial diversity at the Executive Team level, a 100% increase since 2021. Additionally, 62% of our PATH global leaders are women, and 95% of all PATH global leaders have undergone cross-cultural competence training. In the US, we are proud of a 25% increase in Black staff over the past three years.
In terms of engagement, as per an internal 2024 survey, 92% of our staff are proud to work at PATH, 75% are engaged, and 82% feel they belong. While we see a high average engagement rate across the organization, the engagement score for women is 3% lower, at 72%.
3.An organization’s culture is made and remade by its people.
Beyond numbers, our progress is defined by the lived experiences of PATH staff. PATH’s People Resource Groups are communities led by people, for the people, fostering a shared sense of belonging. This includes Black at PATH, Asian+ at PATH, Pride at PATH, Able at PATH, Latinx at PATH, and Women at PATH, all led and shaped by hundreds of staff members.
In a short time, we have grown to seven Women at PATH chapters across our Africa and Asia, Middle East and Europe Region operations, including Women at PATH India, which launched in August this year. These groups provide a safe space to connect, empower, and support the advancement of women and allies, and facilitate experience sharing.
4.Policies must translate into practice.
While we established these lofty goals of being gender intentional and inclusive, what does it really mean? It means flexible work that enables more women to work at PATH and balance family and professional obligations. It means not asking prospective candidates their past salaries during the recruitment process, as we realized that women tend to negotiate less. To drive equity, our new HR system and job architecture projects are optimized to level the playing field.
It means we are committed to conducting a gender pay gap analysis. We are diversifying our supply chain and making our procurement policies more inclusive. We are identifying feminist, LGBTQIA+, and women-led organizations for targeted partnership opportunities. We are investing in women’s leadership through mentorship and professional development programs.
5.Global organizations need global perspectives.
DEI isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. Implementing these initiatives in different regions requires understanding local contexts. What works in the US may not work in East Africa or South Asia. Tailoring strategies to diverse cultural and regional needs has been crucial, especially by listening to our people and understanding their most pressing needs.
Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion goes beyond creating an inclusive workplace; it’s about ensuring our work truly reflects the diverse communities we aim to support. By embracing and leveraging our differences and unique perspectives, we are better equipped to understand the unique challenges of the communities we serve, design and implement health solutions that are both innovative and equitable, and ultimately deliver our mission of good health for everyone, everywhere.
