Fierce Healthcare's 2021 Women of Influence Awards

By all measures, 2021 has been a time of extraordinary challenges for healthcare workers and executives. This is especially true for women in the industry.

Even before the pandemic, female physicians and researchers earned less, did more at home and tended to be lower on the professional ladder compared with men. The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound and far-reaching impacts on healthcare workers in the U.S. This burden has, in many ways, been disproportionately shouldered by women.

But there are significant shifts happening in the industry. Solving health emergencies like COVID-19 demands creative thinking by the best minds the world has to offer, and women have played a critical role in the pandemic response. Women in healthcare have notched spectacular accomplishments and demonstrated stellar leadership at every level of medicine.

In this spirit, we are recognizing 10 women who have risen to the challenges posed by COVID-19 and played key roles in positioning their respective companies and organizations for success.