FIND among consistently high performers in 2021 Global Health 50/50 report

This year’s Global Health 50/50 report has now been published, providing unique insights into the equality- and gender-related policies and practices of 200 global organizations.
We are proud that FIND has been recognized as a consistently high performer, reflecting our staunch commitment to gender equity, diversity, and inclusion, both institutionally and within our programmatic work.

Entitled Boards for all? this latest report assesses a broad set of key indicators to assess gender equity and takes a special look at governance in global health, providing a deep dive into the demographics of 2000 board members of global health institutions. The headline finding of this analysis is stark: decision-making seats are dominated by men from high-income countries: less than 1% of board members are women from low-income countries. Our own 12-person Board does not yet meet our own targets for representation, with only 3 women, and 8 nationals of high-income countries. We are committed to change this, as laid out in our board policy:

• We will move to at least 50% female Board members by the end of 2023, and establish criteria to maintain gender parity
• We will add at least two new Board members from the Global South in 2022, and establish criteria for regional representation
• We will significantly increase the representation of civil society in our governance
• We are expanding the diversity of experience and expertise within the Board to reflect the evolving role FIND plays in global health equity, and as the leader of a global diagnostics alliance.

James Chau, WHO Goodwill Ambassador, is right when he says, “This isn’t about excluding anyone from the boardrooms of organizations active in global health. Rather it is about making more space, adding more seats, and being truly inclusive so all affected communities have their voices heard and acted on in decision-making.”

Building on our track record as a consistent high performer, we always want to do better. We are committed to ensuring that our governance truly reflects the communities we serve. Diversity, equity, and inclusion in our organization and our programmes is essential to ensuring access to diagnostics and testing and achieving health for all.

We celebrate the Global Health 50/50 report, and are more inspired than ever to make the meaningful changes that will not only make FIND a great place to work, but will also make us better at what we do and how we do it.

Bill