Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Women in Health and Elevating Women’s Leadership in Healthcare with Diane Martin

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Women in Health and Elevating Women’s Leadership in Healthcare with Diane Martin · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

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  Hello, and welcome to the Becker's Healthcare podcast.
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  My name is Chanel Banger. Today, I'm excited
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  to speak with Diane Martin, founder and author
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  of Women in Health and a leader in
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  health care marketing and communications.
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  Diane, it's great to have you today. Hi,
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  Chanel. Thank you so much for having me.
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  Really excited to be here.
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  I'm excited as well. And to get us
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  started, so you know when you have a
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  brilliant pilot or a product, but it never
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  quite scales or when a note keeps you
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  from getting a seat at the table,
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  How does Women in Health help solve that?
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  Absolutely. Again, it's great to be here, and
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  thank you for having me. I'm dating myself
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  a bit, but for
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  two decades,
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  more than two decades,
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  I have worked at the intersection of storytelling,
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  strategy, and systems change.
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  So women in health really has
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  been an evolution, and I really like to
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  say that it's it's taken me twenty two
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  years to get to this point and bringing
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  it all together just from working with so
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  many great leaders
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  and interesting learnings and and practices along the
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  way. And so women in health, what it
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  does is it dives deep into the voices,
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  stories, challenges,
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  and lived experiences of 22 women and trailblazers
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  in the c suite.
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  So what they did to build the modern
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  office as we know it, how they've navigated
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  know, and the practical governance and sponsorship
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  moves that turned pilots into practice
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  or solutions
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  depending on where they are in in their
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  growth phases of of the organizations that they've
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  led.
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  So what we're doing with women in health
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  is we're bringing together the people who fund,
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  build,
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  govern, and deliver care.
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  So consensus
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  becomes accountability
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  and ideas become measurable change.
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  That's great. I love that. And now moving
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  forward, as I understand, you're launching Women in
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  Health publicly on March 26 at USC.
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  Can you give listeners a synopsis of what
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  Women in Health is and why that date
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  matters?
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  Sure. So Women in Health is a platform
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  to amplify women's leadership across hospitals, health systems,
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  consumer health, and academia.
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  The March 26,
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  event at USC's health sciences campus,
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  the launch formalizes an initiative we began at
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  the inaugural summit at Stanford University,
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  and it's about
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  moving from conversation to action. So mentorship,
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  governance, equity driven innovation,
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  and really building scalable, sustainable organizations.
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  Got it. Got it. And so you were
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  recently featured as a best read and even
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  added to a spring reading list. Can you
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  share what that recognition
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  was and
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  also what you're recommending for this season?
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  Sure. So we're really honored,
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  Women in Health is recognized as a must
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  read this spring
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  alongside
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  Haley Tecco and Lisa Marcoux.
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  So this spotlight
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  underscores how investment and innovation are converging in
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  women's health.
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  So for spring reading,
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  I'm recommending,
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  massively better health care by Kaley Taygo and
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  breaking the system by Lisa Marceau and, of
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  course, women in health, which is a master
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  guide to the voices, stories, strategies
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  shaping the modern office through the lens of
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  these
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  22
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  trailblazers who are part of this first of
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  its kind initiative that we're launching at USC
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  on March 26. And why is it important
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  is because we're honoring this initiative and this
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  and this launch during women's history month, which
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  is when we're having this, conversation. So
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  happy Women's History Month to you.
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  Love it. Happy Women's History Month to you
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  as well. And a quick follow-up, you had
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  mentioned 22 trailblazers who had shaped the book.
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  Can you talk about what that network looks
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  like? So
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  it's a cross section between,
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  c suite, executives,
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  clinicians,
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  founders, investors, and academics,
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  and these are voices who bring operational rigor
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  and lived experience to the table.
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  But I'm gonna take this a little bit
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  further, which I haven't included here. One of
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  the things that I'm proudest about is that
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  I'm a part of the Women in Health
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  Administration
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  organization
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  as a member and as a board,
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  which funny enough, just to let you know,
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  Chanel, the founding member of WHA
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  is actually Rhoda Weiss, who I think you
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  might know her, who's a part of Becker's
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  as well. And
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  they're part of this launch,
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  And it's becoming a powerful book that shines
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  a spotlight on
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  the women who are shaping the future of
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  health care.
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  And, you know, so proud to see many
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  of our leaders who are part of this
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  organization and many other,
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  reputable
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  institutions
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  that are saying this is such a need
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  and we want to be a part of
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  this movement. So
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  what we're doing is, you know, we're celebrating
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  many of them in this tradition,
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  whose voices, experiences, and leadership reflect
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  the strength and the diversity of our community
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  and how through their stories, they remind us
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  how women continue to drive innovation,
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  how women continue to expand access,
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  and lead with purpose across every corner of
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  of the health care landscape.
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  So it's sort of a nod to to
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  to women and and but also to men
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  who are have served as advocates and allies
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  in enabling us to have a seat at
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  the table as well and to create more
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  space. So the launch is is is really
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  more than a book release. It celebrates
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  the, you know, women's impact,
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  influence, and that collective power that we have
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  that we hold when we when we uplift
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  one another.
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  And,
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  we're just, you know, so proud to have,
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  you know, an organization like WHA
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  who and these are and and these women
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  who are a part of it to stand
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  behind this work and the remarkable
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  women who brought it all to life. I
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  love that. Thank you so much for walking
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  us through all that. And now switching gears
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  a bit, let's dig into trends. What market
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  signals are you watching that matter for women's
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  health and just health systems overall?
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  So there's a couple of areas that I've
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  been looking at in the last two years
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  intentionally. So consumerism of care, you know, we're
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  looking at wearables, at home diagnostics, and behavior
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  change infrastructure
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  are converging. And the Stanford Medicine Consumer Health
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  Summit made it clear that data alone isn't
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  enough,
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  meaning must be created.
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  Also,
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  equity as strategy, equity in agenda specific research,
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  and inclusive product design are now strategic imperatives.
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  The coming of health care revolution by Johnson
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  and,
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  Kucero, and I hope that I'm pronouncing his
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  last name correctly.
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  And,
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  Women's Health Access Matters, Lam,
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  their findings about autoimmune disease prevalence among women
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  reinforce this.
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  Also,
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  capital and femtech movement. I also attended JPMorgan
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  Health Conference this past January, and we've heard
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  about Mitty Health evaluation
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  milestones
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  and,
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  investor gathering show real capital flowing into women's
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  health categories.
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  We're also
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  really looking at leadership evolution and
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  cultural critics like Amira Arger, who just recently
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  published the price of NICE, who are,
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  reframing emotional labor and challenges leaders,
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  especially women on the impact of decision making
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  and organizational shift. So there's there's so much
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  happening in our environment as as you know,
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  especially in health care. So
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  communications
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  is really important and how do we leverage
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  that
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  with consolidation and margin pressures?
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  Communications
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  must must drive trust,
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  recruitment,
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  retention,
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  and community partnership.
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  Absolutely. And now you had mentioned MidiHealth and
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  JPMorgan.
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  How do you think leaders should interpret that
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  investor momentum?
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  So it signals both opportunity and responsibility is
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  what we've seen. So capital can accelerate solutions,
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  but systems and innovators must design together
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  for access and outcomes, not just exits. And
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  that's one of the areas that we're seeing.
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  How do we work more closely together between
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  the hospital systems and innovations to bridge that
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  gap and and provide access to those who
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  need it?
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  Got it. And now I'm curious to know
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  what stood out to you the most when
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  you hosted that breakout at the inaugural summit?
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  So this session was really candid and action
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  oriented.
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  Leaders like Andrea Corletto, who's CEO and founder
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  of Live Health,
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  emphasized connecting data to care, not stopping at
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  diagnostics, but building the human layer to interpret
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  and act on that data.
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  We also discussed governance that evolves in real
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  time,
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  mentorship that becomes sponsorship and practical steps to
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  scale impact.
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  Understood. And you also referenced Stanford's Consumer Health
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  Summit. Are there any parallels between the two
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  covenings?
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  Absolutely. So both both show the same inflection
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  as well as at JPMorgan Health,
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  where technology and capital are here, but the
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  next frontier is really behavior change infrastructure and
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  community based model that delivers the same outcomes.
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  Perfect. And now switching gears again,
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  looking forward to the rest of 2026,
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  what would you say you're most focused on
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  and excited about? And then looking back at
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  the past, year, year and a half or
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  so,
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  what initiative
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  or project or just something that you did
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  are you most proud of?
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  So I've been focused on building platforms that
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  create good posture and governance change, and I'm
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  super proud of
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  launching these,
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  that move beyond and create peer networks and
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  measurable pathways to growth.
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  So most recently, I presented,
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  governance insights at the American College of Healthcare
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  Executives in Houston,
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  And the posting, the women in health breakout
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  were really just tangible moments where this narrative
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  is turning into action, and and and these
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  organizations
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  are really keen on
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  on on moving this needle forward.
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  I love that. And now how does that
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  translate into your day to day work?
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  So what this means really is translating those
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  complex strategies and big ideas into clear communications
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  so that
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  boards, clinicians, and communities of innovation can act
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  faster,
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  smarter,
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  wiser,
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  safely,
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  and with more confidence.
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  Absolutely. And now you've already given us a
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  bunch of recommendations with your own book
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  and some leaders to follow. But I'm curious
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  if you could recommend one book, one leader
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  to follow, and one action listeners can take.
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  What would you say?
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  So I would say the first summertime, so
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  the spring read, would be massively better health
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  care by Adi Taygo.
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  And, of course, one leader to follow,
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  for sure, Scott Becker for system level reporting,
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  and Molly Gamble for scaling editorial and business
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  thinking.
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  One action this week is, you know, start
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  one sponsorship conversation.
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  We're we're talking to emerging health care leaders,
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  those who are navigating
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  the health care system for the first time,
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  looking at their careers, and even those who
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  are transitioning
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  and and thinking about health care in general
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  as a
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  as an ecosystem
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  that we're all trying to figure out how
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  to navigate. So
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  if if we can help by just having
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  it that sponsorship conversation, identify one person you'll
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  sponsor,
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  and one person you'll ask to sponsor you
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  can can be make such a big, big
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  impact.
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  That's great. Awesome. Thank you so much for
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  those recommendations.
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  And now a quick plug. Can you tell
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  listeners where they can learn more and register
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  for the USC launch?
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  So you can visit the women health page,
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  www.womeninhealthseries.com,
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  and you can follow my LinkedIn for details.
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  Perfect. And one final question. What advice would
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  you give to evolving leaders looking to have
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  the same impact and drive in their careers
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  as you have?
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  So I would,
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  lead with clarity, not perfection. I've I've I've
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  tried from the very beginning to be a
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  perfectionist, and it clearly backfired. But rather build
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  your bench and your board of allies, mentorship,
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  and sponsorship really truly matter.
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  Protect your energy as fiercely as your strategy
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  with intention
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  so that you can build
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  leadership competency.
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  Be
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  hungry,
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  curious,
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  read widely,
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  and
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  listen to practitioners
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  across sectors, which is why
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  I,
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  recommend Becker's because I
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  it's my go to daily brief. And one
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  of the things that I'm most proud of
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  is I've learned from women and men who
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  are wiser than me, and I'm grateful for
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  that sponge of wisdom.
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  Well, Diane, I wanna thank you so much
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  for your time today and for sharing these
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  rich insights on the Becker's Healthcare podcast. But
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  before I let you go, is there anything
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  else that listeners should know?
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  Chanel, I just wanna thank you again. I'm
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  I'm really grateful to the 22 trailblazers who
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  shaped Women in Health,
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  this first edition that's,
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  launching on March 26
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  where we're turning insights into
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  action, and they are themselves are becoming available
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  as mentors. So once the book launches, you'll
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  read these stories, you'll hear from their voices.
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  These are not corporate narratives. This is coming
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  from the heart.
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  And I thank you, you know, Becker's Healthcare
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  for being a part of this milestone.
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  Perfect. Well, Diana, I wanna thank you once
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  again for joining me today and for sharing
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  your insights on the Becker's Healthcare podcast.
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  And for listeners, be sure to check out
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  the description of today's episode to find links
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  to the books and registration for women in
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  health on March 26.
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  Thank you so much for joining us. And
• 13:47
  if you wanna hear more podcasts from Becker's
• 13:49
  Healthcare, check out the podcast page at peckershospitalreview.com.