For Women's History Month 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics celebrated the accomplishments of women who provide healing and hope by looking at women employed in the health care and social assistance industry.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 16.4 million women were employed in the health care and social assistance industry, which was 77.6 percent of the total 21.2 million workers.

Women accounted for 75 percent of the total workforce in hospitals (5.2 million), 77.4 percent in health services (8.3 million), and 84.0 percent of total employment (2.6 million) in social assistance.

No doubt, women have a leading role in health care. They also have an impact on how pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, equipment, distribution, facilities, and managed health care are run.

However, one study found that only 21 percent of board members are women, despite the fact that women make up half the workforce of Fortune 500 health care companies.

Recently, Women of Color magazine researched the biographies of female executives at healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, health insurance, and healthcare-related companies.

Below are the names and career stories of our honorees. The list represents an outstanding sample of movers and shakers recognized for their significant contributions to efforts that help provide women with knowledge to satisfy their multiple roles as decision-makers and consumers of healthcare.

The 2022 Top Women in Healthcare have blazed a trail in healthcare, the pharmaceutical industry, the biotechnology industry, the medical device industry, and other life sciences industries in the healthcare sector. Click here to register for the 27th annual Women of Color STEM Conference.

Nurse Politician

The Honorable Shirley Nathan-Pulliam is a retired member of the Maryland State Senate. She is the first person of Caribbean descent elected to the Maryland General Assembly and the first U.S. registered nurse of Black Caribbean origin. Nathan-Pulliam served 20 years in the Maryland House of Delegates. Before being elected in 1994, she worked as a registered nurse. During her career, she was active with Planned Parenthood of Maryland and is co-founder of the Black Mental Health Alliance and the Baltimore City Community College Nursing Alumni Association.

In 1997, she received a community service award from the National Association of Health Service Executives and the Maryland Nursing Association’s legislator of the year award. She was presented with a similar award by the Maryland Public Health Association. In 2011, the Maryland Hepatitis Coalition honored her as a Hepatitis Hero. Nathan-Pulliam retired in 2019 after being elected over two terms in the Maryland State Senate representing District 44. She previously represented District 10 as a Maryland House of Delegates member from 1994–2024.

Health Advocate

A health advocate, Denise Pines is the founder of a wellness platform for menopausal women and a femtech project that provides health and tech industry leaders and investors with reports and research, which helps drive global innovation focused on the health and wellness needs of women ages 40-plus. Pines serves on the Board of Directors for the Federation of State Medical Boards, Osteopathic Medical Board of California, and is the immediate past president of the Medical Board of California. She also serves on the Martin Luther King Community Hospital Foundation board and the board of the National Minority Health Association.

Abbott: Sabina Ewing is the global chief information officer (CIO) and vice president of business and technology services at Abbott, medical devices and global healthcare company. In this role, she oversees the enterprise’s technology strategy, policy, and capabilities. Ewing joined Abbott in 2020 after serving in IT leadership roles at Pfizer. Before joining Pfizer, Ewing held management roles at Arthur Andersen Business Consulting, BearingPoint, and American Express. She is a former New York City teaching fellow and served as a fifth-grade teacher in the South Bronx. She is an advocate for the transformative role technology plays in the 21st century.

AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division – North Region

Audrey Gregory, Ph.D., RN, serves as president and CEO for AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division – North Region, which includes hospitals in Flagler, Lake, and Volusia counties. Gregory oversees the strategic direction, development, and execution of key strategies that support the comprehensive care network and helps build influential relationships with key constituents, community partners, and consumers. Before joining AdventHealth, Gregory served as the group CEO for Detroit Medical Center. She served on the Michigan Health & Hospital Association’s board of trustees and was appointed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities.

Alto Pharmacy

Alicia Boler Davis is CEO of Alto Pharmacy, a tech startup working to improve health care by building a better pharmacy. Before this role, she was senior vice president for global customer fulfillment at Amazon. As part of Amazon’s senior executive team, she was a critical leader in Amazon’s efforts to ensure the safety of its employees in worldwide operations. At the same time, it continued to deliver to customers and communities during a global pandemic. Before Amazon, Boler Davis had a nearly 25-year career at General Motors, where she progressed from intern to executive vice president of global manufacturing, labor relations, and sustainability.

Amazon Web Services, Healthcare

Phoebe L. Yang is the general manager of Amazon Web Services, Healthcare, and board director at CommonSpirit Health. She leads the world’s most comprehensive cloud platform to drive high-growth business enabling health care companies as they transform to meet better the needs of their patients, members, consumers, and communities. As C-suite or executive leader in four publicly traded companies, an appointee in two presidential administrations, and a board member for companies ranging from $5 billion to $35 billion-plus revenue, she has extensive experience in digital transformation, global expansion, technology, media, entertainment, consumer, and mergers and acquisitions at some of the world’s most admired companies.

Becton, Dickinson, and Company

Denise Fleming is chief information officer (CIO) and executive vice president of technology and global services for Becton, Dickinson, and Company (BD), a leading global medical technology company headquartered in Franklin Lakes, NJ. Fleming is responsible for leading all aspects of BD’s information technology (IT) systems and processes, the enterprise program management office, and global shared service centers. She is also a member of the BD Executive Leadership Team. Fleming joined BD from Boeing, where she was the vice president of IT and CIO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. Prior, Fleming held several positions at Sprint before joining BAE Systems, Inc.

Boston Scientific Corporation

Camille Chang Gilmore is vice president of human resources (HR) and global chief diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) officer for medical device and health care firm Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC). In this role, she helps support 40,000 employees in 130 countries. Since joining BSC in 2004, she has been instrumental in building a culture prioritizing DEI. This includes spearheading the Close the Gap health equity initiative and U.S. diversity recruiting programs. A highly regarded executive, Chang Gilmore has 25-plus years of leadership experience. Before BSC, Chang Gilmore held HR roles at FedEx, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IBM, and the State of Oregon.

General Dynamics Information Technology, Federal Health Division

Jacklyn Mitchell Wynn is vice president of strategic programs for the federal health division at General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT). In this role, she helps to build GDIT’s capabilities focused on innovative and agile mission delivery across federal health agencies. Previously, she served as a vice president of a federally funded research and development center that the MITRE Corporation operates, leading healthcare initiatives in support of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Military Health. She is a committed advocate with a strong track record for diversity, equity, and access. She is also a recent member of the NASA Board, the National Advisory Committee appointed by senator Bill Nelson.

Pfizer

Niesha Foster is vice president of product access, global health, and social impact, where her team is focused on eliminating the patient affordability challenge, creating last-mile access solutions, and driving colleague and community engagement. She is also accountable for Pfizer’s U.S. Patient Assistance Program; Pfizer’s product donation programs, including the Trachoma Initiative; engagement with community-based organizations, and co-leading Pfizer’s Multicultural Health Equity Collective. The collective focuses on achieving health equity across groups and other underrepresented communities facing significant health disparities. During her 19-plus-year Pfizer career, Foster has also led strategic and operational programs across commercial and platform functions.