Why women’s leadership is critical to ending avoidable blindness
Who We Are
The Fred Hollows Foundation is a leading international development organisation working to end avoidable blindness and vision loss. Inspired by Professor Fred Hollows’ belief that everyone, no matter where they live or what they earn, has the right to quality eye care, we work in more than 25 countries to restore sight, strengthen health systems, and ensure communities can access the eye health services they need. But to truly end avoidable blindness, we must ensure that every person – including those who are most marginalised, including women and girls can access the care they deserve.
The Problem: Women Experience Disproportionate Vision Loss
Women make up 56% of the world’s avoidably blind, despite living longer but not accessing care at the same rates as men. Women and girls face multiple systemic barriers, including:
- Economic constraints and lower decision-making power
- Limited control over household resources
- Gender norms that prioritise men’s health over women’s
- Reduced mobility and safety concerns
- Fewer opportunities to seek care due to unpaid caregiving responsibilities
Why Women’s Leadership in Eye Health Matters
Dr Ciku Mathenge prepares Eric, 9, for cataract surgery. Women leading in eye care are ensuring children in Rwanda receive life-changing treatment.
Photo credit: The Fred Hollows Foundation
One of the most powerful ways to close the gender gap in eye health is to ensure more women are leading. The Foundation’s 2023 report, Women Deliver Eye Health: Let’s reframe who leads it, highlights that:
- Although women make up 70% of the global health workforce, they hold only 25% of leadership roles.
- When women lead, programs are more equitable, culturally appropriate, and responsive to the needs of women and girls.
- Women leaders are more likely to reach marginalised communities, integrate gender-sensitive practices, and advocate for policies that improve access to care.
- Where women are given the chance to lead, the evidence is clear: they excel, drive innovation, and deliver lasting change at global, national, and community levels.
In other words: When women lead, more women get treated. And whole communities thrive as a result.
Yet, despite women making up most of the global health workforce, they remain vastly under-represented in leadership roles. What holds them back is not capability – it is the lack of opportunity. Many women still face entrenched barriers that limit their progression into leadership roles in health systems. These include persistent gender biases and stereotypes, inflexible workplace structures and unequal access to mentoring and professional development. Discrimination, bullying, sexual harassment, lack of recognition, and the gender pay gap further restrict women’s opportunities. These obstacles are not a reflection of women’s abilities - they are the result of systems that were never designed with women in mind.
Our Work: Supporting Women’s Leadership in Eye Health
The Fred Hollows Foundation invests in building the next generation of women leaders across the eye health workforce - from nurses and community health workers to surgeons, policymakers, and researchers. A key example is our recent Women in Health Leadership Program - Mekong Region, funded by the Australian government, which supported a cohort of 15 women health leaders from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Thailand travel to Australia to strengthen their leadership skills and professional networks.
Women health leaders from across the Mekong region gather at the final workshop of the Australia Awards Fellowship program, celebrating their commitment to driving stronger, more equitable health systems.
Photo credit: Reynald Ramirez
Through a partnership with Monash University’s Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation (MCHRI), the women participated in:
- Leadership development workshops
- Skills-building seminars
- Networking and mentoring opportunities
- Exposure to global best practice
- Peer learning with other women leaders
These women are already driving change in their own communities - this program amplifies their impact by giving them the tools and support they need to influence health systems at scale.
This is just one part of our broader commitment to gender equity. Across all our programs, we support women staff, champion female leadership in clinics and hospitals, and work with partners to dismantle gender barriers in health systems.
You Can Help Transform the Future of Women’s Eye Health
Ending avoidable blindness is possible - but only if we address the inequities that hold women back from both accessing eye care and leading within health systems.
Your support can help us:
- Train more women eye health workers
- Strengthen leadership pathways for women
- Remove gender barriers to accessing care
- Restore sight and change lives for those most at risk
You can contribute in many ways:
- Make a once-off donation
- Sign up for monthly giving
- Join as a corporate partner
- Support or host a fundraiser
Every contribution - big or small - helps create a world where women and girls have the same right to sight, leadership, and opportunity as everyone else.
Together, we can build a more inclusive, equitable future for eye health.
Meet the authors
Lisa Johnson
Lisa Johnson is the Global Equity and Inclusion Lead at The Fred Hollows Foundation. She leads efforts to ensure our programs are inclusive, equitable, and accessible for all in the communities we serve.
Louisa Syrett
Louisa Syrett is the Head of Gender Advocacy and Engagement at The Fred Hollows Foundation. She leads global advocacy to address the gender barriers that prevent women and girls from accessing eye care.