Dismantling the Gerontocratic and Eurocentric Hegemony: A Dialogue on Solutions for Diverse Public Health Leadership
1
Young WFPHA, Geneva, Switzerland
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Global health leadership remains disproportionately concentrated in the Global North and among older demographics, creating a "leadership bottleneck." In the Global South, the workforce is further constrained by a heavy reliance on medical doctors, sidelining essential multidisciplinary expertise. These disparities are reflections of deep-seated systemic inequities. While long-term structural change is necessary, the urgency of current global health threats demands immediate, realistic strategies to diversify the leadership pipeline and redistribute decision-making power across generations and geographies.
METHODS:
This 60-minute organized session will utilize a "Fishbowl Dialogue" format to model the redistribution of power. A small inner circle, comprising a mix of early-career professionals from the Global South, non-medical health experts, and seasoned leaders, will initiate a focused discussion on leadership barriers. One chair in the inner circle will remain empty at all times, allowing participants from the outer circle to spontaneously join the conversation to propose a specific solution. This method ensures that the dialogue remains intergenerational and breaks the traditional "expert-audience" hierarchy.
RESULTS:
The session aims to identify three actionable "Short-Term Lever" strategies: (1) The implementation of mandatory "Next-Gen" seats on high-level governing boards; (2) The formalization of "Shadowing-for-Credit" programs that pair Global South junior professionals with Global North executives; and (3) Policy recommendations for diversifying professional backgrounds beyond clinical medicine. The primary outcome will be a "Leadership Diversification Toolkit" focused on immediate implementation within professional associations and NGOs.
CONCLUSIONS:
We can’t wait for systemic inequities to resolve themselves. By institutionalizing intergenerational collaboration and de-medicalizing leadership in the Global South through dynamic formats like the Fishbowl, we can begin to correct the power imbalance in real-time. This session argues that diverse, collaborative leadership is a strategic necessity for a resilient and responsive global public health workforce.
Global health leadership remains disproportionately concentrated in the Global North and among older demographics, creating a "leadership bottleneck." In the Global South, the workforce is further constrained by a heavy reliance on medical doctors, sidelining essential multidisciplinary expertise. These disparities are reflections of deep-seated systemic inequities. While long-term structural change is necessary, the urgency of current global health threats demands immediate, realistic strategies to diversify the leadership pipeline and redistribute decision-making power across generations and geographies.
METHODS:
This 60-minute organized session will utilize a "Fishbowl Dialogue" format to model the redistribution of power. A small inner circle, comprising a mix of early-career professionals from the Global South, non-medical health experts, and seasoned leaders, will initiate a focused discussion on leadership barriers. One chair in the inner circle will remain empty at all times, allowing participants from the outer circle to spontaneously join the conversation to propose a specific solution. This method ensures that the dialogue remains intergenerational and breaks the traditional "expert-audience" hierarchy.
RESULTS:
The session aims to identify three actionable "Short-Term Lever" strategies: (1) The implementation of mandatory "Next-Gen" seats on high-level governing boards; (2) The formalization of "Shadowing-for-Credit" programs that pair Global South junior professionals with Global North executives; and (3) Policy recommendations for diversifying professional backgrounds beyond clinical medicine. The primary outcome will be a "Leadership Diversification Toolkit" focused on immediate implementation within professional associations and NGOs.
CONCLUSIONS:
We can’t wait for systemic inequities to resolve themselves. By institutionalizing intergenerational collaboration and de-medicalizing leadership in the Global South through dynamic formats like the Fishbowl, we can begin to correct the power imbalance in real-time. This session argues that diverse, collaborative leadership is a strategic necessity for a resilient and responsive global public health workforce.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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