Sponsorship can do more to advance women in healthcare leadership than mentorship alone.
While women make up the majority of entry-level roles in healthcare organizations, they accounted for only 35% of C-suite leaders in 2024, according to a recent report from McKinsey. This is up from 29% in 2020.
Four hospital and health system leaders told Becker’s the distinction comes down to access, not advice. Mentors sharpen skills and build confidence. Sponsors use their own influence to put a name forward, often in rooms the person is not yet in.
Becker’s connected with these leaders to discuss the difference between sponsorship and mentorship, and what health systems can do to make sponsorship more intentional.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What does sponsorship do to improve women’s representation in healthcare leadership that mentorship alone hasn’t?
Kimberley Darey, MD. President of Endeavor Health Elmhurst (Ill.) Hospital: While mentorship is invaluable, it only takes us halfway. Mentorship acts as our internal compass. It builds confidence, refines leadership skills, and helps us dismantle the imposter syndrome that too many talented female executives still quietly battle with.
But mentorship prepares you for the room, and sponsorship actually puts you in it. Sponsorship is active advocacy. Early in my career, it was a sponsor who didn’t just give me advice but actively put my name forward and championed me for my first major leadership role. We don’t just need advice, we need advocates who will use their social capital to open doors and introduce us to key stakeholders.
Audrey Gregory, PhD, RN. Senior executive vice president and CEO of AdventHealth’s Multi-Division Delivery Network (Altamonte Springs, Fla.): Let’s briefly differentiate between mentorship and sponsorship. Mentorship gives you wisdom. Sponsorship gives you access. Both matter, but they are not the same thing. Confusing the two has cost us more than we realize.
A mentor will help you reflect on your leadership, sharpen your thinking and prepare you for the next opportunity. That is invaluable.
A sponsor does something different. They put your name in the room when you are not there. They use their credibility and their social capital to open a door that might otherwise remain closed. They do this not because you lack qualifications, but because you may lack visibility among the people making the decision.
This is especially critical for women and underrepresented leaders in healthcare. Although our workforce is predominantly female, the higher levels of leadership remain predominantly male. Mentorship alone has not closed that gap because the problem was never simply a lack of preparation. The problem is proximity to power and who gets advocated for when the real decisions are made. I have lived this.
The leaders who changed the trajectory of my career were not just the ones who poured into me; they were the ones who vouched for me. They said my name out loud in spaces where I had not yet been seated. That is sponsorship. That is what moves the needle for women.
Renuka Gupta, MD. Chief quality officer of Mary Washington Healthcare (Fredericksburg, Va.): Mentorship has played an important role throughout my career. I can think of many people who invested time in me, gave me honest feedback, challenged my thinking, and helped me become a better physician and leader.
But if I am honest, the opportunities that changed my career came through sponsorship.
Growing up in India, I did not see many women in positions of leadership. Even later in my career, there were often very few women around the table where important decisions were being made. I learned early that doing great work is essential, but it does not always guarantee visibility.
The moments that stand out to me are the times when someone put my name forward for an opportunity, recommended me for a leadership role, or advocated for me when I was not in the room. Those leaders took a risk on me. They used their influence to create an opportunity that I may not have pursued for myself.
That is the difference between mentorship and sponsorship. A mentor helps you grow. A sponsor helps you advance.
Today, as a healthcare executive, I feel a responsibility to do the same for others. We spend a lot of time talking about developing women leaders, and that is important. But development alone is not enough. We need leaders who are willing to actively champion talented women, open doors, and create opportunities.
In my own career, the leaders I remember most are not necessarily the ones who advised me. They are the ones who believed in me and gave me a chance before I thought I was ready.
Crystal Manning-Mitchell, MSN, CEO of River Oaks Hospital (New Orleans): Mentorship develops your skills; sponsorship changes your trajectory.
Throughout my career, I’ve had mentors who’ve challenged me, encouraged me and helped me grow. But the opportunities that fundamentally changed my career came because someone with influence advocated for me when I wasn’t in the room. They didn’t just give me advice, they gave me access. Someone was willing to attach their reputation to mine and say, “She’s ready.”
As a Native American woman in healthcare leadership, I know firsthand that talent alone isn’t enough. Healthcare is filled with women who are already capable of leading organizations. Too often, what they’re missing isn’t capability, it’s someone willing to advocate for them when the opportunity arises. Sponsorship is the bridge between capability and opportunity. It says I believe in your potential, and I’m willing to invest my reputation in it. That’s how organizations build leadership that reflects the communities they serve. Leadership isn’t about waiting for permission, it’s about creating opportunities for yourself and for the leaders who come behind you.
Q: What can health systems do to make sponsorship intentional and accountable, instead of leaving it to chance?
KD: To drive real change, health systems must move away from “organic” chemistry and treat sponsorship as a core business strategy. First, we need to build structured, formal partnerships across different tiers of leadership, so advancement isn’t left to luck. Second, organizations must actively invest in personal development and foster both internal and external networking. Finally, we must cultivate psychologically safe spaces where women feel completely empowered to speak up and lead. When we systematize advocacy, we secure a richer, more diverse leadership pipeline.
AG: The glass cliff is real. Women are often elevated to senior roles during periods of crisis but are not given the support, resources or time needed to succeed. That is not a pipeline problem. It is a structural one. Fixing it requires more than good intentions. It requires intentional design. Health systems must build sponsorship into their succession planning strategies with the same rigor and accountability they bring to financial forecasting, including clear responsibility for the outcomes.
That means identifying high-potential women and underrepresented leaders early, pairing them with senior sponsors who have real influence, and then measuring whether those relationships are producing tangible results. Are these leaders being promoted? Are they gaining visibility, receiving stretch assignments and earning seats at consequential tables? Those are the outcomes sponsorship should produce.
At AdventHealth, our commitment to inclusiveness is not a value statement that lives in a document. It is embedded in how we build leadership pipelines and develop our people. Our Lead Self, Lead Others, Lead Results leadership framework is built on the belief that the strongest leaders are the ones who invest in others, not because it checks a box, but because it is how sustainable cultures are built.
Sponsorship without accountability is simply networking. Health systems that are serious about representation must be willing to measure progress, report on it and hold leadership responsible for the outcomes.
RG: In my career, some of the most significant opportunities did not come because I applied for them. They came because someone saw something in me before I fully saw it in myself and was willing to advocate for me when decisions were being made.
As a woman who grew up in India, where leadership aspirations for girls were not always assumed, and later as a physician leader navigating environments where few people looked like me at the leadership table, I have experienced firsthand the difference sponsorship can make. There were moments when I had the qualifications, the results, and the work ethic, but what made the difference was someone saying, “Let’s give her the opportunity.”
That is why I believe health systems cannot leave sponsorship to chance. Too often, sponsorship happens through informal networks and relationships. While those connections are important, they can unintentionally exclude talented people who may not have the same visibility or access.
I often challenge leaders to think about one question: Who are you opening doors for? Not mentoring. Not coaching. Actually, opening doors.
Organizations can make sponsorship more intentional by discussing it during succession planning, identifying high-potential talent early, and ensuring women are considered for stretch assignments, strategic initiatives, and executive-level exposure. Just as importantly, leaders should be held accountable for developing and advancing others.
The leaders I remember most are not those who simply gave me advice. They are the ones who took a chance on me. I believe each of us has an obligation to do the same for the next generation of leaders.
CM: Leadership development should never be accidental. If we truly believe people are our greatest asset, then developing future leaders cannot be left to chance. Health systems need to stop hoping sponsorship happens organically and start expecting it from every executive leader. Sponsorship should be measured just like quality, finance and operational performance. Every senior leader should be able to answer one simple question, “Who have you intentionally elevated this year?” That means giving emerging leaders visibility, inviting them into executive conversations, trusting them with high impact work, and advocating for them when promotion opportunities arise.Sometimes the most powerful thing a leader can do is simply say, “I believe in you,” and then prove it by creating the opportunity.
Sponsorship isn’t about the optics, it’s about recognizing exceptional talent, creating meaningful opportunities, and holding leaders accountable for developing the next generation. It’s about identifying exceptional talent, creating meaningful opportunities, and trusting emerging leaders with work that stretches them beyond their comfort zone. Give them a seat at the table before they think they’re ready. Let them lead enterprise initiatives. Recommend them for promotions, boards, and executive opportunities. The greatest measure of a leader isn’t the organization they inherit, it’s the leaders they leave behind. Healthcare doesn’t need more gatekeepers. It needs leaders willing to open doors, create opportunities, and leave the profession stronger than they found it. That’s the culture healthcare needs if we’re serious about creating lasting impact.
At Becker's 4th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, taking place November 2–5 in Chicago, more than 1,500 hospital and health system executives tackle decisions that determine whether organizations thrive or merely survive: protecting margins under cost pressure, choosing where to grow, renegotiating payer relationships, stabilizing the workforce and proving real ROI on technology. This is where leaders work through them together, face-to-face. Apply for complimentary registration now.