Women accounted for a larger share of hospital and health system leadership appointments in 2026 than in the same stretch of 2025, according to a Becker’s analysis of its executive move reporting.
Becker’s compared appointments tracked in its women leadership appointment roundups against its broader executive moves roundups, which log leadership changes across all genders, for the overlapping period both datasets cover in full: March 14 through Aug. 14 in 2025 and 2026. Resignations, retirements and other exits were excluded from both counts; only new appointments, promotions and hires were tallied.
The result: Women made up 40.5% of leadership appointments tracked between March 14 and Aug. 14, 2026 — up from 37.6% over the same window in 2025, a gain of nearly 3 percentage points. From Jan. 1 through Aug. 14, 2026, women accounted for 509 of 1,256 tracked appointments, also 40.5%.
The uptick tracks with a broader trend McKinsey has documented: Women held 35% of health system C-suite seats in 2024, up from 29% in 2020. Hospital and health system leaders have recently pointed to sponsorship — not just mentorship — as a key driver of that progress.
“A mentor helps you grow. A sponsor helps you advance,” Renuka Gupta, MD, chief quality officer of Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg, Va., told Becker’s in July. Audrey Gregory, PhD, RN, CEO of AdventHealth’s Multi-Division Delivery Network, has similarly argued that closing the gap requires sponsors who “vouch” for women “in spaces where I had not yet been seated,” rather than advocacy left to chance.
Where women are gaining the most ground
Chief nursing officer remains the role where women are most heavily represented by far, accounting for 90.2% of CNO appointments in the 2025 window and 79.5% in 2026 — a reminder that the C-suite’s most female-dominated post has changed little.
COO roles saw the sharpest year-over-year shift. Women’s share of COO appointments rose from 29.3% in 2025 to 50.9% in 2026, the largest swing of any role tracked. CHRO appointments also moved sharply, though on a small sample (six roles tracked in each period), from 16.7% to 100% women.
President and CEO roles were comparatively steady. Women held 40.9% of president appointments in 2025 and 40.6% in 2026 — essentially flat — while their share of CEO appointments ticked up slightly, from 30.1% to 31.3%.
Where women remain least represented
Chief medical officer remained one of the roles where women are least represented, at 22.0% of CMO appointments in 2025 and 26.5% in 2026 — modest improvement, but still the lowest share among major clinical and operational C-suite roles alongside CIO, where women’s share of appointments actually fell, from 28.6% in 2025 to 16.7% in 2026.
Sara Safarzadeh Amiri, MD, chief medical officer of Odessa (Texas) Regional Medical Center, previously told Becker’s that closing gaps like these starts with how organizations approach succession planning.
“One of the most powerful ways I’ve seen progress on women’s representation is when succession planning is framed not as ‘filling seats’ or ‘checking off boxes,’ but as broadening perspectives at the leadership table,” she said.
CFO appointments held roughly steady, with women’s share dipping slightly from 33.3% in 2025 to 32.3% in 2026.
The bottom line
By Becker’s own data, women are inching closer to parity in hospital and health system leadership appointments — but unevenly. Gains are concentrated in operating and HR-adjacent roles, nursing leadership remains a stronghold, and the physician-facing C-suite — CMO in particular, along with CIO — continues to lag furthest behind.
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.
