Elevating women at LVHN
LVHN has a proven track record of elevating women, encouraging their growth and supporting their leadership. The Women Physicians Advisory Group (WPAG) was started in early 2012. The original mission of WPAG was “to facilitate opportunities of interaction and networking between women medical students, residents, fellows and teaching faculty.” Due to increasing interest expressed by other women physicians, the group expanded to include all women physicians within LVHN in its activities. In January 2015, this LVHN Clinicians in Leadership group received a grant through the endowed chair of Thomas Whalen, MD, LVHN's Chief Medical Officer who retired in 2020, which allowed the sessions to continue and provided funds to grant 17 leadership development scholarships during 2015-2017 for young women medical students, residents and faculty.
LVHN launched Women in Leadership and Learning (WILL) in 2022 to promote leadership development, support, advocacy, self-promotion and education around the inclusivity and success of women in leadership roles. WILL connects the women of LVHN with each other and encourages them to reach new heights in their work and life through mentoring opportunities, inspirational speakers, panel discussions and enjoyment collaboratives. This group is the next evolution of the LVHN Clinicians in Leadership group, which launched six years ago. WILL focuses on the acknowledgement of all women as leaders navigating a broad range of personal and professional roles over a lifetime. The objectives of WILL are:
- Create a community to support women in leadership roles
- Develop and hold events – educational, developmental and advocacy based – to address the gender gap and gender stereotypes that exist in the workplace
- Provide advocacy for women in the workplace to achieve more equity and inclusion
LVHN celebrates women who make a difference. Women at LVHN are consistently recognized with the prestigious Women of Influence Award from Lehigh Valley Business. Each year, Lehigh Valley Business honors the region’s most accomplished and impactful businesswomen with the Influential Women in Business Award. These exceptional women are leaders in their fields, and each shares a commitment to excellence, integrity and making the region a better place to live and work. They also give the invaluable gift of time to others by making it a priority to mentor the next generation of leaders.