Where are the female experts? Perceptions about the absence of female presenters at a Digital Health Conference in...

Gender disparities exist worldwide related to female representation in digital health initiatives especially in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Upstream approaches and policy implementation has been effective in some countries to reduce the gender gap in the areas of political and sector leadership. At an international digital health conference in Bolivia, all-male expert panels presented their research and innovations to audiences from the Bolivian national and regional health departments and private and non-governmental organization heath leaders.

An in-depth qualitative analysis of participant perspectives related to the absence of female presenters at this digital health conference in Bolivia was performed. Using a cross-sectional research design, the questionnaire rated the respondents' satisfaction using Likert scales and their perspectives using open-ended questions. A multidisciplinary team of coders reviewed the respondents' responses in detail and developed general themes.

The sample consisted of 80 respondents who completed the questionnaire from the 115 people attending the conference, giving a 70% response rate (80/115). Respondents were broadly represented in terms of gender, age, occupation and experience using digital health tools. The code structure contained five primary codes each reflecting sets of ideas and possible solutions for gender equality in science and health technology in Bolivia. The five recurrent themes, ranked from the most common mentioned to the least common, were: (I) opportunities and incentives (38%); (II) indifference (23%); (III) role models (18%); (IV) capacity strengthening and empowerment (15%); (V) norms and policies (7%).

The results of this study can be useful for preparing a more representative digital health field in Bolivia overtime. Conference respondents provide key recommendations to reduce gender inequality at digital health conferences and in the field. This study provides evidence from Bolivian health workers and officials on their perspectives related to the absence of female presenters at an international digital health conference and their suggestions for optimizing female participation and leadership at conferences and in the digital health field going forward.