By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com
Health LeadHer founder, Ogo Ekwueme, is hosting her annual Diaspora Women in Health Global Business Conference in partnership with Sharrarne Morton, founder of Black Door Society, Feb. 22 to Feb. 24 at the Gaylord National Harbor Resort and Convention Center.
Sharrarne Morton is the founder of Black Door Society, a network for women of color in high-level positions to share opportunities, access and information with one another. Photo courtesy of Sharrarne Morton
The summit is providing multicultural women with access to more than $10 million in federal contracting opportunities and will enable women to hear from government leaders about impending community health priorities.
“I’m not shy to say we are the only conference where every participant walks away with a contracting opportunity. Yes, we love to come together, talk and meet new people, but after most conferences you’re still what to do next,” said Ekwueme. “We’re literally setting these women up to have a successful 2024.”
According to a 2022 report from McKinsey and Company, women occupy just 32 percent of C-suite roles in healthcare. Women of color are even less represented in the industry’s senior level positions, holding 4 percent of these roles.
Increasing representation for multicultural women is critical to mitigating health disparities and moving toward health equity. But, women must earn enough money to thrive in the industry.
“A lot of the women who come to our conference and engage with our program are nurses, doctors, nursing assistants, allied health professionals, public health professionals and community health workers who are in the field doing the work and know what their community needs,” said Ekwueme. “We need to bridge their understanding of the community with the dollars that are available to continue to support their communities.”
Over the course of the three-day conference, attendees will gain strategies for obtaining government contracts, forging new business partnerships and wealth building.
Some of the workshops will examine creating wealth as a mother, leveraging artificial intelligence to win procurement dollars and securing grants for health equity and community development projects.
“The great thing about this conference is that women in these spaces can actually access government health contracts, establish strategic partnerships and build wealth in alignment with the government’s critical priorities for community health,” said Morton. “They can scale their businesses and not have to struggle so much.”
Keynote speakers for the Diaspora Women in Health Global Business Conference include Tracy Balazs; president and CEO of Compass Government Solutions; Eleager Primus, former director of strategic contracting for the Department of Veteran Affairs; and Michael Wooten, former administrator of federal procurement policy for the White House.
Wooten said he wants women to leave the conference with an understanding that there are opportunities in public procurement all over the world, not just at the federal, state and local level. He also wants to ensure attendees know how important they are to improving health in underserved communities.
“I want them to understand that not only can they serve the sorely deserving women who are their sisters, but they can have a profitable business doing that,” said Wooten.
Megan Sayles is a Report For America corps member.
