Women in the Lead

Since day one, women have figured prominently in the AIDS response. Where would we be without Dr. Mathilde Krim, Elizabeth Taylor, Prof. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Rep. Barbara Lee, Marsha P. Johnson, Sandra Thurman, Elizabeth Glaser, and Sheryl Lee Ralph, to name a few?

Today, however, we seem to have reached an inflection point. For the first time, women occupy leadership positions at many of the most prestigious HIV/AIDS and public health institutions and organizations in the U.S. and around the world and are bringing their collective expertise and experience to bear to shape the future of the global AIDS response. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC’s HIV division, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (see cover story), International AIDS Society, USAID—all are headed by women, and the list goes on.

We decided to check in with a selection of these remarkable women leaders to get a sense of their perspectives and challenges, their hopes and aspirations. Common themes included frustration with elected leaders and lack of political will, persistent discrimination and the struggle for health equity, and, above all, a shared determination to achieve our common goal of bringing an end to the global HIV epidemic.

The list below is not intended to be comprehensive by any means, nor is it an any particular order (other than alphabetical). We put the same question to all—What is the main priority, and the biggest challenge, in your work today?—and we are excited to share their insights.