2020
Emma Pencheon
- Age: 31
- | She/her/hers
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Despite making up 75 percent of the global health workforce, women are represented in only 25 percent of leadership positions. Addressing this huge disparity is central to improving health for girls and women around the world.
- Emma Pencheon
Bio
Emma Pencheon lives and works in the United Kingdom. She received a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from University College London in 2018, and a MSc in Global Health Policy from LSHTM in 2022. Emma worked as a junior doctor in London before joining the Civil Service, where she now works at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as a research advisor in early childhood development. As a National Coordinator at Women in Global Health UK, she leads efforts to the UK chapter of Women in Global Health, an international organization advocating for gender equity in health leadership.
What ignited your pursuit for gender equality?
Training and working in medicine reveals how many inequities shape our lives, and gender is high on the list. From experiencing sexism on a personal level to seeing how deeply our world is biased on the basis of gender, I know that any real, positive change needs to happen through a gendered lens.
Please share your biggest wins as an advocate for gender equality.
My wins so far are very much behind the scenes rather than outward facing advocacy efforts. I've assembled our Women in Global Health UK team, and we are are now working closely with the international team with hopes to launch publicly soon. It's taken a lot of work to get to this point, and we should start to reap some rewards from that over the next 12 months.
Outside of your gender equality advocacy work, what do you enjoy doing?
In my spare time, I enjoy climbing, cycling, and reading.
Languages Spoken:
- English (Advanced/Native)
- French (Intermediate)
Publications:
Speaks On:
- gender equality in health leadership
- mental health
- GBV
Past Awards, Certifications, or Fellowships:
- Churchill Leadership Fellowship at the Møller Centre at Cambridge University
- Clinton Global Initiative University
