As we move toward 2030, the digital transformation of health will no longer be just about technology—it will be about leadership. Across Latin America and the Caribbean, women are redefining the path of digital health: leading teams, generating evidence, influencing public policy, and—above all—making data-driven decisions grounded in equity and inclusion.
This new equation—women, data, and decision—is not only changing how we innovate, but also the purpose of innovation itself: ensuring that every digital advance contributes to a more human, inclusive, and sustainable vision of health.
The future of digital health will not be written by algorithms alone, but by human decisions. And in Latin America and the Caribbean, those decisions increasingly have a woman’s face. As the world races toward 2030, our region continues to demonstrate that true innovation lies not only in technology, but in who leads, how decisions are made, and for whom change is designed.
In a context marked by historical technological, social, and gender gaps, Latin American women are transforming the digital health ecosystem from the ground up—with data, with evidence, and with leadership. Although women represent about 67% of the global health workforce (WHO, 2019), their participation in leadership positions and in technical areas related to digital transformation remains limited: less than 30% hold executive roles in public digital health, and only one in four are part of design or implementation teams (UN Women, ITU, UNESCO, 2023), (Global Digital Health Index, WHO, 2022).
However, the landscape is changing. Across the region, women leaders are demonstrating that the strategic use of data not only improves system efficiency but also opens space for more inclusive and ethical decision-making. From ministries of health and universities to innovation labs and civil society organizations, they are driving policies, tools, and regulatory frameworks that integrate gender perspectives, digital rights, and evidence for action.
A clear example of this is RECAINSA’s Women Leaders in Digital Health Training Program, which gave rise to the Community of Practice of Women Leaders in Digital Health.
Through these initiatives—unique in their kind at the regional level—more than one hundred women from 18 countries have strengthened their technical, strategic, and policy capacities to actively participate in digital health agendas. Today, its alumni hold key positions in ministries of health, cooperation agencies, universities, tech startups, multilateral organizations, and regional networks, contributing to the integration of gender equity into digital health policies, standards, and solutions.
More than 80 participants have received full or partial scholarships, thanks to partnerships with organizations committed to advancing equity in digital leadership. Yet, as in many regional efforts, sustainability remains a challenge. The lack of consistent investment in leadership programs with a gender focus limits the growth of movements that are already demonstrating tangible results.
The lesson is clear: investing in women’s leadership and purposeful use of data is not an expense—it is a strategy to build fairer and more sustainable health systems. And that is precisely what Latin America and the Caribbean can contribute to the global debate on the future of digital health toward 2030.
The digital revolution in health needs more than technology—it needs purpose. And that purpose comes alive when data becomes a decision. From ministries to startups, from governance spaces to local communities, women are using evidence to ask difficult but necessary questions:
Who is being left out of digitalization?
Who decides which technologies are prioritized?
And how do we ensure that digital tools truly improve lives?
Each of those questions opens a new lens: digitalization is not an end in itself—it is a means to guarantee rights, reduce inequalities, and strengthen social justice. This only happens when decisions are guided by empathy, evidence, and diverse perspectives. As more women step into leadership roles, data stops being just a set of indicators and becomes a tool for transformation—a common language between innovation and equity.
Looking toward 2030, Latin America and the Caribbean have both the opportunity and the historic responsibility to show that inclusion is the most powerful form of innovation. Our leadership will not be measured by the number of platforms created or algorithms developed, but by our ability to turn technology into a vehicle for equity, access, and well-being for all people. That will be the true digital advance: one that measures progress not by speed, but by justice.
The digital health future we envision will be led by those who combine evidence with purpose, technology with humanity, and data with decision. And when the world looks toward 2030, it will see that in Latin America and the Caribbean, women are not waiting for the future—they are already building it.
With data.
With decision.
And with purpose.
Joseline Carías Galeano Project management specialist, network builder, and advocate for equity-centered digital health. She currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of RECAINSA and Commercial Director of HL7 Central America and the Dominican Republic, where she leads strategies for digital health transformation across the region. She has co-created initiatives to promote women’s participation in the digital health field and is a recognized expert in global working groups on health data governance, digital public policy, and global digital health. Joseline was recognized as a Digital Health Champion in Latin America and the Caribbean (2021–2022) by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and recently as one of the World’s Women Leaders in Digital Health 2025 by the Transform Health Coalition, being the only representative from Latin America and the Caribbean to receive this honor.
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