This International Women’s Day 2025, we honor the influential women making strides in medical leadership. Our spotlight shines on Dr Sidney Chandrasiri, Director of Medical Services, whose journey and insights inspire those aiming to reshape the healthcare landscape. Through her personal story and expert advice, Sidney provides a blueprint for women aiming to excel in healthcare management.
Join us in exploring the narrative of Dr Sidney Chandrasiri as we discuss her path to leadership, the challenges women face in healthcare, and the actions needed to foster a more inclusive and equitable professional environment.
1. What inspired you to pursue a career in medical leadership, and how did you navigate your journey to becoming a Director of Medical Services?
Might be a cliché but it was almost a calling from my very junior doctor days. Whilst the individual patient care provision and integration was rewarding, I found myself wanting to impact healthcare at a larger and broader scale, enable improvements that could benefit whole populations and transform entire health systems for the betterment of individuals' healthcare and outcomes.
2. What leadership qualities do you believe are essential for women in healthcare management roles?
Authenticity and a genuine passion for healthcare management is what I believe will help women who want to make an actual difference in healthcare management. Taking on healthcare management for the sake of a 9 to 5 job or because there wasn't anything else interesting to do or able to be done, would almost be a disservice to the profession as well as to the patients who ultimately will be impacted by the decisions made.
3. What changes would you like to see in the healthcare industry to better support women in leadership roles?
Awareness of tall poppy syndrome, professional rivalry and conscious or unconscious bias, particularly arising from women in senior leadership positions themselves, are some of the silent barriers that are yet to be addressed if we are to genuinely support women into leadership roles.
4. Who have been your biggest influences or mentors throughout your career?
Senior healthcare leaders who are in the job for the right reasons, who have the ultimate focus on ensuring patient-centricity first and who strive sometimes against immense odds to ensure decisions that result in the wellbeing of individuals, regardless of financial, political and bureaucratic barriers. I wish I could say I've been lucky to have senior female leaders as mentors or influencers, but unfortunately this has not been my experience at all, and that alone speaks volumes as to the prevalent reasons why women in leadership roles are still not supported as well as they could be.
5. What advice would you give to young women aspiring to pursue leadership roles in medicine?
To reflect on their own motives for why they want to pursue leadership roles, and to be clear you're in it for the right reasons, and to ensure integrity in their decision making as a leader, because at the end of the day, medical leaders particularly are in a powerful position to significantly impact the lives of vulnerable people, often populations at a time.
6. What can our male allies do to uplift women and advance equality in the workplace?
I think the culture has actually shifted significantly in terms of male leaders who uplift, mentor, sponsor and support women into leadership roles. Rather, the more pertinent question we should be asking this international women's day is, what can we do as an industry to ensure our female allies feel less threatened, more empowered and better able to uplift and support other women to advance in healthcare leadership roles.
Dr Sidney Chandrasiri's journey is a powerful reminder of what it takes to lead in the healthcare world: real dedication, solid support, and the courage to push for change. As we celebrate International Women's Day, her story highlights both the progress we've achieved and the hurdles we still need to overcome to ensure a fair and supportive work environment in healthcare.
Dive deeper and connect with the stories of other incredible women shaping the future of healthcare. Check out the links below to read more interviews and join the conversation.