HIMSS has announced its inaugural Annual Most Influential Women in Health IT Awards, an awards program recognizing influential women at all stages of their career progressions.

HIMSS’ Most Influential Women in Health IT Awards ceremony will kick off in the fall and is part of a new HIMSS initiative dedicated to addressing the gender gap in health IT and the need for more recognition of women sector-wide, according to the organization. These awards will have a judging panel of top female leaders who will define the nomination criteria across several different categories and select awardees.

"HIMSS is committed to empowering and advancing high-performing professionals in our mission to improve health through the best use of IT. We’ve made it a priority to provide community, resources and recognition to women who have made—and continue to make—significant contributions to the field,” said Carla Smith, HIMSS executive vice president. “Our inaugural Most Influential Women in Health IT Awards, which celebrates those female visionaries harnessing the power of IT to transform health and healthcare, is unique among power lists and award programs; it’s inclusive of all women of influence, no matter where they may be in the health IT field.”

Smith joins the following as HIMSS’ 2016 Most Influential Women in Health IT Awards judges:

• Dana Alexander, RN, MSN, MBA, FAAN, FHIMSS, Vice President of Divurgent Technologies; FY16 Chairwoman of the HIMSS North America Board of Directors
• Diane M. Carr, MA, FHIMSS, Deputy Executive Director for Operations, North Bronx Healthcare Network
• Molly Coye, MD, MPH, Social Entrepreneur in Residence, Network for Excellence in Health Innovation
• Jennifer Dennard, Founder, #HealthITChicks
• Adrienne Edens, MA, FCHIME, FHIMSS, Chief Information Officer, Valley Area at Sutter Health
• Willa Fields, DNSc, RN, FHIMSS, Professor at San Diego State University, FY13 Chairwoman of the HIMSS Board of Directors
• Denise Hines, DHA, PMP, FHIMSS, CEO of eHealth Services Group; FY18 Chairwoman of the HIMSS North America Board of Directors
• Regina Holliday, Founder, The Walking Gallery

After surveying over 20,000 women in 2015 about the current state of women’s professional needs in health IT, HIMSS identified a need for expanded recognition of women sector-wide. The majority (83 percent) of respondents said there remains insufficient recognition of women executives in health IT, and an overwhelming 85 percent would find value in a resource recognizing contributions of women.

The survey results led to several other initiatives for women this year:

•     HIMSS16 Annual Women in Health IT Networking Reception
•     HIMSS16 Women in Health IT Roundtable – Empowering Women in Health IT Through Recognition, Resources and Access
•     Publishing research on gender-based assessments of career compensation