
The crowd begins to filter in at the Women in Health IT reception September 13 at the Summit of the Southeast in Nashville. The reception was held to introduce and honor the women who will serve as judges for the HIMSS 1st Annual Most Influential Women in Health IT Awards.

Dana Alexander on the cover of Healthcare IT News supplement. The pull out was on every table at the Women in Health IT reception. Alexander is vice president and practice leader, clinical sdvisory services at Divurgent. She is also serving as a judge for the HIMSS Most Influential Women in Health IT Award.

Diane Carr is a healthcare executive and educator. She serves on the HIMSS North America board of directors and is the chair of the HIMSS North America Finance Committeefor fiscal year 2017. She is also one of the judges for the HIMSS Most Influential Women in Health IT Awards.

Denise Hines, CEO of Health Services Group, executive director of the Georgia Health Information Network. She will also serve as a judge HIMSS Most Influential Women in Health IT Awards.

Miriam Paramore, left, Willa Fields and Carla Smith catch up at the HIMSS Women in Health IT reception at Summit of the Southeast.

Jennifer Dennard is founder of #healthITchicks, a social networking community of women focused on raising awareness of gender-related issues in health IT and the workplace at large. She is also one of the judges for the HIMSS 1st Annual Most Influential Women in Health IT Awards.

On the morning of September 14, the some of the women who had been at the reception the evening before gathered to discuss pay inequity between men and women in healthcare IT. Here is a chart that illustrates the inequity. on average full-time male workers earn $126,000, while their female counterparts earn $101,000, according to a HIMSS survey of 1,900 CIOs and CEOs, IT managers and clinicians.

From left to right, Carla Smith, Diane Carr, Willa Fields, Miriam Paramore, Dana Alexander and Jennifer Dennard, provided advice and tips for ways to close the pay gap between men and women in healthcare technology positions. All of them – and others – will serve as judges for the HIMSS 1st Annual Most Influential Women in Health IT Awards.