IWD26 Episode 2 of 7: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

She didn’t just break the rules. She rewrote them and the NHS is still living in her wake.

Picture this: you’re told “no” at every door. No medical school. No exams. No seat at the table. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson didn’t politely accept it. She found the crack in the wall, forced her way through, and then did something even more radical, she turned around and built a wider route for every woman coming after her.

Today, the UK has more female doctors than male doctors for the first time ever, a tipping point that took generations to reach. The regulator’s data showed 164,440 women vs 164,195 men holding a licence to practise. (GMC UK) That moment didn’t arrive by magic. It was constructed step by step on foundations laid by women like Anderson.

 

The headline isn’t just “first woman doctor”

Yes, she’s remembered as the first woman to qualify as a doctor in Britain. But the real story is what she did after she qualified.

In 1865, she gained her licence by spotting a loophole; the Society of Apothecaries didn’t explicitly ban women from its exams, so she studied privately, trained relentlessly, and took the route that was still open. (London Museum) Most people would have stopped there. “I made it.” Job done.

Elizabeth didn’t stop. She stayed. She strengthened the bridge. She built places where women could work, learn, and lead.

Anderson understood something that still trips us up today: Access without a pathway is not progress. It’s a photo opportunity.

So, she helped create real-world spaces where women could practise medicine and build experience including what became the New Hospital for Women, famously staffed entirely by women. (ezitis.myzen.co.uk)

That wasn’t just symbolic. That was infrastructure. That was “we’re not waiting to be invited.”

And then she went further: she helped build the training pipeline, because she knew the system would always claim, “We can’t appoint women, there aren’t enough qualified.” So, she worked to change the supply, not just the story.

 

This is “Give to Gain” in real life

This is exactly why Elizabeth Garrett Anderson belongs in my #IWD2026 Give to Gain run-up.

Because what she gave wasn’t only courage. It wasn’t only hard work.

She gave structure.

And what society gained was huge:

• more trained clinicians
• more places for women to practise
• better healthcare for women and children
• and a future workforce that looks more like the public it serves

Fast forward to today and women don’t just participate in healthcare they power it. The milestone we’ve reached with women now forming a slight majority of licensed doctors is a signal of how far the road has stretched since Anderson first started laying it. (GMC UK)

 

But the job isn’t finished: progress isn’t evenly shared

Here’s the uncomfortable bit and we must be honest about it. Representation at entry level is one thing. Representation at the top is another.

In surgery, women are still underrepresented at consultant level. One recent Royal College of Surgeons of England briefing put it starkly: no surgical specialty has more than 29% female consultants, and in Trauma & Orthopaedics it’s below 9%. (Royal College of Surgeons)

So yes, the door is more open than it was. But in too many areas, the ladder is still missing rungs.

 

A practical challenge for IWD 2026

Let’s not just celebrate the “firsts.” Fund the ladders.

If you’re in a position of influence such as a leader, manager, mentor, sponsor, commissioner, policymaker, let’s ask ourselves:

• Where are women dropping out of the pipeline (and why)?
• Who gets the stretch roles, the theatre time, the high-profile projects?
• Who gets sponsored when it’s time for promotion?
• Are training routes designed for real lives including caring responsibilities or only for “perfect” CVs?

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson didn’t just squeeze through a door that was barely open. She widened it. She reinforced it. She built a road.

 

Join us: IWD Webinar at ARU

As a Visiting Professor at Anglia Ruskin University, I’ll be hosting an IWD webinar on:

Tuesday 3 March 2026 | 13:00–14:00 (UK) with Keynote: Claire Kennedy (PPL) and Prof Gary Packham.

Register for free here

Together, we’ll unpack:

1. the history and what it asks of us today,
2. the realities women are navigating now, and
3. how a “Give To Gain” mindset can shape a better future practically, not performatively.