Yes, healthcare technology management (HTM) is still a male-dominated field, but the gender gap is changing, and leadership is beginning to reflect it.

That tension framed “Women in HTM: Navigating Professional Growth and Leadership” at the 2026 AAMI eXchange in Denver, where four TRIMEDX panelists focused less on linear career paths and more on how leadership takes shape in a field defined by constant motion, tight margins, and rising complexity.

AAMI vice president of HTM Danielle McGeary opened the session with workforce data from AAMI’s 2025 State of HTM report. Women, AAMI found, make up 18% of the HTM workforce overall. Among Gen Z, that share rises to 44%, with 80% reporting they intentionally chose the field. Leadership is also shifting: women now hold 24% of manager roles and 26% of C-suite positions.
But careers in HTM rarely follow a straight line — a reality reflected in the panelists’ paths. TRIMEDX Regional Vice President Amy Klemm described entering HTM indirectly, despite a background in biomedical engineering. (“Not our biomed,” she quipped.) Her colleague Lisann Goodin shared a similar shift from human resources into HTM leadership. Across both stories, mentorship emerged as the key inflection point.

Panelist Danielle Rowe also pointed to early role models who made leadership visible. “You could tell that the techs had a passion because the managers had a passion,” she said. “It was intoxicating.”

McGeary noted that mentorship in HTM often spans gender, title, and function, reflecting her own early experience as the only woman in a 40-person shop. “I wouldn’t be here without all the men who helped build me along the way,” she said.

The message was consistent: mentorship has to be deliberate. Goodin urged professionals to build relationships beyond HTM, including supply chain, finance, regulatory, and academic partners. After all, she said, “No one advances alone.”

As the discussion shifted to advancement, the focus moved from technical credibility to visibility and business acumen. “We all want to be seen, heard, and appreciated,” panelist Radhika Kumar said. “You have to find your voice and draw inspiration from the people around you.”

Kumar reiterated that sentiment, noting that women often shrink themselves in professional settings. “And interpersonal skills don’t come naturally to some of us, especially those of us in STEM, so it’s important to push yourself to build connections with peers inside and outside your department,” she said.

She also urged attendees to step beyond the HTM silo. “It’s very easy to stay in our biomed bubble,” Kumar said. “Learn what makes the hospital tick.”

McGeary was more direct: “Get out of the basement and learn what the C-suite cares about.” Technical expertise remains essential, she said, but influence grows with organizational awareness.

Communication and advocacy also surfaced as career accelerators. Kumar noted that advancement is often shaped by reputation when someone is not in the room, reinforcing the importance of elevating peers when opportunities arise. Leadership, several panelists suggested, is defined as much by what is amplified as by what is accomplished.

The session closed on practical ground: curiosity, relationships, and consistency under pressure. For McGeary, it comes back to purpose. “Find your why,” she said. “People walk into hospitals at their most vulnerable times — you never know what someone is going through.”

Kumar echoed McGeary’s point. “Find your core values and use that as a compass when you’re at a crossroads,” she said. “It has never failed me.”

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