Ranee Thakar - What 3 years in the hot seat has taught me about leadership

Part of the 'Bringing Life' lecture programme organised by this year's president of Liverpool Medical Institution, Professor Andrew Weeks.

Dr. Ranee Thakar is a distinguished Consultant Obstetrician and Urogynaecologist at Croydon University Hospital and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at St George’s University of London. She was elected President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in December 2022, making history as the first woman of colour and only

the third female President in the College’s 96-year history. She was recently appointed as a Honorary Professor of Women’s Health by the University of Liverpool.

Dr. Thakar has held leadership roles at local, regional, national, and international levels throughout her career. She has led the Perinatal Pelvic Health Project and Urogynaecology network for South-West London, fostering multi-disciplinary collaboration among healthcare professionals. As President of the International Urogynaecological

Association (IUGA) (2019-2020), she played a pivotal role in advancing urogynaecological care worldwide and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award in 2022.

Her commitment to global health is evident from her tenure as RCOG Senior Vice President for Global Health (2019-2022). Under her leadership, the College secured funding for the Essential Gynaecology Skills programme in Bangladesh. It led the Making Abortion Safe programme, which promotes safe abortion and contraception in five sub-Saharan countries.

Dr. Thakar is also a champion for racial equity within obstetrics and gynaecology. She has spearheaded initiatives, including an e-learning module on tackling racism, a toolkit on differential attainment, and a coaching programme to develop race equity champions. She actively raises awareness of maternal health disparities through conferences and fundraising efforts.

A globally recognised expert on obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASI), Dr. Thakar was the clinical lead on a landmark RCOG-RCM national project that achieved a 20% reduction in OASI rates across 16 maternity units. She has authored 145 original articles, 50 review articles, and 37 book chapters, edited three textbooks, and has an h-index

of 62 and an i10 index of 157. Ranee speaks internationally about women’s health, women’s health rights and tackling race equity. She is considered to be the voice of women’s health both in the UK and globally and is often featured in national and international media.

As a significantly accomplished gynaecological surgeon, Ranee is focussed on teaching skills in this highly complex area to the next generation of surgeons, leading a UK-wide project to improve surgical training for the benefit of women.

A highly motivated and visionary leader, Dr. Thakar has a lifelong commitment to improving women’s health worldwide.

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