According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI), women have less equality in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. Our volunteers approximated the prevalence of women in healthcare in their home countries; their estimates suggest countries with lower gender equity rankings may have fewer women than men working in professional environments. Volunteers from Europe and Latin America reported greater presence of female professionals, consistent with the regions’ high gender equity rankings. In contrast, North America has a high gender equity rating, but volunteers reported fewer women working in healthcare despite and equivalent percentage of women in healthcare in Europe and the U.S. This discrepancy between documented reports and volunteer opinions suggests that perception of work environments may be influenced by overall country gender equity in addition to other factors. Despite challenging environments, participants on the all-women mission reported being inspired to pursue leadership positions at home. Several reasons may have helped inspire leadership growth as a result of this unique experience. As discussed, a key component for women in medicine to advance professionally is to have public support of gender equity in their workplace. During the all female mission experience, participants may have been encouraged by the women surrounding them and felt empowered by how much they enjoyed the experience. Our data also aligns with previous literature that shows women find it meaningful and enjoyable to work together. Having women in leadership roles also decreases gender discrimination in male-dominated fields. These collective sentiments may help explain why almost all participants wanted to continue working with other women and advance in a leadership role at home. Geographic region or country economic status did not affect this desire, suggesting a universal impact of the experience.