This paper examines: (1) selected aspects of the current status of women at the top of the hierarchies in the three health professions of dentistry, medicine, and veterinary medicine, and (2) some of the effects of the changing structure of the health care system on the present and future roles of the women in each of these professions. Besides increasing their numbers relative to the size of professions as a whole, women dentists, physicians, and veterinarians are now experiencing some common challenges due to restructuring of health-related professional educational programs. Changes in the role of health care professionals from providers of care to administrators and managers will have profound effects in the relationships among women of varying statuses within the health care industry. Challenges to women at the peak of the health care pyramid include the ability to assume the authority and power to influence the future directions of health care delivery in this country and to work with women at all levels in the health care industry to form a new order. (Author/MA)