A spokeswoman is a woman chosen to speak officially for a group — a company, a ministry, a hospital, a campaign. Whatever she says in that role counts as the group's words, not her own private view. If a spokeswoman for the hospital says the doctor has been suspended, the hospital has said it. That is the whole point of the job: the group speaks with one voice, through one person, so the message stays the same. The role can be a full-time job with a title, or just today's arrangement — someone picked to face the reporters. This word exists because spokesman ends in -man and English wanted a form for women. Now many writers skip the choice completely and use spokesperson, or write "a spokesperson for the company," which works for anybody and is safe when you don't know who spoke. Spokeswoman is still ordinary and perfectly polite; you will see it in the news every week. There is also a looser use: a woman who becomes the public voice of a cause without anyone appointing her — "she became a spokeswoman for nurses" — meaning people treated her words as the group's words.