Importance of and strategies for achieving gender equity in hematology
Gender disparity is a persistent and pervasive issue in medicine, and reduction of gender disparity and promotion of career development and leadership opportunities for women in medicine are priorities for many of us. Although we have achieved gender parity in medical schools of the United States, there remains a significant deficiency in the percentage of women physicians who serve as full professors (21%), department chairs (15%), medical school deans (16%), and other positions of leadership.1-3 Women in medicine face unique challenges including but not limited to a lower pay than male colleagues in the same specialty, the physical and emotional burdens of pregnancy and breastfeeding (both during training and in practice), increased time spent in domestic activities compared to male partners, higher risk of burnout and depression, and higher rates of gender discrimination and sexual harassment.4-6
Multiple advocacy groups have been recently formed with the mission of achieving gender equity in medicine, including within medical society leadership, speakers, and panels at national meetings; editorial boards; and positions of leadership such as department chairs, medical school deans, and hospital CEOs. Dr. Julie Silver, a Harvard physician and international leader in gender equity research, has drawn upon research in gender disparities across many fields of medicine to create the #BeEthical campaign, which advocates for an evidence-based approach to the pursuit of gender equity and the evaluation and elimination of gender disparities across all healthcare groups within the United States.7 The recently founded “TimesUp Healthcare” movement, founded by women leaders in several fields of healthcare, has a mission to unite healthcare workers across all fields to raise awareness and knowledge of sexual harassment and discrimination and advocate for safety, equity, and dignity in healthcare.8
Gender disparity is a concern for us specifically as female hematologists. Research has demonstrated that women in hematology-oncology are underrepresented in positions of leadership and that only 36% of associate professors, 22% of full professors, and 30% of department leaders in hematology-oncology are female.9 While the current president of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) is female, of the 20 past presidents between 1998 and 2017, only 4 (20%) were female. Of the 14 current ASH Standing Committees, chairs of only 4 (28.6%) are female. We have recently published a piece of information in ASH Clinical News drawing attention to the importance of career and leadership development for women in hematology and oncology.10
ASH has already done significant work in this area to develop and run the Networking Reception for Female Hematologists at the Annual Meeting and has begun to provide spaces for breastfeeding mothers and childcare opportunities at recent ASH meetings. We recognize and appreciate these opportunities and hope to advance advocacy efforts further to achieve gender parity in the field of hematology in both academic and nonacademic settings.
The lead author of this Correspondence recently gathered support from over 100 female hematologists and oncologists in both academic and private practice and advocated for ASH to take additional steps to demonstrate ongoing, consistent commitment to women in hematology through the creation of a Working Group for Women in Hematology. We are pleased to report that ASH was receptive to this idea and did recently create the Women in Hematology Working Group that will examine existing ASH programming and identify additional opportunities for career advancement for female hematologists. We hope that the Working Group will develop a broad strategic approach to promoting career development and leadership opportunities for female hematologists in both the United States and worldwide. Priorities may include: effective strategies to increase participation and leadership roles for women on ASH committees, development of training modules regarding avoidance of implicit bias in speaker introductions and discussion, enhancement of online social media platforms for networking and mentorship development, creation of metrics by which to measure success including growth in the percentage of female speakers and committee chairs over time, among others.
As Dr. Silver so eloquently states in the #BeEthical campaign, “ending gender workforce disparities is an ethical imperative.” In addition to the ethical value of gender equity, we believe these efforts will enrich our specialty through recruitment and retention of a more diverse work force and lead to a broader strategic vision and workplace environment in Hematology, which will ultimately allow us to better understand and care for our patients.
