Abstract 18955: Post Webinar Survey Responses Regarding Maternity and Legal Rights for Cardiologists

Abstract

Introduction/Background: Women are under-represented in cardiology and cardiology subspecialties. Work life challenges are often a stated reason why women do not choose cardiology. Pregnancy and motherhood represent a time of significant challenges to women in cardiology due to lack of support and discrimination. The American Heart Association (AHA)Women in Cardiology (WIC) Committee recently held a case-based webinar to increase awareness about the issues, discuss available resources for support, and understand laws protecting women against discrimination. Goals/Aims: The goal of the survey was to understand the current landscape of perceived institutional support during the maternity period and gauge awareness of the laws protecting women against discrimination. Methods/Approach: After the webinar, an email survey was sent to all those who registered on behalf of the AHAWIC Committee within 7days of the event. Results/Data: There were 189registrants for the webinar, of which 29(15%)responded to the survey. Of those who responded, 72%were female, 48%were <40years of age, 33%of the attendees were mothers, and 20%reported fertility issues. Almost all respondents reported working in a hospital-based practice (90%),59%were attending physicians and 38%were trainees. Only 28%reported that their work environment was very supportive of mothers and only 31%were aware of maternal legal rights in the workplace. After the webinar, 76%planned to learn or implement new maternal rights related policies in their workplace (Figure 1). Conclusions: Pregnancy and motherhood represent a challenging time in the career of a female cardiologist or trainee. Perceived support in the workplace is low. Very few women know their legal rights, but a majority had a plan to learn more after the webinar. This survey highlights opportunities for the cardiology community and national societies to help support women cardiologists.