Abstract
To assess the diversity of leadership bodies of member organisations of the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and the World Council of Optometry (WCO) in terms of: (1) the proportion who are women in all world regions, and (2) the proportion who are ethnic minority women and men in Eurocentric high-income regions. We undertook a cross-sectional study of board members and chairs of ICO and WCO member organisations using a desk-based assessment of member organisation websites during February and March 2020. Gender and ethnicity of board members and chairs were collected using a combination of validated algorithmic software and manual assessment, based on names and photographs where available. Gender proportions were calculated across Global Burden of Disease super-regions, and gender and ethnicity proportions in the high-income regions of Australasia, North America and Western Europe. Globally, approximately one in three board members were women for both ICO (34%) and WCO (35%) members, and one in three ICO (32%) and one in five WCO (22%) chairpersons were women. Women held at least 50% of posts in only three of the 26 (12%) leadership structures assessed; these were based in Latin America and the Caribbean (59% of WCO board positions held by women, and 56% of WCO chairs), and Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania (55% of ICO chairs). In the Eurocentric high-income regions, white men held more than half of all board (56%) and chair (58%) positions and white women held a further quarter of positions (26% of board and 27% of chair positions). Ethnic minority women held the fewest number of board (6%) and chair (7%) positions. Improvements in gender parity are needed in member organisations of the WCO and ICO across all world regions. In high-income regions, efforts to address inequity at the intersection of gender and ethnicity are also needed. Potential strategies to enable inclusive leadership must be centred on structurally enabled diversity and inclusion goals to support the professional progression of women, and people from ethnic minorities in global optometry and ophthalmology.
Highlights
Equality for women and ethnic minorities in ophthalmic and optometric employment,[1,2] clinical practice[3] and academia[4] is yet to be achieved
Ethnic minority men fared better than ethnic minority women in all positions except for chair positions in North America (Table 2). These results highlight the issue of gender equity and ethnic diversity within global ophthalmology and optometry leadership, with one in three board members being women for both International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and World Council of Optometry (WCO) members, and one in three (ICO) or one in five (WCO) chair positions being held by women
Our analysis in Australasia, North America and Western Europe points to the importance of considering inequity at the intersection of gender and ethnicity, with white men almost universally holding a greater proportion of leadership positions than the three other groups combined (Table 2)
Summary
Equality for women and ethnic minorities in ophthalmic and optometric employment,[1,2] clinical practice[3] and academia[4] is yet to be achieved. Diversity within organisational leadership has been shown to promote gender and ethnic-minority focused agendas and social responsiveness.[7] Fostering equitable, diverse and inclusive representation among global eye health leaders is critical, in order to adequately respond to the complexities of global eye health inequity. Those in leadership roles have the power to change and influence structures and behaviour. In the study presented here, we aimed to document the inclusion of women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds in global ophthalmology and optometry leadership by assessing the governing bodies of member organisations of the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and the World Council of Optometry (WCO)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
