In Response

Abstract

Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you. —US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg We thank Zinn and Zinn1 for their letter, “Understanding the Dynamics of (Ir)reversible Mechanisms of Gender Inequalities,” which comments on our recent publication.2 We very much agree that a sociological perspective on the complexity of gender equality can help inform solutions. We also agree that numerical parity can never substitute for real equality. While equality is a desired cornerstone of Western societies, it remains largely undefined, and the biological differences between the sexes―both presumed and real―continue to confuse the situation. Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s advice to “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you” can guide us in our quest to achieve gender parity. Given the enormous complexity of acute care medicine, it is clear that nontechnical skills will become ever more important,3 and emotional intelligence in particular is likely to become a key attribute for success in complex environments.4 Defining the sociological dimensions of the “glass ceiling” would be an interesting challenge and a worthy topic for a further article. We look forward to expanding dialogue and to progress based on the inclusion of diverse perspectives. Nadja Fisler, MDDepartment of AnaesthesiologyInselspital, Bern University HospitalUniversity of BernBern, SwitzerlandBobbieJean Sweitzer, MD, FACPDepartment of AnesthesiaNorthwestern UniversityChicago, IllinoisJeannie Wurz, BADepartment of AnaesthesiologyInselspital, Bern University HospitalUniversity of BernBern, SwitzerlandAmanda M. Kleiman, MDDepartment of AnesthesiologyUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesville, VirginiaFrank Stueber, MDMarkus M. Luedi, MD, MBADepartment of AnaesthesiologyInselspital, Bern University HospitalUniversity of BernBern, Switzerland[email protected]