Redressing Gender Imbalance in Leadership in Academic Medicine.

Abstract

To the Editor: We write in response to “Seeking Parity for Women in Academic Medicine: A Historical Perspective,” 1 a commentary by Kenneth Ludmerer. We write in our own capacity and on behalf of the Medical Women’s Federation (MWF), the largest body of women doctors in the United Kingdom, and Women Speakers in Healthcare (WSH), the United Kingdom’s largest database of women speakers across health and social care. In his commentary, Ludmerer observes that women remain “highly underrepresented in leadership positions in academic medicine,” such as professorships, department chairs, and medical deans. He attributes this to many complex reasons, including “microinequities” and an academic culture that promotes a single-minded mentality. For example, there is extensive evidence suggesting that women are underrepresented as academic authors in many areas, in both the sciences and humanities, and especially in senior authorship positions. 2 Preexisting gender disparities in research and authorship have been particularly exposed and amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part due to increased caring responsibilities undertaken by women during this time. A case in point: We suggest that Academic Medicine’s editors could have invited a female historian to write a commentary on the issues discussed by Ludmerer. There is no shortage of qualified female historians of health care and of women in academic medicine who are well placed to offer their expertise. The fact that one of them was not invited to write about the issues of women’s leadership in academic medicine means that a prime opportunity to foster authorship by women on this important topic has been missed. Having a female author would have been a way to amplify the voices of women in academia. Addressing the “fundamental paradox” of the continued underrepresentation of women in academic leadership requires disruption of the status quo. To correct established gender disparity, aspiring women leaders and academics need to be actively encouraged and supported to achieve their potential. There are many actions both men and women can take to support women in health care leadership. To that end, WSH was founded in 2019 to ensure balanced gender representation at all U.K. health care conferences and events, with parity of opportunity for all (for more information, see wsih.co.uk). Since its inception, WSH has invited men to join as allies and to nominate women colleagues and has requested that organizers ensure their events are gender-balanced. In addition, in 2019, men were invited as honorary MWF members for the first time. We believe that affirmative action is vital to redress existing gender imbalances and to increase diversity of views, opinions, and experiences. We eagerly await your response to our suggestion above, as we believe an opportunity has been missed to promote gender equity in academia, as Ludmerer advocates.