Invited Presidential Session: Advancing Women in Leadership: Current Challenges and Future Opportunities

Abstract: Despite the growing representation of women* in medicine and psychiatry (Active Physicians by Sex and Specialty, 2021 | AAMC) women are less likely to seek or obtain leadership roles. In academic medicine women were still less likely than men to be promoted to the rank of associate or full professor or to be appointed to department chair (Richter KP, et al. Women Physicians and Promotion in Academic Medicine. N Engl J Med. 2020). This phenomenon is also present in other health care organizations including governmental, private and not-for-profit entities. As well, in one recent study, women physician graduates were found to be more racially diverse than men, however the models showed that Indigenous persons, Blacks, and other persons of color were still less likely than White women to be promoted.

Beyond issues of equity, women have an important role to play in leadership. Women in leadership positions are more likely to directly respond to the concerns of the community, to allocate funds toward education, health, and nutrition, to prioritize the needs of women, children, and marginalized groups, and to increase research on women’s health issues (Batson A, et al More Women Must Lead in Global Health: A Focus on Strategies to Empower Women Leaders and Advance Gender Equality. Ann Glob Health). There are effective strategies available to promote women in leadership including: i) organizational processes; ii) awareness and engagement; iii) mentoring and networking; iv) leadership development; and v) support tools (Mousa M et al. Advancing women in healthcare leadership: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of multi-sector evidence on organisational interventions. EClinicalMedicine. 2021).

This presentation invites participants of any gender to come together to learn more about the role of women in leadership and together explore solutions to promote equity and inclusion in our work environments. In the first half of the session, Dr. Alter and Dr. Ratzliff will provide a brief review of the literature on women in leadership, including experiences who may also be under-represented, focusing on healthcare organizations and academic medicine. Evidence-based solutions to promote women in leadership will be reviewed. The second half of the presentation will be a panel discussion of women leaders who will share their experiences and advice. This portion of the session will provide the opportunity for participant questions and discussion on this important topic.

* The majority of the literature limits gender identity to “male" OR "female." Although limited to these categories in the literature review, we acknowledge sex and gender as fluid, non-binary variables.

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