Message from the Women in Medicine™ Summit: “Be the Change You Want to See”
November 14, 2023 | Gender equity, Leadership, Women in healthcare
What are some of the biggest gaps that women still face in healthcare today?
“So many I could talk for hours!” says Shikha Jain, MD, FACP, President, CEO, Founder Women in Medicine™. “The pay gap is a real problem. Yes, we are privileged, “but if two people are doing the same work and one is getting $100 and the other is getting $80, that is not fair. It’s not right.” And that needs to change because we’re hemorrhaging amazing women from medicine.
The leadership gap is another, Jain says. We shouldn’t have the same people leading for years and years—we need term limits! Even if someone is doing their job well, “we need new ideas and new blood to come in. And it doesn’t have to be someone that looks like the previous leader.” In fact, it’s been shown that it’s actually better for an organization if the leadership reflects the people and the communities they’re serving, she points out. It improves the bottom line.
“And we know women make phenomenal leaders. It’s not a question, it’s just a fact!”
Jain isn’t someone to shout into the void. She was brought up, she says, that if you discover a problem you need to come up with a solution. Over the years as she talked to a lot of women, she discovered that their stories of confronting barriers and biases sounded just like hers. So, in her case, the solution was creating a community of “her people”— women from all medical disciplines who could come together for support as well as opportunities, sponsorships, mentorships. That support could mean help getting to the next level of your career, or just “surviving whatever situation you’re in,” she says.
What began as a surprisingly well attended symposium at Northwestern eventually became the Women in Medicine™ Summit. One phrase that really resonated at this year’s conference was “Lift as you rise.” Lifting as you rise means bringing up the next person with you, Jain says. And it doesn’t have to be somebody junior. It could be somebody at the same level or even someone more senior. You can lift up anyone.
Sometimes that just means thinking outside the box, beyond your usual go-to’s when you hear about an opportunity. “It’s about taking that next step and thinking, ‘Is there someone else whose voice would be so important and relevant at this table? Who can we bring that is going to change the dialogue,’ and then sponsoring that person,” she says.
Creating the conference wasn’t an easy road. Currently it doesn’t make money. But what keeps Jain going are the emails and messages on social media that she gets:
“Your programming changed my life.”
“Your conference changed my career trajectory. I was in a bad place and now I’m in a new position.”
“I met a colleague who advocated for me.”
“I found someone to collaborate on research.”
To listeners of the podcast, Jain says that if there’s one thing to take away it’s this: Be the change you want to see. “Be the advocate that you’d want for yourself.”
Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts, alternatively find us on your preferred podcast platform. Also available on Medscape.
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