Berrocal: Hire more women
Representation of women among full-time tenure-line faculty members decreases with progression in rank, Audina M. Berrocal, MD, said in a keynote presentation at the Women in Ophthalmology Summer Symposium.
Women accounted for 50% of assistant professorships, 45% of associate professorships and only 32.5% of full professorships, according to data from the American Association of University Professors.
There are increasing numbers of women enrolled in medical school, however, “So this is changing, and I think these changes are going to start coming from within,” Berrocal said.
Changing the structure will not be fast.
“We need to be part of the leadership of organizations to change them, and the change has to be from within and from the outside, meaning if I get to be in the leadership position of an organization, then I’m going to change it so that I can bring more women into the membership of societies or into the leadership groups,” Berrocal said.
Men need to be included in the discussion and educated to understand the need for change, she said.
“In order to break the visuals that create hidden biases, we need to normalize them,” Berrocal said. One way to do that is to hire more women.
Sometimes, though, resistance comes from within when women do not realize their own value. In health care, more than 30% of women experience imposter syndrome, Berrocal said.
“In 2019, the AAMC identified that 50% of women in medical school feel like imposters,” she said. Even in the absence of patriarchal influences, societal and educational influences that are pervasive in culture contribute to self-doubt.
To address imposter syndrome, one has to reframe their thoughts. Rather than minimizing accomplishments, for example, “If someone says something nice about you, take it. You deserve it. You worked hard for it,” Berrocal said.
Women need to believe and understand “how great we are,” she said. “We have the data to show it.” For example, women patients have a better chance of surviving a heart attack when treated by a woman doctor; patients of female surgeons are 4% less likely to die, have complications or be readmitted to the hospital; and older hospitalized patients treated by women internists have lower mortality and readmissions.
“The world we live in has been defined by men. It is time for us to redefine it in our terms and with our values. We do not need to dress or act like men to succeed,” Berrocal said.
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Berrocal AM. Under the glass ceiling: Where we are and what we have to do. Presented at: Women in Ophthalmology Summer Symposium; Aug. 26-29, 2021; Amelia Island, Florida.
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