An Evolution of Empowerment in Healthcare
By Shikha Jain, MD
Dr. Shikha Jain, MD is Assistant Professor of Medicine/ Division of Hematology and Oncology, Founder and Chair of Women in Medicine Summit, COO IMPACT..
Women in healthcare are under-sponsored, over-mentored, and many are made to feel invisible. We exist in a hierarchical institution entrenched in historical barriers and hurdles that reward those with seniority and perpetuate endless cycles of lifting those who look similar to those already in power.
Women and individuals with intersectionality are most likely to be impacted, and our “leaky pipeline” reflects this.
We consistently lose our best and brightest, and leadership isn’t reflective of the healthcare landscape, or populations we serve. Not because women aren’t resilient, bright, or ambitious, but because the path to success is paved with inequities that for many become too much to bear, or impossible to overcome.
For years, I attributed the challenges I faced to my own shortcomings. I spent time and energy improving myself and fixing gaps that could lead to obstacles for success. It was when I spoke with others that I realized this was not unique to me.
Barriers existed that couldn’t be overcome with self-improvement and hard work. I created the Women in Medicine Summit when I realized women needed more than drive, intelligence and leadership skills to succeed.
To ascend in healthcare and address pervasive systemic inequities, it is necessary to learn tools for success, and use data and science to restructure the system from within. To make real change, we need a movement with solutions based on decades of data.
Closing the gender gap requires strategic partnership with male allies, combined with development programs to sponsor, mentor, and collaborate across silos. Only by fixing systemic inequities will we begin the work necessary to heal a broken system. We must lift colleagues from diverse backgrounds with intentional opportunities. Just because this is the way it has “always been” in medicine, does not mean this is the way it must remain.
““Barriers existed that couldn’t be overcome with self-improvement and hard work. I created Women in Medicine Summit when I realized women needed more than drive, intelligence and leadership skills to succeed.” — @ShikhaJainMD #PowerToChangeStories ”
Dr. Shikha Jain, MD, is Assistant Professor of Medicine/ Division of Hematology and Oncology, Founder and Chair of Women in Medicine Summit, COO IMPACT. @ShikhaJainMD https://www.facebook.com/ShikhaJainMD; https://www.instagram.com/shikhajainmd ;https://www.linkedin.com/in/shikha-jain-md-facp-94bb4843/ https://shikhajainmd.com/; https://www.womeninmedicinesummit.org/