Becker's Hospital Review

21 WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP Female researchers are publishing less than men: 3 ways to help close this gap By Mackenzie Bean R esearch is showing women in academic science and medicine are publishing less than their male peers, likely due to them shouldering more child- care and household responsibilities during the pandemic, STAT reported July 9. This gender gap can be difficult for employers to close, since it's rooted in actions and decisions in the home, not workplace, the publication noted. STAT spoke with Miriam Bredella, MD, director of Massa- chusetts General Hospital's Center for Faculty Develop- ment in Boston, about how organizations can address this disparity. She shared the following strategies: 1. Some organizations, like Harvard Medical School, are pausing the clock for those seeking tenure to help elim- inate the pressure for women to publish research and win grant money during the pandemic. 2. Massachusetts General, which is affiliated with Harvard, is also considering providing faculty with in-home child care. However, some people are hesitant to let child care providers into their homes due to COVID-19 risks, Dr. Bre- della noted. 3. Dr. Bredella also created a visiting scholarship program for women to virtually lecture and present their research to new audiences at institutes worldwide. The goal is to cre- ate more opportunities for women to present their work, since COVID-19-related travel restrictions forced many ac- ademic conferences to go virtual. n 64% of female physicians cite work-life balance as major career challenge: 4 takeaways By Kelly Gooch T he stress of balancing personal and profes- sional demands is the biggest career challenge for female physicians, according to a July 15 Medscape report. For the report, Medscape examined the survey responses of more than 3,000 female physicians across specialties be- tween March 6 and May 1, regarding their major challenges and issues they care about most. Four takeaways: 1. Sixty-four percent of female physicians surveyed identi- fied work-life balance as their most important workplace concern. That compares with 43 percent who cited compen- sation and 30 percent who cited combining parenthood and work. 2. Other challenges cited by female physicians include gen- der equity (19 percent), career development (16 percent) and relationships with colleagues and staff (16 percent). Age discrimination (6 percent) and sexual harassment (1 percent) were also noted as challenges. 3. Seventy-one percent of respondents ages 45 and young- er cited work-life balance as a top concern, compared to 60 percent of women over age 45. 4. Nearly two-thirds of female physicians surveyed (63 per- cent) said work-related burnout puts stress on their primary relationships. Twenty-four percent said it does not, and 13 percent responded, "not applicable." n the other really important lesson was that everyone experienced this pandemic in a different way, and so empathy was incredibly important. Some physicians were at home, really wanting to work. Others were practicing in different environments, under very uncertain circumstances. Some had kids at home who weren't in school. Some had financial crises because their spouses were laid off. You couldn't predict what people were going through, and so we really needed a culture that met people where they were and recognized that this experience was unique and that we cared about them and their experience, whatever it was. Q: If you could offer a piece of advice to another health- care leader, what would it be? AK: Always remind yourself, your teams and the people you work with, about the core mission of what we do as healthcare providers. Always start with the patient first, move to the providers and their experience and their support, and then figure out the rest. If you stay true to that compass, you might not always have a completely straight path, but you're anchored to that philosophy, and that will be guiding. Q: What is your proudest moment at Harvard Medical Fac- ulty Physicians during the pandemic? AK: I couldn't be prouder of what our teams and our physicians did over this period of time responding to the COVID-19 spike in Mas- sachusetts. e heart and soul that people poured into saving people was just extraordinarily inspiring. It wasn't a single moment. It was the aggregate of many moments and many stories that ranged from small acts of kindness to large initiatives that were critically important at the time. So it's really the aggregate of what everybody was able to accomplish and how we pulled together to get there. We're not out of this yet, but we climbed the mountain and came out the other side. We made a lot of people better and saved a lot of people on the way. And there's nothing quite like that. n

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