In this article, originally published in the The Sydney Morning Herald, Associate Professor Nada Hamad chair of St Vincent’s Sydney’s Women in Medicine Group and deputy co-chair of the University of NSW’s Medicine, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee shares hope for gender parity in healthcare.
As a doctor and a parent, the ebb and flow of the pandemic – particularly over these last few months with Sydney’s lockdown – has implications for my professional life as it does for my participation at work, as schools and childcare facilities have closed with barely a moment’s notice.
And yet, despite my preoccupation with COVID-19, recent stories about misogyny in politics have still managed to remain front and centre for me – such is their importance.
The recent decision by the Australian Club to continue excluding women takes pride of place. This form of collective commitment and tenacity to maintaining the unfair status quo is truly admirable. I can only imagine all the meetings and discussions with emails back and forth discussing this issue; all the mental and emotional labour that went in to protecting this outcome.
I relate because in medicine a group of extraordinary women over many generations – in Australia and around the world – have been working tirelessly to address misogyny in their own profession.
The public discourse around misogyny in politics is slowly maturing. The recent Four Corners episode Inside the Canberra Bubble and Annabel Crabb’s series Ms Represented resonated in the medical community. Women in medicine fighting this battle have found a sisterhood of shared experience that is inspirational, empowering and brings a sense of collective resolve that will give those who oppose our movement a good run for their money.
In Australia, the evidence shows that women have had gender parity in the nation’s medical schools for decades, but still only represent 28 per cent of medical deans and 12.5 per cent of hospital chief executive officers. These disparities are even greater for First Nations’ women, women of colour, and women with disabilities.
Gender parity in medicine is also a public health issue because the evidence shows that more women in medicine means better patient outcomes. For example, a study in the UK showed that even after accounting for patient, surgeon and hospital characteristics, patients treated by female surgeons had a statistically significant decrease in 30-day mortality. Another US study found that female patients were less likely to survive a heart attack if treated by a male rather than a female physician. During COVID-19, the success of female leaders around the world in managing the pandemic has been a hallmark.
Women in medicine are now more emboldened to speak up and act. We have seen a wave of editorials in medical journals, social media activity and a recent ground-breaking documentary, Picture A Scientist, which exemplifies our lived experiences. While sensational stories of sexual misconduct keep surfacing as the face of misogyny in medicine, these are just the tip of the iceberg.
The presence of misogyny in medicine, like politics, has been met with repeated denial, continued discrimination and systemic barriers to change. There is an assumption that healthcare workers, driven by altruistic intent, are generally beyond reproach. But doctors are human and are subject to human fallibilities, including sexism and racism.
Thanks to social and mainstream media discourse around these issues, women in medicine feel empowered to recognise and call out misogyny in the system, knowing they are not alone. We are bringing science into this discussion, collecting data and creating data-driven arguments and solutions that will stand the test of time. Our resolve is strengthened with the moral imperative that the change we bring will benefit our patients, communities, and country.
It is undeniable that change is coming, and while I admire the resolve of the soon-to-be-obsolete few who stand in our way, I don’t think they stand a chance.
Associate Professor Nada Hamad is the chair of St Vincent’s Sydney’s Women in Medicine Group and deputy co-chair of the University of NSW’s Medicine, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee.
View the article here: www.smh.com.au/national/gender-parity-in-healthcare-might-be-the-shot-in-the-arm-we-need-20210801-p58eud.html
Photo: “COVID-19 has led to an increase in doctors’ stress, anxiety and depression, according to Doctors Health Queensland.“
Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis AM is the Immediate Past President of the AFMW (2020-2023), former President of VMWS (2013 & 2017-2020) and current AFMW National Coordinator (2024-2026). She is a full time clinician who also holds positions on several not for profit organisations, driven by her passion for bridging gaps across the health sector. She is a leading women’s health expert, keynote speaker, climate change and gender equity advocate and government advisor. Magda is member of The Australian Health Team contributing monthly articles.
Magdalena was awarded a lifetime membership of the RACGP for her contributions which include past chair of Women in General Practice, longstanding contribution to the RACGP Expert Committee Quality Care, the RACGP eHealth Expert Committee. She is regularly invited to comment on primary care research though mainstream and medical media and contributes articles on various health issues through newsGP and other publications.
Magdalena has represented the RACGP at senate enquiries and has worked on several National Health Framework reviews. She is author of the RACGP Guide on Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery and co-reviewer of the RACGP Red Book Women’s Health Chapter, and reviewer of the RACGP White book
Both an RACGP examiner and University examiner, she undertakes general practice research and is a GP Educator with the Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence, which develops education tools to assist the primary care sector identify, respond to and manage family violence . Roles outside of RACGP include the Strategy and Policy Committee for Breast Cancer Network Australia, Board Director of the Melbourne University Teaching Health Clinics and the elected GP representative to the AMA Federal Council. In 2022. she was award the AMA (Vic) Patrick Pritzwald-Steggman Award 2022, which celebrates a doctor who has made an exceptional contribution to the wellbeing of their colleagues and the community and was listed as Women’s Agenda 2022 finalist for Emerging Leader in Health.
Magdalena has presented at the United Nations as part of the Australian Assembly and was appointed the Australian representative to the World Health Organisation, World Assembly on COVID 19, by the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) in 2021. In 2023, A/Professor Simonis was included on the King’s COVID-19 Champion’s list and was also awarded a Member (AM) in the General Division for significant service to medicine through a range of roles and to women’s health.
