This inSight+ article features comment by Professor Helena Teede OAM regarding health’s gender pay gap.
AFMW is an affiliate with AWHL – am very proud to have forged this relationship with AWHL – and we are in their community of practice which meets every couple of months to contribute to the project, which I participate in along with reps from their other member organisations.
[inSight+ Article Extract]
Institution-led imposter syndrome is a major reason for the lack of women in medical leadership, according to one expert, and new approaches are needed to place the burden of change on institutions.
Despite the growing number of women working in medicine, they are not necessarily making it into health leadership positions, according to a senior clinician interviewed by InSight+.
“We’re in the paradigm that was generated by older generations, that doesn’t apply today,” noted Professor Helena Teede OAM, an endocrinologist and director of Monash University Centre for Health Research and Implementation. “What we know is that the concept of ‘merit’ doesn’t take into account relativity to opportunity, is used to perpetuate bias and privilege.”
Professor Teede’s work is focused on creating equity in health institutions based on research, and establishing the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation.
“We’ve got more women than men in health care, and increasingly we have more women than men in education and higher degree research. But they’re not leadership roles,” Professor Teede said.
“We’re talking about any marginalised group — including gender and race. We’ve been thinking that individual women don’t want careers and aren’t putting themselves forward or nominating themselves for awards — as if it’s a personal behavioural trait. And that is clearly a flawed premise.”
by BECCA WHITEHEAD
13 May2024
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(Credits: Article/ Image – inSight+ )
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.
