Gender equity

 

In November 2017 we set up a Gender Equity Working Group to promote the importance of equal representation of women and men across our fellowship and an increase in women in leadership and management positions. The group reports its activities and initiatives to the Professional Affairs Executive Committee (PAEC).

  

The first initiative of the working group was to understand how gender equity affects our fellows, trainees and SIMGs, using information sourced from internal databases and the 2017 fellowship survey responses; and then comparing against external information. We discovered that, while there is a disparity in representation at a leadership level and on committees, this is representative of the gender ratio in current fellowship numbers, however is changing with the exponential rise in the number of female trainees.

 

Cause to celebrate

Historical gender imbalances in the specialities of anaesthesia and pain medicine are rapidly decreasing as women enter and complete training. Forty-five per cent of our trainees are female, indicating more women than previously are being admitted to, and completing the training program. Similarly, recent female representation in the roles of ANZCA president and FPM dean are closing the gender gap through appointments to executive leadership.
 

Women’s visibility in research and scholarship is also low, and women are poorly represented at conferences and meetings (particularly as invited speakers, panellists, and convenors but also, in some cases, as delegates). However ANZCA has been pro-active on this issue by promoting, mentoring and actively advocating for gender balance at conferences and in leadership opportunities at both our Annual Scientific Meeting and other smaller events and activities.

 
 

 

Our aims The group will work towards the production of an action plan in mid-2018 that will address gender imbalances in leadership and management; research and education; presentation at conferences and events; and continuing professional development. This action plan will be made publicly available on the college website.

 

Research undertaken

Research undertaken by the college to create a background paper to provide an early snapshot of data related to gender equity however it does not give the complete picture. Within its remit, ANZCA will continue to gather data with the aim of monitoring progress, in the promotion of achieving gender equity.  Please view the gender equity article in the March 2018 edition of the ANZCA Bulletin for further information and details on this research.

 

Where to from here

ANZCA’s gender equity action plan will mark the beginning of a series of initiatives for the college. Our communications team is developing a social media strategy to support the college’s gender equity commitment, and information will be kept current and updated on the webpage.