Association of Women Student MD-PhDs (AWSM) at JHMI

Great to have two JHU MD/PhD alumni return to provide insights on Radiation Oncology and Pediatric Genetics!

There are many ideas about how to close the gender gap — things like paid parental leave and anti-bias training. Women could negotiate more; men could do more housework. But most are band-aids, Ms. Goldin said — they probably help, but they don’t address the deeper problem, and leave individual families to figure out their own compromises.

“It’s this system we put in place in the era of ‘Mad Men’ and we’re stuck with, and we’re sort of hammering away at in small ways rather than taking the whole thing down,” she said.

Certain changes would lighten parents’ demands at home, like universal public preschool, longer school days, free afterschool care and shorter school breaks. But the ultimate solution, researchers say, is not to make it possible for mothers to work crazy hours, too. It’s to reorganize work so that nobody has to.

Women Did Everything Right. Then Work Got ‘Greedy.’ How America’s obsession with long hours has widened the gender gap.

"The number of female trainees in MD and biomedical PhD programs has reached near parity with their male counterparts for several years. However, a gender disparity persists for enrollment in Medical Scientist Research Programs (MSTPs)." - check out this recently published study by some of our current AWSM members!

Medical school research ranking is associated with gender inequality in MSTP application rates The number of female trainees in MD and biomedical PhD programs has reached near parity with their male counterparts for several years. However, a gender disparity persists for enrollment in Medical Scientist Research Programs (MSTPs). Several studies suggest women underestimate their abilities comp...

Wonderful brunch with AWSM alumnae!

Interesting read!

Being a Doctor Is Hard. It’s Harder for Women. Female medical residents and physicians endure bias and a larger burden with home duties. They also face a greater risk of depression.

"The researchers advise against improving the mustache index by pressuring male doctors to shave, as this would be discriminatory.

Instead, they write, medical institutions might consider making their ranks more welcoming to qualified women. Strong policies against sexual harassment, better family leave, and strong mentoring programs could all help level the playing field while keeping a fair amount of facial hair in the mix."

Women still outnumbered in medical leadership by men with mustaches, study finds We mustache ourselves some serious questions about sexism in science.

"I started thinking my way through the women’s movement and how we had come to define equality—that women are equal to men only as long as they are doing the work that men have traditionally done.That’s not a full gender revolution. That’s saying, “Men were the ones who earned the income, and now women can be men.” When women do that, they’re equal; but women who are caring for others are still very much devalued. If you’re really going to have equality, you’ve got to value both kinds of work."

"The other criticism that I really took on board came from men. Men wrote to me, including gay men, and said, “How dare you frame this as a woman’s issue?” They were right. They also said, “I am not any happier with my role as a mandated breadwinner than women used to be as the mandated caregiver. I want to be able to spend more time with my children.” So I really changed my views of what men want but don’t dare say. And also, if we don’t change those roles for men, we will never get to real equality."

Nurses, fathers, teachers, mothers. Why do we devalue someone the minute they care for others? The real problem isn't about work-life balance—it's that we utterly devalue the importance of caregiving roles in our society.

The Odds That a Panel Would 'Randomly' Be All Men Are Astronomical One mathematician’s formula suggests that all-male lineups don’t “just happen,” despite what conference organizers might claim.

"Gender scholars have previously shown that discrimination may be particularly prevalent in organizations that pride themselves on being meritocratic. Strong institutionalized beliefs in meritocracy are more likely to discourage people from paying attention to their own implicit biases and prejudices.

Sure enough, department heads seem unaware of the implications. I interviewed 24 at Aarhus about whether and how issues of gender influence their recruitment and selection practices. I was told frequently that “gender doesn’t play any part”, “for us it’s all about getting the best” and “what we look at is quality”."

Make academic job advertisements fair to all Too many university posts are given to men without proper competition, says Mathias Wullum Nielsen.

M.D.-Ph.D. Programs Balance Research, Medicine Academic medicine can provide a balance of research, teaching, patient care and administration. Although the majority of physician-scientists work in academic medical centers, the roles they play are varied while advancing medicine. M.D.-Ph.D.s can act as mentors, instructors and leaders in academic…