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How Leaders in Pediatrics Can Support Women

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Women in Pediatrics

Abstract

Women are underrepresented in leadership within pediatrics. Leaders play an important role in supporting, mentoring, sponsoring, and promoting women. Leaders need to develop a strong, diverse, and inclusive workforce within respectful environments. The pipeline of women in leadership needs to be strengthened. For this to happen, there needs to be gender equity in compensation and professional effort, as well as support for family friendly employment practices and policies. Research in these areas needs to be supported and progress needs to be carefully measured and reported.

Gender harassment is defined as a broad range of verbal and nonverbal behaviors not aimed at sexual coercion but that convey insulting, hostile, and the degrading attitudes about members of one gender. Gender harassment is the most common form of sexual harassment. It is harder to recognize than sexual coercion and unwanted sexual attention. This can make the consequences of gender harassment farther reaching and harder to solve.

The issues of women in pediatrics need to be addressed systematically. Leaders need to understand and change the environment, attitudes, and policies that have led to disparities. Progress has been made, but there remains a significant gap in opportunities for women in pediatrics.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Tina L. Cheng

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, HSHS St. John’s Children’s Hospital, Springfield, IL, USA

    Douglas Carlson

Authors
  1. Tina L. Cheng
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  2. Douglas Carlson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Douglas Carlson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM), Office of Faculty Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Nancy D. Spector

  2. Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program, Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Jennifer K. O'Toole

  3. Drexel University College of Medicine, Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM), Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Barbara Overholser

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Cheng, T.L., Carlson, D. (2022). How Leaders in Pediatrics Can Support Women. In: Spector, N.D., O'Toole, J.K., Overholser, B. (eds) Women in Pediatrics . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98222-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98222-5_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-98221-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-98222-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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