Equanimity About Equality
Why are most of the speakers at congresses – and the vast majority of industry leaders – men?
Last month, during the ESCRS congress in London, I was invited to an “OWL roost”, which consisted of wine, nibbles… and insightful discussions with twelve eminent people from the ophthalmic industry. All were women; this was a meeting of the Ophthalmic Women Leaders group.
Yes, this Editorial is about gender imbalance in ophthalmology. The exhibitors’ booths may have had a fairly equal gender balance, but it was a different story on the podiums. Of the main symposia speakers, just under 13 percent were women. That’s exactly the same proportion of women present in The Power List that we published earlier this year. Though the remaining 87 percent deserve to be recognized as ophthalmology greats, they‘re all men. Why? Three things strike me.
First, the mostly male old professors and CEOs aren’t retiring. Fresh opportunities for women to fill these roles will happen – eventually.
Second, there’s a deficit of recognition. Tropes about women not speaking up for themselves and hiding from the limelight do have an element of truth – and encouragement and coaching from institutes, organizations, and groups like OWL will help.
Third, family life. Again, the old story is that women are expected – and want – to take a career break to “bring up the kids”; men, typically, aren’t. Career breaks occur and can delay or diminish career progression. The reality isn’t quite so black and white. Some women do want to spend time with their young families – or to prioritize a better work-life balance – and if that compromises their career, so be it. I also think some – if not many – men would prefer to make the same choices.
It strikes me that gender ratios on the podiums or boards of directors can be thought of as an equilibrium. History, deficits in opportunity and recognition, and childcare expectations have pushed the ratio towards men, but as these are addressed, the equilibrium will shift. It may be that the natural equilibrium will ever be 50:50 – actual gender differences in approaches to things like childcare may play a role – but I do think to get the best possible person to fill a given position, a culture of equal opportunity is needed. I hope that’s becoming the case. Time will tell.
