When Dean Marie Chisholm-Burns’ research-heavy commentary titled “Women in leadership and the bewildering glass ceiling” was published in the American Journal of Health Systems Pharmacy in March, there was indeed some serendipity. It was released March 1, the first day of Women’s History Month and the fact that it was written by the first-ever female dean at the UT College of Pharmacy was a fitting touch. Although the Dean stresses that this was not an isolated effort. She had three female co-authors: Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy Dr. Christina A. Spivey, PhD, and Associate Dean Dr. Tracy Hagemann of the UT College of Pharmacy, and Dr. Michelle A. Josephson, MD of the University of Chicago.
While the corporate world has certainly been scrutinized for its lack of women in high-level leadership positions, the Dean focused on the barriers women face in climbing the ladder to the top positions within health care and academic institutions. What she has found is not too different from the lack of gender diversity among CEOs and executive positions among Fortune 500 companies.
In the pharmacy world, for instance, women make up 50% of full-time faculty, but only 30% are full professors, only 31% are department chairs, and only 26% are deans. Meanwhile, only 18% of hospital CEOs are women, and the pipeline may be narrowing. These disparities cannot be due to a lack of education, as women earn bachelor’s degrees and graduate degrees at equal or higher rates than men.
Hence, Dean Chisholm-Burns and her team dove deep into research to determine the cause of these gender-based leadership gaps. They found several barriers, from conscious/unconscious biases to a lack of mentors and role models, and found that women face a double burden in their careers if they want to get ahead: not only must they do their jobs well but they must also overcome stereotypes that may hinder perceptions of their potential to excel as a leader. In addition to identifying these barriers, Chisholm-Burns explored strategies (for individuals and institutions, as well as at professional and societal levels) to promote and develop women’s leadership.
Several of the Dean’s colleagues, from the University of Georgia and University of Arizona to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, contacted her to applaud her work and commentary. You can read the published piece as well at http://www.ajhp.org/content/early/2017/01/20/ajhp160930.