By Marian Wiseman
ACEP News Contributing Writer

Photos by SAEM

Published in August 2008 edition of ACEP News 

 In an unusual coincidence, this year the top elected officials of six national emergency medicine organizations are all women.

They gathered for a photo during the May annual meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and stayed to talk about leadership in emergency medicine and the roles of women, past and future.

Leaders of EM Organizations - 2008/09
Standing (backrow, left to right)
Judith Tintinalli, MD	Chair, Association of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine
Sandra Schneider, MD	Chair, Residency Review Committee-Emergency Medicine
Mary Jo Wagner, MD	Chair, Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors
Sitting (left to right)
Linda Lawrence, MD	President, American College of Emergency Physicians
Rita Cydulka, MD	President, American Board of Emergency Medicine
Katherine Heilpern, MD	President, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Is There a “Woman Leader” Profile?
Before being contacted by ACEP News about this article, the presidents and chairs themselves had not noticed the all-female “phenomenon” of their roles. “We didn’t recognize it because we look at one another as leaders and not as women leaders,” commented Rita Cydulka, M.D.

They do see differences in leadership styles of men and women, finding men more authoritative and women more collaborative.

Nevertheless, Dr. Cydulka pointed out, “When I look around this group, we’re not all warm and fuzzy—we’re not pushovers.” Katherine Heilpern, M.D., agreed, noting that she had been described as having an “iron fist in a velvet glove.”

“I didn’t get the glove,” quipped Dr. Cydulka.

The women believe that having a more collaborative leadership style is a plus for their respective organizations. “It’s bringing people in under the tent so that people feel comfortable addressing controversy,” Dr. Heilpern said.

Support at Home Essential
Juggling parenthood, career, and organizational responsibilities emerged as a challenge they all had faced. “I have a supportive husband, and I’ve seen that what allows women to succeed is support at home,” said Linda Lawrence, M.D.

All had developed strategies to manage parenting while assuming leadership responsibilities. Some had husbands who stayed home with the kids; other planned family vacations around meeting dates. Mary Jo Wagner, M.D., said her family often accompanies her to meeting venues. “My daughter asks ‘what day on vacation is mom going to be speaking?’,” she said.

“We’ve all figured out how to coordinate our lives around our work,” Sandra Schneider, M.D., noted.

While the women receive support from their families, it was clear that their families were also their top priority. Dr. Cydulka, for example, noted that her decision to skip an ABEM meeting and attend her son’s band concert was an obvious choice for her. And heads nodded when Dr. Heilpern commented that she’s most proud of being a mom with two kids.

Judith Tintinalli, M.D., pointed out that men’s roles at work and in leadership positions have changed, too, especially as double-career families have become more common. She cited examples of men whose child-care responsibilities were a priority that precluded changes in work schedules. Dr. Heilpern agreed: “The world is changing a bit, and traditional roles are breaking down on both sides.”

Working Past the Biases
Although the women started their careers over some three decades, all had encountered various kinds of gender biases along their career and leadership paths. Such bias ranged the gamut—from lower salaries for women at a university to being overlooked when male colleagues were planning a social event, whether a golf outing or an excursion to a strip joint.

Being ignored in groups was commonplace in their experience. Everyone nodded in recognition as Dr. Schneider mentioned instances when her input in a meeting was ignored, but five or 10 minutes later the same idea proffered by a man gained traction. “That happens all the time,” Dr. Tintinalli commented. Dr. Schneider concluded, “Then, at the end of the meeting, they’re referring to it as his idea. It’s like you’re invisible.”

Several had encountered discrimination related to their motherhood. For example, after she lost an election, one woman was told by a man, “I couldn’t vote for you because you have young children at home.” Others were told that they had not been given leadership responsibilities or included in certain activities because “we know you have young children and we wouldn’t want you to be away from them.”

The women reported numerous ways they have found to cope with bias. Dr. Schneider said she is inspired by women she knows from previous generations. One of the stories she relayed was about a woman who was in residency during World War II and was asked to leave when the male residents returned. Dr. Heilpern noted that she interacts with the power structure by “having some fun with it. In my meetings with the dean, at a huge table with 28 department chairs, I’m the only one with young kids [her children are 3 and 8 years old], and I’m the only one wearing a Barbie Band-Aid. So you have a little private giggle.” Dr. Lawrence commented, “My mantra every time I’ve bumped against the glass ceiling is that success is the best revenge.”

Working harder than everyone around them was an essential part of how all of the women got where they are. As Dr. Wagner pointed out, “Showing up and working hard are 99% of everything.” She added, “‘Persistent’ is a good word to describe all of us.”

Preparing for the Next Generation
The women agreed that they want to mentor young leaders—both men and women—and that for women, especially, they can serve as role models. “The discussion we’re having will be very different for the next generation,” Dr. Schneider said. “They don’t have our history—the baggage that we carry with us from incidents in our past.”

As an example of how times have changed, Dr. Schneider said one of her female residents complained that a senior physician had called her “honey.” “I told her ‘honey’ would have been nice compared to some things that have been said to me,” she said.

Everyone hopes that some day the fact that all of the presidents and chairs of EM organizations are women would go unnoticed. “Everyone is here because they are very capable, not because they are a woman,” said Dr. Tintinalli.

“Eventually,” Dr. Schneider concluded, “we will get to the point where people are considered for their skill sets.”