The role of membership organisations in promoting gender equity and advancing women leadership
Professional membership organisations play a crucial role in healthcare careers through various mechanisms:
They are the professional bodies that develop standards and curricula for postgraduate vocational training;
They control entry into and exit out of vocational training programs;
They develop accreditation standards and are responsible for accreditation of health care services for vocational training;
Once training is over, they provide continuing professional development for their members in order to qualify for medical registration;
They are key in negotiating enterprise bargaining agreements;
They offer a variety of leadership opportunities through participation in their education, policy and governance committees;
They offer competitive awards and funding opportunities.
Although professional membership organisations do not directly employ the healthcare professionals working in the healthcare system, they have a unique opportunity to promote gender equity and promote the leadership of women.
AWHL will explore what the role of membership organisations are, and how well they are currently progressing gender equity. Together with our partners we will co-design and co-produce evidence-informed actions which are implementable and measurable at an organisation systems level to advance women in healthcare leadership. This work forms part of a PhD being undertaken by Dr Jenny Proimos.
To begin this exploration we held a workshop with all the professional member organisation partners. At this workshop, a mapping of all publicly available information on their websites was presented for discussion. The mapping found that there was variability in the progress on gender equity activities across the organisations. In general, most organisations have made gender equity a priority, but there was relatively little information available on their websites. Interactive discussions among the organisation representatives then explored options for further actions. Preliminary outcomes were a general enthusiasm to work collectively as a group of organisations on consistent policies, advocacy and explore accreditation standards to promote gender equity in the healthcare services in which their trainees work.
Over the next year, this project will further explore expectations, issues and potential actions by interviewing key people within the organisations, and then surveying members to also ascertain their views. Results from the qualitative and quantitative research will be used to identify a series of potential activities. A prioritization process will then be used to decide which actions will be prioritised for implementation by the organisations themselves. Further information will be provided on progress in subsequent newsletters, so please watch this space!
MEET THE RESEARCHER
Dr Jenny Proimos is an paediatrician and adolescent health physician working at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. Jenny joined AWHL in 2021 as PhD candidate. Through her PhD Jenny aims to coordinate the collaboration of medical colleges as they implement and evaluate organisational strategies to achieve gender equity in healthcare leadership.
PhD SUPERVISION TEAM
Professor Helena Teede
Monash University
Associate Professor Jacqueline Boyle
Monash University
