VICDOC Autumn 2023 - Magazine - Page 42
PERSONAL
OUTLOOK
I'VE MET WONDERFUL WOMEN THROUGH THE
VICTORIAN MEDICAL WOMEN’S SOCIETY,
INCLUDING SOME PROFESSIONAL ROLE MODELS
WHO HAVE HELPED ME TO LOOK AT MEDICINE
AND GENDER MORE HOLISTICALLY.
I'M ON THE FENCE ABOUT THE RELEVANCE OF
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY.
—
Being a part of the society and getting to
know other women has really opened my
eyes to the real issues that affect women in
both the professional and personal worlds.
Some of the issues I’ve become more
attuned to are quite simple, like how people
speak to me. Communication can be full of
microaggressions. In the past I haven’t had
the language to put those concepts into
words. I think some women go through life
without realising how sexist some of the
interactions they experience are. Having
the language has made me feel more able
to combat things like this.
There are a lot of assumptions made
around child rearing in medicine. But
actually, I don’t think I want to have kids.
A lot of my friends and colleagues
around my age are pregnant or thinking of
getting pregnant. It’s definitely a situation
that impacts them. They worry what
their employer is going to think. But it’s
something they shouldn't have to worry
about. I had male colleagues question my
ambition to do this training, because they
assumed I’d need to take time off when I
got married and had kids. They’d say, this
job is very demanding, and it’s you — the
woman — who will have to take care of
your kids. That’s a big assumption to make;
that viewpoint needs to change. This kind
of outdated thinking not only impacts
women; it also impacts men who might
want to take time off for childcaring.
—
On the one hand, I think it's good because
we need organisations to mark the day.
We need women and their experiences to
be in the front of people's minds and we
need change to happen. On the other hand,
sometimes I think it's a bit of a lip service
type situation, where people might say let's
celebrate it, and then the next day they go
back to being sexist or non-inclusive.
It’s important that we provide space for
women in leadership positions.
I know that some people are against the
whole idea of having a quota system or
actively recruiting and promoting women,
but I think it’s really important because we
talk a lot about gender equality and gender
equity, but real change comes from the top
down. And until we have women in true
leadership positions where they are at the
table and able to have a voice and make
decisions, we'll never be able to progress
and actually achieve gender equality.
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