2020 International Women's Day

As a woman in academic medicine, how do you overcome barriers?
As both a woman and a person of color, my path in academia has been nontraditional in some ways. First, given a dearth of available senior mentors and few race and gender-specific role models in our division, a group of my colleagues and I formalized a process to support each other. Our diverse group of seven faculty included five women and four URM. I am proud of the success of our efforts. While retention and promotion of URM and women in academia remains a challenge, our group has a 100% successful retention rate. We all remain in academic medicine and have reached senior levels. In addition to this peer mentoring process, I have had traditional mentoring relationships. Seeking and maintaining mentoring relationships even as I advance in my career has been critical for my success. Finally, I continue to engage in professional development activities at every level. For example, at the junior level I participated in Emory’s Junior Faculty Development Program and the AAMC Faculty Development Program for Minorities. At the mid-career and senior level, I participated in Emory’s Woodruff Leadership Academy, the AAMC Development Program for Mid-career Women, and the Harvard Leadership Development for Physicians in Academic Health Centers program. Ultimately, a commitment to life-long learning from varied experiences, mentors, and peers along with structured leadership and development programs has been very important in my career.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am most proud of developing a proactive, standardized, and transparent review and development process for the Grady section of the division of general medicine and geriatrics. Specifically, I started and initially chaired the Faculty Review Committee. This section-wide program was designed to regularly review faculty profiles and identify opportunities for 1) faculty development, 2) participation in unique service, leadership, and teaching roles and 3) recognition and reward within the division, department and beyond. We created an extensive database that included varied general medicine grants, development and training programs, and awards. The review for each faculty member is done on a rotating basis a minimum of 2 years prior to the next potential promotion date. This review is followed by an individualized faculty report that suggests a promotion pathway, provides a list of recommended activities, and recommends a timeline to promotion. Our process also includes administrative support for promotion packet preparation and assistance with award nominations and applications, if applicable, to bolster their success.

This program began in 2013 and has a track record of successful academic promotion of women and URM faculty that is unparalleled across academia. We have one of the most diverse divisions in the department and school of medicine (28% URM, 70% women). Through 2019, we have had 100% of our submitted packets approved for promotion. Importantly, 46% of our URM and 63% of women faculty have achieved a senior academic rank. In my new roles, I will be looking for opportunities to scale these efforts across divisions and departments. This standardized and systematic process demonstrates that diverse faculty are more than capable of academic advancement when provided with early and clear guidelines and support. This preset process that proactively maps out an individualized plan for career advancement and identifies and informs faculty when they are ready, I believe, has been particularly important for those who historically have been less likely to be propelled towards promotion or themselves seek it.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
I think of Martin Luther King, Jr’s words, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” With this framework, I would advise my younger self to both be patient and persistent. As I look back, despite personal experiences with salary inequity, microaggressions and bias, I infinitely grateful that I persevered. I have taken on leadership roles that have allowed me to implement compensation plans that are transparent and equitable, develop programs to support and promote diverse faculty, and now to scale those efforts across my department and school. It has all been worth it…
What can we each do to become champions for equality for women?
Becoming champions for equality for women requires ongoing support, mentorship and development for women across the pipeline. Additionally, we need to also support and hold accountable leaders for their role in the success of women faculty. Finally, we must transform academia in ways that structurally support transparency and true equity in opportunity, advancement and compensation.

As a woman in academic medicine, how do you overcome barriers?
Speak up only when I have something meaningful to say, be careful of the words that I use (don't use words that belittle my message like "just"), think of work-arounds to barriers, perseverance
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Two things: my mentoring and the setting up the teledermatology service. The former allows me to be involved in the success of the next generation of dermatologists. The latter enables access to dermatology for patients who otherwise wouldn't get such specialty care.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Ask for more - I asked for way too little and raises are always percentages of the baseline salary
What can we each do to become champions for equality for women?
Take it upon yourself to mentor. Also, we actually need to think more about equity than equality. I would like for the University to think of a financial reward system for the tasks that women tend to be given that are not paid (education, wellness, etc). There is a national discussion of eVU and not just wRVU

As a woman in academic medicine, how do you overcome barriers?
I should start by acknowledging that, in Newton's words, I enjoy the privilege of "standing on the shoulders of giants." In the context of this question I mean that any professional barriers I have faced were already lowered by the pioneering women, and some men, who came before me. For any remaining barriers I just put my head down and plough ahead. I am old enough to know that life isn't fair; I just always do my best.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I assume this question refers to professional and not personal accomplishments, so I will refrain here from gushing about my kids. Professionally, I am most proud of the research my team has conducted over the past 28 years that I have been a PI. We study a rare genetic disease and some of our research results have already changed clinical practice. Most recently, we have initiated preclinical trials of a novel gene therapy approach that I truly believe may prevent the myriad long-term developmental complications currently experienced by most patients. I can't wait to see if this works in rats, and if yes, to help move it to the next level. Of course, I am also proud of the many wonderful students and trainees I have had the pleasure of teaching and mentoring over the years. They give me hope for the future.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Set your own goals and priorities and don't worry too much about trying to please other people. When I was younger we also didn't have many role models of women biomedical scientists who were balancing career and family. For example, when I started graduate school in 1983 our department had 56 faculty members; 6 were women, and we were told that none had children. Some of us were actually told outright that we would have to choose between family and career. I am forever grateful to my family and my mentors -- both women and men -- who believed in me and convinced me that wasn't true.
What can we each do to become champions for equality for women?
I believe we need to pursue a 2-pronged approach. Prong #1 involves mentoring and cheering each other on informally as individuals -- helping each other with the little things and the big things. Everyone needs a support network; we need to be that for each other. Prong #2 involves recognizing institutional or larger scale professional barriers to equality that still remain, pointing them out, and working to remove them.

As a woman in academic medicine, how do you overcome barriers?

I do my best to overcome barriers by being persistent and by stepping in where help is needed ( especially where no one else wants to do it). Doing so has made people see value in what I am doing. Getting training (e.g., participating in leadership development programs) and tools on how to do things has made me more confident. Forming a strong, wonderful support group has also been an invaluable and essential way for me to move forward and overcome barriers.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

There are three very different accomplishments that I am really proud of:

• Serving as president of American Psychological Association, which is the largest association for psychologists in the world, and moving forward initiatives that are near and dear to my heart and engaging with diverse psychologists in the US and internationally.

• Creating and directing the Nia Project at Grady, a program for African American women in domestic violence relationships who feel so helpless in their situations and circumstances that they attempt suicide, and transforming the program into a large and comprehensive training, research and advocacy program provides culturally-competent help to countless women
• Integrating my love of dance and psychology, which includes serving as a consultant to the Atlanta Ballet Company and other major dance companies and schools, in addition to continuing to take and teach ballet

What advice would you give to your younger self?

• Pay attention to what you love and you are passionate about. Make sure that is front and center to guide your decision making.
• Find ways to integrate into your day to day life things that really matter to you. Don't wait.
• Take time to be compassionate towards yourself. It took me a long time to do that. I always did it for others, but was always hard on myself.
• Strive for excellence not perfection. If you strive for perfection you will always find yourself failing. Strive to do your best.

What can we each do to become champions for equality for women?

As a woman in academic medicine, how do you overcome barriers?

In academia women have to be more conscious of seeking out advancement opportunities and positions. We are very susceptible to imposter syndrome where we feel inadequate despite evident successes. I attempt to overcome this barrier by actively seeking out opportunities for myself and my female colleagues that will advance our careers and aspirations. I also attempt to echo other women’s thoughts and ideas to make sure they are heard. The more women we have echoing a good idea, the more likely it is to be heard. This is especially true in meetings where a women’s voice can be overlooked or ignored.

What accomplishment are you most proud of? 
I am most proud of taking on the program director role in the department of Urology. It is an opportunity to make a tangible change in how residents are trained, how our residents and faculty interact, and to improve the research and clinical footprint that our department has nationally. The other accomplishment I am most proud of is raising awareness for the need for more diversity in our department. When I joined the Urology Department I was the only female faculty member and there were only 2 female residents out of 20. This has changed over the years (currently 5 female faculty, 6 female residents) and I am proud to be part of that change.

What advice would you give to your younger self? 
Seek out multiple mentors early. It is helpful and acceptable to have multiple mentors for different aspects of your career and life as one person is not going to be able to advise you in every situation. Be proactive in finding your mentorship team to address all your needs.

What can we each do to become champions for equality for women? 
Support each other, give credit where it is due, lift other women up, and look for opportunities to help women build their careers and then promote/nominate them for it.

As a woman in academic medicine, how do you overcome barriers?
One of the approaches that has been beneficial is to have a community of both men and woman in whom I can confide and discuss different approaches to challenges. As women, we thrive and benefit from the collective experience and advice of other women. There are however situations where the viewpoint and input of a man can augment that of a woman colleague. Gathering the different perspectives of both can be extremely beneficial and can help to perceive situations through various lenses.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am most proud of being involved in training the first U.S. board certified pediatric infectious disease pediatrician in Ethiopia. One of the happiest days of my professional career, was when she called me (in the middle of the U.S. night) to thank me for helping her to pass her exam. Her success and achievement was more meaningful than passing my own pediatric ID board exam.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
This is actually advice given to me by one of my mentors and that is, “be where you are”. We spend a tremendous amount of time worrying about the next grant, the next manuscript, or the next patient. We are at our best when we are in the moment and focused on the task in front of us. I would probably also give this advice to my current self.
What can we each do to become champions for equality for women?
One of the most effective ways is through sponsorship or as my mother likes to say, “matchmaking”. When there are opportunities, we should say “yes” and if we cannot say “yes”, say “I cannot but perhaps ___________can”, naming a woman colleague. Consistently passing along opportunities or proposing female colleagues for opportunities is one of the ways in which we can make sure that women are provided with opportunities to participate and receive recognition. When organizing conferences or meetings, striving for gender balance on the podium and pairing more senior women with female trainees, to ensure that women are represented and well prepared for their roles.
Additional Comments: I have been very fortunate to have strong woman role models. My mother, a toxicologist, overcame a tremendous amount of gender bias during her training and professional career. Strong women mentors during my residency and fellowship training and an inspirational female department chair who recruited me to Emory are several women who have contributed to my success. My father, brother, husband, and many of my male colleagues with whom I collaborate and interact have all been instrumental in supporting me and my career trajectory. I am also inspired daily by my female faculty who accomplish so much in such little time.

As a woman in academic medicine, how do you overcome barriers?
I know that at every step of my academic career, I have to do a little extra, prepare a little more than my male colleagues, just to give me the confidence to speak up in meetings and prove myself. This is maybe because of my shy personality, but being extra prepared has helped me overcome many barriers. I think the biggest help has been for me to be able to talk to women mentors who have encouraged me to aim high and have highlighted opportunities for me. Simple gestures of encouragement from other women leaders in my department to try to get a seat at the table in important meetings and to speak up during meetings have helped me a lot particularly in boosting my confidence. Some key elements for me to overcome barriers to be successful are strong support from parents, husband, children and outstanding mentorship.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the research I do related to understanding how the enteric nervous system, the nervous system of the gastrointestinal tract, works and how it is affected by various diseases. In addition I am proud of all the students, residents and fellows I have worked with and encouraged to pursue academic careers, many of whom are women. Finally in the recent years I am proud of the leadership activities I was involved in at the VA hospital and recently as the Division director of Digestive Disease. Through this position I have expanded both the research and clinical enterprise of the division. I had the opportunity to lead a team to help build an endoscopy laboratory and I am proud of this achievement as it can help serve thousands of veterans in years to come.

What advice would you give to your younger self?
To reach out more to women colleagues and mentors so that I would be more confident in taking leadership positions. To continue to balance professional and personal activities, particularly when the children are young as this balance is very critical. I am happy that I was able to be present for my children’s activities such as orchestra performances however I knew they would understand if I missed one or two of them. I would also advice my younger self to seek more collaborations in the research focus so that the specific research question can be answered in even more depth. I also feel during our early career years we should delegate household chores as much as possible as this will free up time for more quality time with family. Although I did some of this, I wish I had done more.

What can we each do to become champions for equality for women?
I think to be champions for the equality for women we need to make sure women are represented in all levels of our institution. This starts all the way from our staff, administrators, students, residents, fellows and faculty members. The leadership in the division has to be cognizant of the gender distribution and engage women at all levels to help improve gender diversity. In my own division we have a high number of women faculty, much higher than Gastroenterology divisions across the country and I truly believe this is due to the number of women in leadership positions as well as other positions in our division. I believe having supportive male colleagues who recognize the value of gender diversity and support equality of women are very critical for the success of gender equality. My institution and department have been very supportive of women and I believe this is one of the reasons I am in my current position today.