Maylyn Martinez, MD, recently rejoined Twitter to post about her first peer-reviewed publication and shared the advice one of us gave her: "@FutureDocs warned: as a Hispanic woman researcher, it's KEY to have a platform to amplify my work, making it more impactful, helping career/promotions."
We are not the only ones with this advice. A New England Journal of Medicine perspective highlighted social media as a way to enhance professional and career opportunities for women.
This week, our own study in JAMA Network Open challenges these assumptions. Our research team examined differences in professional benefits that men and women physicians gain from using social media in a sample of over 500 physicians. Male physicians were more likely to report that they received invitations for speaking or scholarship opportunities on social media compared to women physicians. Physicians' motivations to use social media also differed. Women were more likely to use social media to build a supportive network, while men were more likely to use social media to learn about clinical or research topics. While one could argue that the professional benefits male physicians accrue on social media are related to their motivations, our study is consistent with prior research showing women health policy researchers had half the number of followers on Twitter and less influence compared to their male peers. In some ways, while it is intoxicating to think social media is a level playing field, it may in fact just perpetuate existing inequities "in real life."
As we wrote earlier this year, women physicians who use social media also face another threat. Compared to their male colleagues, they risk being attacked and sexually harassed when using social media. Unfortunately, at a time when we need more inclusion and more diverse healthcare voices, social media does not seem to be the panacea but rather serves as an extension of challenges seen in real life for creating equity and inclusion and safe learning environments. Women who face harassment are more likely to leave social media, and the community misses out on their voices.
Why is it critical to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion on social media? Retaining diversity of voices on social media and ensuring they are not missing out on professional opportunities when using these platforms takes on an even more urgent and greater meaning during the pandemic. This is of critical concern, especially for individuals with intersecting identities, and given the extreme underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic people in the physician workforce. The pandemic has unmasked inequity in all forms, including gender and racial inequities. Women are at risk of being left behind and forgotten due to a myriad of reasons, such as caregiving challenges that disproportionately affect working women. It is already estimated that the pandemic has set women back by a generation, particularly in academic medicine where women are at risk of falling behind on promotion and professional advancement. The irony is that this is why virtual platforms like social media have been touted as a way to promote professional advancement.
How can we apply an equity lens to social media? To start, it is necessary to examine one's own practice and be intentional in amplifying women, minorities, and those with intersectional identities. Women can also work together to amplify each other. Women in the Obama administration used this strategy: during meetings, women would acknowledge each other as they commented so that it was less likely for a man to take or receive credit for a comment made by a woman, either knowingly or unknowingly. Another strategy, described by the Women of Impact, is to form a group to advertise each other's accomplishments. This can be particularly important since many women suffer from imposter syndrome and may feel awkward advertising their own success. These strategies can extend to social media as well. One such social media "amplifier" is the Women in Medicine Summit (WIMS). WIMS is a nonprofit dedicated to educating, informing, and imparting skills to women in healthcare to combat, close, and eliminate the inequitable gender gap pervasive throughout our healthcare systems. As an amplifier, WIMS focuses on elevating and amplifying the successes of all women in medicine by utilizing large networks, innovative strategies, traditional and social media, and varying platforms to amplify voices and elevate women in medicine.
In addition to examining social media practices, it is equally important to apply an equity lens to all social media platforms. While Clubhouse is the new social media rage, our early experiences only cement the challenges women face in participating. The last thing we want or need when we unmute ourselves to contribute to a conversation is for someone to hear our kids screaming in the background. In contrast, while Facebook "is for moms," it has also become more than just a place to post family photos. With Facebook groups like ARM (Academic Research Moms) or Physician Women Leaders, women in medicine are routinely posting supportive tips, including offers to promote advancement through external speaking and relevant job postings. In addition, similarly to our findings, groups of women academics such as IMPACT4HC, Dear Pandemic, and SciMoms have successfully leveraged a women-run brand on social media to elevate each other while also becoming a trusted source of facts.
As we purposefully work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in real life situations, it is worth remembering that achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion on social media will require the same intentionality too.
Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP, is the Herbert T. Abelson Professor of Medicine, a board-certified academic hospitalist, and associate chief medical officer for clinical learning environment at the University of Chicago Medicine. She is also the chief executive officer of IMPACT.
Nicole Woitowich, PhD, is a research assistant professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University.
Shikha Jain, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Illinois in Chicago, the director of communication strategies in medicine and associate director of communication and digital innovation for the University of Illinois Cancer Center. She is also the founder and chair of the Women in Medicine Summit and chief operating officer of IMPACT.
"social" - Google News
May 14, 2021 at 02:00AM
https://ift.tt/3hBOpa3
Op-Ed: Is Social Media Helping Women Get Ahead in Medicine? - MedPage Today
"social" - Google News
https://ift.tt/38fmaXp
https://ift.tt/2WhuDnP
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Op-Ed: Is Social Media Helping Women Get Ahead in Medicine? - MedPage Today"
Post a Comment