WELCOME
The role of the Gender & Community in the Department of Internal Medicine is to cultivate an environment that values and provides opportunities for all faculty, trainees, APCs, and staff regardless of gender.
As of 2023, women are the majority of applicants and graduates at US Medical Schools, but remain a minority of faculty practicing in academic medicine. Understanding the history of women who first practiced medicine and advanced in our department illuminates how far we have come and the remaining barriers to advancement. Below is a brief history of some of the trailblazers that inform us how we can move forward today.
While women faculty in the department are no longer a rarity, we look forward to continuing to make strides in representation in leadership and advancement.
As of 2024, 42% of faculty in the DOIM identify as women, and 6 division chiefs are women.
The first women faculty in the department describe varied experiences. They did not see themselves as trailblazers, rather they knew they could do the work, bring an important perspective and were motivated and committed. They were met with a wide range of responses, from support to indifference to outright bias. They also described a wide range of experiences and careers.
Importantly, some of the same struggles these early faculty noted continue to play out for women in medicine today. Women must constantly navigate expectations and the pressure outside of work and in our lives. While these pressures may make it feel impossible to balance it all – change becomes more tangible if we face these issues and commit to creating a department that allows each of us and our unique identities to belong and thrive.
Please explore the vision and mission statement from the Gender & Community committee, the work from the Women’s World Café, and the ongoing work to support each other across the department.
1/31/2025
Sonja Raaum, MD FACP
Director for Gender & Community
Resources
Our Vision Statement
In alignment with the Association of American Medical Colleges, we seek to address structural contributors to the imbalance of gender in the academic medicine workforce. We seek to improve access to opportunity for all faculty and cultivate a culture that addresses harmful stereotypes holding individuals back from reaching their potential. And, importantly, seek to value work equally.
History
