Event to focus on empowering women to achieve academic success

Comparable numbers of women and men train in medical fields but fewer women achieve the rank of professor. Women also receive lower salaries and grant funding compared to male colleagues in academic medicine.

Why do these inequalities exist and how can women thrive and succeed in academia?

The goal of “Strategies to Empower Women to Achieve Academic Success” — to be held Wednesday, June 7 — is to examine the gender gaps that affect instructional track faculty and determine how women and leaders within the university can work together to overcome them.

Following public keynote addresses by leading experts that will introduce the topic to the audience, a panel of distinguished senior faculty will discuss related issues such as negotiation and promotion strategies, salary equity, work/life balance, networking and strategies for success.

Invited focus groups will then meet to identify approaches that can be implemented at U-M to address and overcome the gender gap in academic medicine. Together, these discussions will empower women and identify changes that will advance their potential to become productive and successful academic faculty and leaders.

Dr. Reshma Jagsi, a radiation oncologist and expert on gender-based issues that impact the careers of women in academic medicine, and Janet Bickel, a nationally-recognized expert in faculty, career, and leadership development, will be the keynote speakers.

Here is a full schedule of the event:

When: Wednesday, June 7

Public lecture/panel: 8:30 a.m. – 11 a.m., A. Alfred Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building

Invited focus groups: 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., Michigan League

The event is sponsored by the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.