In 1991, Nancy Auer, MD, FACEP, was elected to the Board. And in 1997, she became ACEP’s first woman President. The ACEP Board had taken another step toward gender neutrality. ACEP has had five female Presidents since.
Explore This Issue
ACEP Now: Vol 37 – No 05 – May 2018In those early years, a group of us celebrated a Boston Tea Party whenever ACEP went to Boston. The Tea Party was a special dinner to honor first Nancy Auer and then the women ACEP officers who followed her. For 50 years, ACEP has grown and evolved. We no longer ignore the lack of a woman on the Board. We now wonder why there aren’t more (there are currently five).
Looking Ahead
Today, when so many women have served on the Board and as officers, some members wonder if bias still exists in ACEP. It does; differences will always generate bias.
Each of us brings a unique perspective to our specialty. ACEP needs to be the place where every emergency physician has a voice and an opportunity. To succeed, ACEP will have to seek out, listen to, and hear individuals who, though qualified to lead, chose not to, those who can join but don’t, those who should stay in the college but leave, and those we have excluded but need to include.
We need to be more aware of problems and solutions beyond our limited individual viewpoints. We need to search for emergency physicians we don’t know, listen to new ideas, broaden our horizon, and return to ACEP with a different outlook. Fifty years from now, ACEP will be glad we did. Now, as in 1982, I ask you not to vote for someone because they are ______, but don’t vote against them because they are _______. You fill in the blanks.
Dr. Bensen is president of Medical Education Programs in Buffalo Junction, Virginia.
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2 Responses to “Working from the Inside to Include Women in Leadership”
May 20, 2018
Mark BuettnerHello Dr. Bensen thank you for your article. Your past experiences with the ACEP board has struck a chord with me because I am currently experiencing deliberate, cruel, insidious and never – ending gender bias from our organization. I seldom feel that my voice is heard. I am not even sure if my comments will be fully printed.
I suspect change in the biased culture of our organization will come slowly. The change will likely evolve as a reflection in the changing demographics of our membership and as a reflection of our larger culture. Is it necessary for such change to occur slowly? Those courageous individuals involved in the “Me Too” movement have shown us otherwise. It takes courage to step forward and give names. However, when such bravery was demonstrated change was often rewarded quickly.
Dr. Bensen as a leader in our organization will you demonstrate the necessary courage to publish the names of your abuser’s? Please tell us the names of those members that perpetrated and continue to perpetrate the deliberate, cruel, insidious and never – ending gender bias on you. The example of your leadership in this area may give the rank and file members the courage to step forward and put a stop to the cruel gender bias they may be experiencing.
June 9, 2018
Pamela BensenDear Dr. Buettner,
I made a conscious decision not to reveal the name of the leader who engaged in gender bias. I prefer that all leaders wonder if they were the one and contemplate how they are treating women today; how they treated the last woman they came in contact with; if they are promoting qualified female colleagues in the same manner as males; and what actions they can take to create a bias free environment in the college, at work, and at home.