The AAO-HNS and Women: Membership Enters a New Era
Section Leadership and Standing Committees • Governing Council (Sonya Malekzadeh, MD) consists of all of the committee leaders, is charged with developing the charter, and coordinates efforts among the committees. • Leadership Development/Mentorship (Mona M. Abaza, MD) is already devising a plan for building relationships between Academy members seeking or offering assistance in navigating the various waters of our profession among other projects. • Awards (Valerie A. Flanary, MD) is tasked to identify and nominate women deserving of recognition for otherwise unrecognized contributions to the greater good of their community. • Program (Lauren S. Zaretsky, MD) will coordinate annual meeting programming of particular interest to women but with broad appeal for all members as well as plan the annual WIO luncheon. • Research/Survey (Linda S. Brodsky, MD) is already working in concert with the Mentorship group on surveying the membership to create a mentoring program that best meets its needs. • Communications (Susan R. Cordes, MD) is charged with informing the AAO-HNS membership of the WIO’s activities and initiatives. • Development and Endowments (Pell Ann Wardrop, MD) is charged with ensuring that the proceeds from the exemplary fundraising efforts that gave rise to the WIO Endowment are well managed in collaboration with the Section’s Governing Council. A. Kristina E. Hart, MD, with contributions from Susan R. Cordes, MD, and Sonya Malekzadeh, MD, for the Women in Otolaryngology Section The AAO-HNS membership and its Board of Directors (BOD) achieved a new milestone in early December 2010 when it approved the Women in Otolaryngology (WIO) Committee’s formal request to become the Academy’s second Section. (The Section for Residents and Fellows was the first.) The foundation for this meteoric progression to enhanced representation for the fastest-growing segment of the AAO-HNS membership was laid well before 2001 when the WIO was formalized as a committee. For many previous decades, a handful of women met informally at the Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO to support each other as they navigated personal and professional challenges unique to women otolaryngologists. Eventually, the findings of a study group organized in 2000 gave way to the fully empowered WIO committee that was formed in half the typical committee gestation time. While women represent only 14 percent of the AAO-HNS membership, we constitute 29 percent of the 25- to 35-year-old age demographic, 31 percent of residents in otolaryngology—head and neck surgery, and 50 percent of medical school graduates today. The groundswell of enthusiasm for greater collaboration, involvement, and voice in AAO-HNS matters was reflected first in a WIO Committee generated survey. (See “What Do Women in Otolaryngology Think?” in the December 2010 Bulletinfor details.) It was personified in September by the crowd of more than 250 people attending the WIO Committee luncheon held during the Annual Meeting in Boston. Although previous WIO luncheons had been well-attended by both men and women, the luncheon had been in hiatus in recent years. Lively conversations have always been a hallmark of these luncheons. However, this one was unique in that it featured the first presentation of the survey results and then gave attendees a productive voice regarding topics including work/life balance, leadership, identification and elimination of barriers, pay equity, and mentorship. This momentum was further fueled by three of the committee’s members who put their heads and their wallets together. They pledged seed money for an endowment to support the goals of the WIO Section. In less than four days, an unprecedented $400,000 endowment was established from contributions made. In some cases, people who had not previously contributed to the AAO-HNSF donated. With Sonya Malekzadeh, MD, at the helm and the AAO-HNS Executive Committee’s blessing, the WIO Committee submitted a proposal to become a Section when it became clear that a committee structure would no longer allow for the full participation and engagement of women in addressing matters of importance. Section status will provide the Women in Otolaryngology greater autonomy as a constituent group and facilitate AAO-HNS member recruitment and retention. Simultaneously, this will allow the AAO-HNS at large to carry out a vital part of its strategic plan to enhance member engagement, foster leadership development, and harness the energy of this membership segment. A committee, as defined within the parameters of the AAO-HNS organization, is purely a governance structure whose purpose is to carry out tasks requested by the AAO-HNS Board. It is not designed to represent a constituent group. The proposal to convert the WIO Committee to a Section was approved by the BOD at the December meeting, and the work of developing a charter outlining bylaws and Section structure is now completed. Although 82 percent of the 2,000 survey respondents preferred a separate function held during annual meeting hours, women clearly wish to be more integral to the Academy’s team. As part of a Section, women will be better able to raise issues, backed by well-thought-out solutions that present challenges not only to them but also to the membership as a whole. Six working groups established as a direct result of objectives identified by survey responses and the luncheon collaborations will be re-designated as Section committees and will provide a portion of the framework for the WIO Section. (See “Section Leadership” on this page.) The objective of increasing women’s representation within the AAO-HNS leadership will be achieved through the development of women as leaders both within the WIO Section and through their mandated presence at, and participation in, meetings of the BOD and Board of Governors. The WIO Committee’s collaboration with other committees will continue beyond its re-designation as a Section. Perhaps the WIO Committee’s most notable team effort to date has been in its work with the Ethics Committee with which it developed a gender equity policy. This policy once again vaulted the AAO-HNS into the forefront by virtue of its being among the first of its kind among surgical subspecialty societies. We anticipate many other collaborative efforts that will not only keep the AAO-HNS at the forefront of representative organizations but that will support its men and women as the entire OTO-HNS workforce moves further into the 21st century with its attendant challenges. We’ve all come a long way as an organization and, while we’re excited by our re-organization as a Section, we acknowledge there’s still much work to be done. We invite you to keep the momentum going by joining us as we roll up our sleeves, put on our thinking caps, and continue to take on matters that may perhaps seem unique to women in otolaryngology but which truly affect us all as members of the AAO-HNS.
Section Leadership and Standing Committees
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A. Kristina E. Hart, MD, with contributions from Susan R. Cordes, MD, and Sonya Malekzadeh, MD, for the Women in Otolaryngology Section
The AAO-HNS membership and its Board of Directors (BOD) achieved a new milestone in early December 2010 when it approved the Women in Otolaryngology (WIO) Committee’s formal request to become the Academy’s second Section. (The Section for Residents and Fellows was the first.)
The foundation for this meteoric progression to enhanced representation for the fastest-growing segment of the AAO-HNS membership was laid well before 2001 when the WIO was formalized as a committee. For many previous decades, a handful of women met informally at the Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO to support each other as they navigated personal and professional challenges unique to women otolaryngologists. Eventually, the findings of a study group organized in 2000 gave way to the fully empowered WIO committee that was formed in half the typical committee gestation time.
While women represent only 14 percent of the AAO-HNS membership, we constitute 29 percent of the 25- to 35-year-old age demographic, 31 percent of residents in otolaryngology—head and neck surgery, and 50 percent of medical school graduates today. The groundswell of enthusiasm for greater collaboration, involvement, and voice in AAO-HNS matters was reflected first in a WIO Committee generated survey. (See “What Do Women in Otolaryngology Think?” in the December 2010 Bulletinfor details.) It was personified in September by the crowd of more than 250 people attending the WIO Committee luncheon held during the Annual Meeting in Boston.
Although previous WIO luncheons had been well-attended by both men and women, the luncheon had been in hiatus in recent years. Lively conversations have always been a hallmark of these luncheons. However, this one was unique in that it featured the first presentation of the survey results and then gave attendees a productive voice regarding topics including work/life balance, leadership, identification and elimination of barriers, pay equity, and mentorship. This momentum was further fueled by three of the committee’s members who put their heads and their wallets together. They pledged seed money for an endowment to support the goals of the WIO Section. In less than four days, an unprecedented $400,000 endowment was established from contributions made. In some cases, people who had not previously contributed to the AAO-HNSF donated.
With Sonya Malekzadeh, MD, at the helm and the AAO-HNS Executive Committee’s blessing, the WIO Committee submitted a proposal to become a Section when it became clear that a committee structure would no longer allow for the full participation and engagement of women in addressing matters of importance.
Section status will provide the Women in Otolaryngology greater autonomy as a constituent group and facilitate AAO-HNS member recruitment and retention.
Simultaneously, this will allow the AAO-HNS at large to carry out a vital part of its strategic plan to enhance member engagement, foster leadership development, and harness the energy of this membership segment.
A committee, as defined within the parameters of the AAO-HNS organization, is purely a governance structure whose purpose is to carry out tasks requested by the AAO-HNS Board. It is not designed to represent a constituent group.
The proposal to convert the WIO Committee to a Section was approved by the BOD at the December meeting, and the work of developing a charter outlining bylaws and Section structure is now completed. Although 82 percent of the 2,000 survey respondents preferred a separate function held during annual meeting hours, women clearly wish to be more integral to the Academy’s team. As part of a Section, women will be better able to raise issues, backed by well-thought-out solutions that present challenges not only to them but also to the membership as a whole.
Six working groups established as a direct result of objectives identified by survey responses and the luncheon collaborations will be re-designated as Section committees and will provide a portion of the framework for the WIO Section. (See “Section Leadership” on this page.)
The objective of increasing women’s representation within the AAO-HNS leadership will be achieved through the development of women as leaders both within the WIO Section and through their mandated presence at, and participation in, meetings of the BOD and Board of Governors.
The WIO Committee’s collaboration with other committees will continue beyond its re-designation as a Section. Perhaps the WIO Committee’s most notable team effort to date has been in its work with the Ethics Committee with which it developed a gender equity policy. This policy once again vaulted the AAO-HNS into the forefront by virtue of its being among the first of its kind among surgical subspecialty societies.
We anticipate many other collaborative efforts that will not only keep the AAO-HNS at the forefront of representative organizations but that will support its men and women as the entire OTO-HNS workforce moves further into the 21st century with its attendant challenges.
We’ve all come a long way as an organization and, while we’re excited by our re-organization as a Section, we acknowledge there’s still much work to be done. We invite you to keep the momentum going by joining us as we roll up our sleeves, put on our thinking caps, and continue to take on matters that may perhaps seem unique to women in otolaryngology but which truly affect us all as members of the AAO-HNS.