Date: Thursday 26 June
Time: 11.55am - 1.10pm

Overview

“If I'm angry, I'm hysterical; if I'm emotional, I'm weak; if I so much as raise my voice, I'm a bi**h” 

The above statement from a movie describes a woman leader’s struggle on-screen.  Does this represent the real-life situation?

Although women make up three-quarters of the NHS workforce, they remain under-represented in senior leadership roles. While progress has been made in increasing the proportion of women in leadership roles across health services, much more is needed to meet NHS targets. Previous surveys showed that women scored higher than men in 12 of the 16 leadership competencies and have huge amounts to contribute to leadership. 

Despite this, women remain underrepresented in senior leadership positions due to seemingly multiple factors including, “culture of old boys’ networks, nepotism, prejudice and a macho, pace-setting environment” (Kings Fund). In addition, childcare and family responsibilities limit how much women can join in work-related social events, making it even more difficult to break into male-dominated networks. Moreover, women leaders are more likely to work less-than-full-time due to family responsibilities, which further increases the pressure on them. Several (idealising and denigrating) perceptions and stereotypes prevail about women in leadership positions. The gender barrier seems to be exacerbated by ethnicity factor.

This Masterclass aims to examine these complex factors from personal perspectives of women leaders from three different ethnic (White, Black and Asian) backgrounds. The speakers will take us through their leadership journeys focusing on what external and internal struggles they had to work through to reach their current positions and how they manage their roles everyday. This will be followed by an interview session by a Medical Psychotherapist and an aspiring woman leader, focusing their questions to these women leaders on the role of intersectionality and demystifying the myths about women in leadership positions. 

In this session you will:

• Understand the barriers faced by women aspiring for leadership positions
• Learn about the intersectionality of gender, ethnicity and age factors in women’s leadership journeys and how to helpfully manage these aspects in achieving the professional goals
• Understand the strengths women leaders could bring to healthcare leadership

Speakers

Chair: Dr Swapna Kongara, Faculty of Medical Psychotherapy, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London

Women in leadership positions; struggles, preconceptions and myths

Dr Swapna Kongara, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Psychotherapy Faculty

The power of the postmenopausal woman

Dr Rachel Gibbons, Vice Chair, Faculty of Medical Psychotherapy, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London

Intersectionality of gender, age and ethnicity in my leadership Journey

Dr Trudi Seneviratne, Registrar, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London

Dr Jo O'Reilly, Chair, Faculty of Medical Psychotherapy, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London

Dr Ananta Dave, NHS Black Country ICB, Wolverhampton