Onus Should Not be on Women to ‘Fix’ Structural Sexism in Oncology

This Blog post represents a partnership between the Women in Medicine Summit and Healio Women in Oncology. An excerpt appears blow, and please find the full length piece at Healio’s Women in Oncology blog.

Structural sexism has long plagued the field of medicine, with a historical hierarchical infrastructure that has led the field to lag behind other industries for decades. We can certainly learn from others outside of health care and medicine in terms of how to make a more equitable workplace. With the right advocacy, some of these forces can change.

Defining structural sexism

ASCO has focused a significant amount on racial and gender equity issues, especially within the past few years. During this year’s annual meeting, my colleagues and I were asked to present on gender equity, which has been addressed in different ways in the past. We wanted to think about gender equity differently and place an emphasis on structural sexism vs. individual acts of sexism.

Structural sexism is inequity in resources, funding and power on the basis of gender. There are forces, structures and historical practices throughout academic medicine that have reinforced some of the current practices and behaviors, allowing structural sexism to persist.

About the author: Bridget Keenan, MD, PhD, is a medical oncologist and researcher at UCSF.