The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health recently announced winners of its prize competition aimed at increasing gender diversity among faculty members at colleges and universities and removing barriers for transformative change. The NIH Prize for Enhancing Faculty Gender Diversity in Biomedical and Behavioral Science recognizes institutions that have acted to effect systemic change to address gender diversity and equity among faculty members within their biomedical and behavioral science departments.
Ten winners were selected, and the University of Chicago Department of Medicine Women’s Committee was recognized as an honorable mention for its program, “Using 3 R’s to Elevate Women.” The 3 R’s–recognition, representation, and resources–are pillars of efforts at UChicago to empower women in faculty by highlighting women’s accomplishments, creating speaking opportunities for women, promoting women to leadership positions, ensuring that physical displays and photos in the medical center include more women, providing resources like childcare and parental leave, increasing salary equity, and ensuring equitable distribution of grants and sponsorship opportunities.
UChicago also sponsored the Women in Medicine Summit on Sept. 24 and 25, a national continuing medical education conference designed to amplify the lives of women in medicine and work towards gender parity in healthcare through: skills development, action plans, advocacy, professional growth, education and inspiration.