The Women in Allergy Committee has been revamped to more heavily focus on issues of importance to women allergists. Its new purpose is to promote involvement and adequate representation of female allergists in the College’s activities, committees and leadership.
“We’re excited to work on this new focus,” said Women in Allergy Committee Chair Sandra Gawchik, DO, FACAAI. “According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, more than half of medical students are women. At the College, women make up 42% of members. We want to develop initiatives that interest and engage them.”
The Committee would like to focus on exploring gender issues in allergy and develop recommendations for programs that can help address them. Future projects may address topics such as: the changing practice landscape; negotiating skills; workplace needs; learning to say no; and cultural differences affecting men and women’s roles in the workplace.
The Committee is tasked with selecting a speaker for the Women in Allergy luncheon that takes place at the Annual Meeting. “We have some amazing women allergists who are excellent speakers,” said Dr. Gawchik. “They would bring valuable insight to female allergists at any stage of their careers.”
