WOMEN IN NEPHROLOGY LEADERSHIP: A SURVEY BY THE SFNDT

Abstract BACKGROUND AND AIMS The percentage of women in nephrology has been increasing over the years but remains suboptimal.(1) Likewise, women are still under-represented at the leadership level. Multiple factors have been evoked to explain this gap such as the constraints of motherhood and the lack of adequate culture for women advancement.(2) METHOD A 13-question questionnaire was sent to all the members of the Societe Francophone De Dialyse et Transplantation (SFNDT) inquiring about their gender, country, setting of practice and assessing their views about the representation of women in nephrology in general and in leadership positions in particular. Participants were also asked to voice their opinion about the potential barriers impeding women advancement in nephrology and about potential solutions to remediate to the gap. RESULTS A total of 237 participants responded to the survey with 17.7% of men. About 45.6% practiced in a public setting and 29% in a university setting. About 52% of the participants deemed that the number of women in nephrology was sufficient and 6.75% also thought that this number was more than sufficient; however only 14.7% thought that the number of women occupying leadership positions was enough. Regarding potential factors limiting women advancement in nephrology, 56.17% thought that there was a lack of incentive from the society to promote women, 55.3% thought that there was a bias toward promoting men, 40.4% thought that the lack of adequate child support played a role and 35.7% thought that the lack of or an insufficient paternity leave had an impact. Regarding potential solutions that could be offered 90.7% of the participants agreed that there was need to encourage a life–work balance and 60% deemed necessary to establish an adequate support system for working women such as daycares, lactation rooms etc. CONCLUSION Despite the continuous increase in the number of women in nephrology, their involvement in leadership role remains minimal and needs to be improved by optimizing their work conditions and by providing adequate support for the right work–life balance.