By Shassha Loftman

1. A Review of :Challenges of Work–Life Balance for WomenPhysicians/Mothers Working in Leadership PositionsBy: Claudia Schuellerand Alexandra Kautzky-Willer By Shassha Loftman

2. Overview • Why I chose this article • Purpose of Article • Method • SWOT • Results • The Strength of the Article • Discussion, Discussion Questions • Conclusion and Future Research

3. Purpose To answer the question : • What accounts for the dramatic growth in the rate of women who enter the field of medicine but are not successful in reaching leadership roles in academic medicine compared to men? • First to analyze the Challenges of Work- life Balance for women in leadership positions in hospital setting. • Secondly, to create a strategic concept for career development.

4. The Glass Ceiling vs. The Sticky Floor

6. The “Glass Ceiling” Effect • The term glass ceiling is a metaphor for the condition that, despite increased entry of women into traditionally male-dominated fields, their advancement to leadership positions is still limited • The glass ceiling effect can be described as “an invisible barrier that keeps women from rising above a certain level in corporations.” The glass ceiling phenomenon is built by traditional gender roles.

7. The “Sticky Floor” Effect • The “sticky floor” phenomenon, refers to factors that keep women in low-wage, non-leadership positions, is one of the primary explanations for the lack of women in such leadership positions.

8. How was leadership defined ? • It was a women in a leadership position i.e. the the head of a department or head of a university or public hospital. • So if your You don’t have the title of Manager or Head of ___then you were excluded Question : • Do you agree with their definition of a leader if not how would you change it.

9. Methods • A SWOT analysis was used to analyze different parameters that influence career development for women with families • All the women were in a leadership positions in the health care system with at least 1 child (n =8) • They were interviewed about the advantages and disadvantages of gender with regard to career development, the strengths and weaknesses of female leadership, and their work–life balance. • The were also asked about the different factors that influenced their work–life balance • The evaluation was performed semi-quantitatively, descriptively, and anonymously

10. SWOT • The main advantage of conducting a SWOT analysis is that it simplifies complex situations for a better understanding of the internal and external environments.

11. SWOT • Strengthsare internal characteristics that give an individual an edge over others for career development • Weaknesses areinternal characteristics that are disadvantageous for career development. • Opportunities are external chances to improve the position. • Threatsare external elements in the environment that could be problematic for the position. • This method helps to identify the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable when trying to achieve a leadership position.

12. Results • They found that the sporadic focus on career advancement, time-consuming child care, responsibility for family life, and a woman’s tendency toward understatement were barriers to career development. • However Work–family enrichment has a positive spillover effect that spreads positive energy and helps to balance the work–life relationship.

13. Results For each individual, the allocation and interaction of different resources such as • time • money • scope of decision making, • physical, emotional, and social resources, were essential to maintain the individual work–life balance.

14. The Strength of the Article • The SWOT analysis showed that women with families have the strength to organize family and home life and achieve leadership skills. • With regard to the weaknesses, women have a poor presentation of their own skills, personality, and success. • Women have a tendency toward understatement and poor self-assessment. • In addition, women lack confidence • compared with their male colleagues.

15. The Strength of the Article • An important weakness is the is to realise the expenditure of time for family life, work life and Home life ( a triple burden )

16. Interesting to Note • It important to note that in contrast to the United States, in Austria, none of the women in a leadership position stated that sexual discrimination was an important issue that prevented and/or slowed career development. • In the United States, sexual discrimination was the number 1 factor that hindered an academic career for 40% of women in medical professions

17. Discussion • The persistence and consequent pursuing of personal ambitions should be in the forefront. Time management, • strategic planning, • networking, • authenticity, and • an awareness of being a woman are important factors that aid in achieving a top position while maintaining a good work–life balance.

18. Discussion Questions • Is having expertise in a certain area enough to call your self a leader? • Can you have a leader who does not have any expertise. • Can you have a leader in a hospital setting who does not have any medical expertise? • Do you think these finding could be replicated in another career setting i.e. the corporate world with the same results ? • Do you agree of there definition of a leader if no how would you change it ?

19. Conclusion - It’s cyclical • Women still face a trade-off between career positions that are associated with power and influence and emotional responsibilities and family life. Long-term career planning is partly hindered by family planning, which affects successful career development.

20. Conclusion - It’s cyclical • The scarcity of women in senior positions inevitably means that their individual and collective opinions are less likely to be voiced in policy- and decision-making processes, and, consequently, younger women will not be encouraged or motivated to achieve top careers in medicine because there is a lack of same-sex mentors.

21. Conclusion All women felt that the lack of female mentors and role models and low self-confidence prevented a smooth career. Therefore , • mentoring programs, • coaching, • networking, and • support of the partner or of other people help to strengthen female “soft” skills and achieve a work–life balance would be an asset

22. Future Research • Replicate study with a higher N size and • Replicate in a different career setting

23. References Schueller-Weidekamm, C.,& Kautzky-Willer, A. ( 2012 ). Challenges of Work–Life Balance for Women Physicians/Mothers Working in Leadership Positions. Journal of Gender Medicine. Vol.9, No.4, Pg 244- 250