SPECIAL ARTICLE   Free access

Minerva Cardiology and Angiology 2022 December;70(6):641-51

DOI: 10.23736/S2724-5683.22.05935-X

Copyright © 2022 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

International consensus statement on challenges for women in cardiovascular practice and research in the COVID-19 era

Tuğba Kemaloğlu ÖZ ^{1, 2}, F. Aaysha CADER ³, Zainab A. DAKHIL ⁴, Biljana PARAPID ⁵, Sabeeda KADAVATH ⁶, Rachel BOND ⁷, Alaide CHIEFFO ⁸, Alessia GIMELLI ⁹, Anastasia S. MIHAILIDOU ¹⁰, Bhavadharini RAMU ¹¹, Elena CAVARRETTA ^{12, 13}, Erin D. MICHOS ¹⁴, Esra KAYA ¹⁵, Louise BUCHANAN ¹⁶, Mansi PATIL ¹⁷, Milena ASTE ¹⁸, Mirvat ALASNAG ¹⁹, Nigar BABAZADE ²⁰, Sonya BURGESS ²¹, Stéphane MANZO-SILBERMAN ²², Valeria PARADIES ²³, Ritu THAMMAN ²⁴ ✉

¹ Department of Cardiology, Liv Hospital Ulus, Istanbul, Turkey; ² Faculty of Medicine, Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey; ³ Department of Cardiology, Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital and Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh; ⁴ Ibn Al-Bitar Cardiac Center, Department of Cardiology, Al-Kindy College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq; ⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia; ⁶ Structural Interventional Cardiology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; ⁷ Division of Cardiology, Dignity Health Department of Medicine, Creighton University, Chandler, AZ, USA; ⁸ Interventional Cardiology Unit, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy; ⁹ Nuclear Cardiology Unit, Fondazione Toscana G. Monasterio, Pisa, Italy; ¹⁰ Royal North Shore Hospital, Northern Sydney Local Health District, Kolling Institute, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; ¹¹ Unit of Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA; ¹² Department of Medical-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University, Latina, Italy; ¹³ Mediterranea Cardiocentro, Naples, Italy; ¹⁴ Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; ¹⁵ Department of Cardiology, Clinic of Heart, Lung, and Vessel Disease, Rikshospitalet, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; ¹⁶ Department of Cardiology, North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, Carlisle, UK; ¹⁷ Department of Medicine, Asha Kiran JHC Hospital, Maharastra, India; ¹⁸ Arrhythmologic Center, Department of Cardiology, ASL4 Chiavarese, Ospedali del Tigullio, Lavagna, Genoa, Italy; ¹⁹ Cardiac Center, King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; ²⁰ Department of Cardiology, New Clinic, Heart Valve Center, Baku, Azerbaijan; ²¹ Nepean Public Hospital, Sydney Southwest Private Hospital, Southwest Cardiology and Penrith Specialist Group, Sydney, Australia; ²² Coronary Care Unit, Department of Interventional Cardiology, Lariboisière Hospital, APHP, Paris University, Paris, France; ²³ Department of Cardiology, Maasstad Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; ²⁴ Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

The challenges to academic and professional development and career advancement of women in cardiology (WIC), imposed by the pandemic, not only impinge the female cardiologists’ “leaky pipeline” but also make the “leakiness” more obvious. This consensus document aims to highlight the pandemic challenges WIC face, raise awareness of the gender equity gap, and propose mitigating actionable solutions derived from the data and experiences of an international group of female cardiovascular clinicians and researchers. This changing landscape has led to the need for highly specialized cardiologists who may have additional training in critical care, imaging, advanced heart failure, or interventional cardiology. Although women account for most medical school graduates, the number of WIC, particularly in mentioned sub-specialties, remains low. Moreover, women have been more affected by systemic issues within these challenging work environments, limiting their professional progression, career advancement, and economic potential. Therefore, it is imperative that tangible action points be noted and undertaken to ensure the representation of women in leadership, advocacy, and decision-making, and increase diversity in academia. Strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic need to be taken during this COVID-19 pandemic to ensure WIC have a place in the field of Cardiology.

KEY WORDS: Gender equity; Sexism; Cardiology; Career mobility; COVID-19