Cite this post as:
Scott Weingart, MD FCCM. Resuscitation Program and FEMinEM discussion on Women as Conference Speakers and Unconscious Bias. EMCrit Blog. Published on December 20, 2015. Accessed on January 16th 2022. Available at [https://emcrit.org/emcrit/women-conference-speakers/ ].
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Unless otherwise noted at the top of the post, the speaker(s) and related parties have no relevant financial disclosures.
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Hey Scott. thanks for publishing this discussion. I am not surprised this all started on Twitter and that it felt so personal to you. The immediacy and impulsivity of twitter makes for very blunt, unsubtle, almost insulting nature at times. I wanted to make a comment in regard to SMACC since I have been on organising committee . It is true that after Sydney 2013, due to feedback regarding gender bias of speaker lineup, there was a deliberate shift in strategy of speaker selection as Scott has described. I recall meetings whereby we discussed selection of female speakers who are… Read more »
i think a new speaker slot, aside from the Blast is a great idea. if it is designated, then the pressure is off.
Hi Scott I think you are right to credit @First_do_noharm with raising important issues (disclaimer – she is a friend and colleague of mine). As we know – that very discomfort you felt (‘upset’) can sometimes be a defensive response to some unwelcome forced reflection…… at least i have often found that myself… and at best prompts the kind of more indepth thoughts and discussions that Twitter is not good at. I will give further credit to you in presenting this to your large (and adoring 🙂 audience at emcrit.org I also recognize the emotional element of your response –… Read more »
Vic, Hells yeah, your friend was right to raise the issue, and I have to imagine the nature of how she raised it was merely a manifestation of the upset you mention. That being said, a tweet such as: No women speakers on the panel. What’s up with that? Is this #unconsciousbias would have expressed the identical sentiments, would have led to the same sequelae of dialog with the FEMinEM folks, and would not have led to any upset on my part. So, no, at least in my potentially deluded head, my upset at the tweet was the chosen means… Read more »
Scott,Vic, I have been thinking about this post a lot since it got published. I agree with Scott that the original tweet was somewhat unfair in accusing him of unconscious bias. But what Vic commented on made me think about a wider issue of bias in medical education/meetings and its something I have noticed with SMACC as an example. As I mentioned before SMACC2013 was criticised for gender bias and this was deliberately addressed in the subsequent meetings. SMACC is promoted as inclusive of all, including multidisciplinary attitude, encompassing rural doctors, paramedics , nurses etc. The fact of the matter… Read more »
I am so glad to see this discussion up here – hale to you Scott for initiating and hosting, and to the FeminEM team and Simon for their considered input. I have little to add, but to support what Vic has said above. If our starting point is that we agree having female representation is beneficial – to conference goers, to knowledge consumers, to education propagators, and ultimately to patient care, then we need to start to look at the whys, and the hows of rectifying this ‘unconscious bias’. All biases are insidious. This one’s a cultural, as well as… Read more »
thanks so much for these comments, my friend!
This conversation is amazing for many reasons. Ironically it has also opened my eyes as well. My own career has never been about seeking out speaking – both because of my own time issue (having kids, figuring out my niche) and because “I didnt think I had anything important to say” (hold chuckle, swami et al). Then I think about the few regional talks I have given and how audience members have come to me years later and thanked me for being on the stage with mostly men. I realize that as female mentors and leaders we need to put… Read more »
I don’t find Scott’s argument that because there are no female speakers he has heard speak before, therefore he can’t invite females to his conference, very convincing. To say the least. This completely ignores the fact that women to this day have a hard time in medicine, from female trainees in surgery being bullied and being victims of sexual suggestive language and different treatment to male trainees, to the bias that Diana EW mentioned in her tweet, whether that be conscious or subconscious. Medicine, and EM and Surgery in particular, are male-dominated disciplines. Machismo and bullying is rife. You can… Read more »