most of the big decisions we make. In the workplace, this can affect matters of hiring, firing, managing, coaching, disagreeing with and rewarding colleagues. These biases can manifest in foreseeable patterns.


For instance, if a provider has had a recent but very intense reaction to a rare complication, it often affects their decision-making proximate to the event. This is known as availability heuristic.2


Being aware of such biases


is the first step in combatting their negative effects. Be a keen observer of your own workplace environment and how bias is manifested.


Lean into “uncomfortable” spaces. There have been significant changes in workplace culture over the past 20 years, with more evolution certain to come. Unfamiliar language and concepts may be encountered. Initially, these may seem threatening or uncomfortable, as they can engender feelings of anxiety or even contempt towards change.


Lean into these uncomfortable spaces. Learning more about evolving workplace culture and terms such as implicit bias, privilege and microaggressions makes you a savvier and more valuable team-player. Think of them as intangible “super tools” in your IR kit. IR is a discipline that’s collaborative by its very nature. Avoiding necessary change or inadvertently participating in behavior or language usage that fragments team cohesion may impair the mission of the organization and be detrimental to the patient experience.


Be aware of how you use humor in the workplace and on social media. There’s nothing quite as tricky to navigate as the use of workplace humor. One person’s jocular pithy quip in morning rounds can be another colleague’s mortifying takedown. Humor should never be wielded at someone else’s expense. The ubiquity of social media has only compounded the complexity of the dynamic. If you choose to have coworkers in your social media spaces, it’s going to be difficult to isolate the effects of your posts from the workplace. Be thoughtful of the followers and social media posts that you curate.


Boston Globe columnist Jeneé Osterheldt wrote in March 2022, “There is a way in which jokes can be wielded as weaponry, a slap across the face, and we all seem to wrestle with when we’ll acknowledge the sting.”3


If you’re not on board, don’t be a barrier. We know the IR workforce will, eventually, become increasingly diverse. This may not seem like your fight. These matters may not interest you. You might feel comfortable with the status quo. Regardless, we know that we are in a constant state of change. You don’t have to be an advocate, but don’t strive to be a barrier.


What men can do as leaders Leaders have an important role in supporting and advancing women in the workforce. They set the tone for the entire workplace culture by their example. They shape perceptions of leadership styles within their organization by the management choices they make.5


They are in a


position to ensure that policies are crafted in a way that doesn’t perpetuate workplace disparities.


When new members join the team, hardwire support and mentoring into the onboarding process. Urge new providers to ease into the mainstream and learn the nuances of daily practices with a mentor. An early unnecessary poor outcome could be detrimental for everyone. It can damage the self-confidence of the practitioner and engender distrust from colleagues and support staff.


Have women mentor men. A positive mentorship experience is mutually beneficial. Having experienced women mentor men early in their career normalizes women as leaders and experts in clinical care. A close mentoring relationship is the surest way to dispel preconceived bias and tighten professional collaboration.


Don’t promote women based on their ability to conform to male- based norms of leadership. Leadership comes in a myriad of forms. Promoting only people who model male-perceived norms is limiting. Try to


Learning more about evolving workplace culture and terms such as implicit bias, privilege and microaggressions makes you a savvier and more valuable team-player.


seek leaders with a variety of styles and temperament. Research has shown that diverse groups are better at problem- solving and design better solutions. They are more likely to make fact-based decisions, reexamine facts and remain objective. Further, research has shown in companies with higher diversity in gender and ethnicity demonstrated more innovation.


Conclusion We’re a long way from the days of the clubhouse with the “No Girls Allowed” sign nailed to the front door. But we’re just starting to derive the full benefits and richness women bring to IR.


Assimilation is not the goal—authenticity is. Women shouldn’t have to model the behaviors of men to find success. We should strive to cultivate by intention a specialty where women can authentically bring themselves into our specialty for the betterment of workforce and our patients.


Hear from women in IR how men can be affective allies at bit.ly/3BonYyt


References


1. Englander MJ, O’Horo SK. “Women in Interventional Radiology: How are we doing? AJR. 2018;211(2):724–729.


2. Tversky A, Kahneman D. Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cogn Psychol. 1973;5(2):207–232.


3. Osterheldt J. Will Smith, Chris Rock, and the hypocrisy of us all. Boston Globe. March 2022. bostonglobe.com/2022/03/28/arts/ will-smith-chris-rock-hypocrisy-us-all.


4. Rock D, Grant H. Why diverse teams are smarter. Harvard Business Review. 2016. hbr.org/2016/11/ why-diverse-teams-are-smarter.


5. Madsen SR, Townsend A, Scribner RT. Strategies that male allies use to advance women in the workplace. The Journal of Men’s Studies. 2020;28(3):239–259. doi:10.1177/1060826519883239.


sirweb.org/irq | 11


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48