Print 
Share 
Text 
To reset, hold the Ctrl key, then press 0.
“I spent more than 25 years as the only operating female orthopedic surgeon in the city. I know what it’s like not to feel like part of the group,” says Dr. Kathleen Gartke, Senior Medical Officer at The Ottawa Hospital.
Dr. Gartke’s sentiments are not unique among many women physicians. Although women have outnumbered men in medical school for 20 years, individual and systemic biases in health care can prevent qualified women candidates from pursuing, achieving and staying in leadership roles.
To fight this inequality, Dr. Virginia Roth, now The Ottawa Hospital’s Chief of Staff founded the Women Physician Leadership Committee (WPLC), formerly known as the Female Physician Leadership Committee, in 2011. It identifies, mentors and trains potential leaders, and recognizes, enables and supports existing leaders. A decade later, the committee is still going strong. The number of women division heads at the hospital grew from 12 percent in 2010 to 23 percent in 2021, an increase of 92 percent.
Here’s how the WPLC has made inroads for women physicians.
Busting myths about women and leadership
One of the WPLC’s goals is to discredit the many myths that persist about women and leadership, and neutralize their ill effects.
Myth: Women in medicine don’t want leadership positions.
Reality: Women are less likely to be hired or promoted because of their gender, and workplace discrimination against women is common. “Studies have shown that if a woman successfully pursues a leadership position, compared to a man, expectations are much higher for their abilities and achievements, how well they perform, and their professional behaviour,” says Dr. Camille Munro, WPLC co-chair and Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for The Ottawa Hospital’s Department of Medicine. “Women are held to a higher standard than male peers.”
Myth: Women will ‘trickle up’ to the top.
Reality: System-wide policies and unconscious gender biases prevent potential women leaders from applying for and receiving leadership positions.
“Health care is traditionally the ‘old boys’ club, and in that club, opportunity is more organically generated,” says Dr. Gartke, who is also the executive sponsor of the WPLC. “In essence, the WPLC is trying to be the new girls club in the sense that we actively identify and support existing and emerging female leaders.”
Boosting potential and existing women leaders
WPLC members contact women early in their careers at the hospital so they know about the opportunities for advancement and education available to them. They also encourage department heads to identify and nominate women on their teams for intermediate and senior leadership roles.
“History has shown that women prefer to be tapped on the shoulder,” says Dr. Gartke. “They’re not as likely to put themselves forward. So as a committee, we’re able to encourage women to step forward and tell them that we would support them.”
This is one way the committee helps women not only feel valued, but also included in the operations of the hospital.
Laying the groundwork for future leaders
Since its inception in 2011, the WPLC has spearheaded many initiatives that have led to positive change at The Ottawa Hospital.
Significant bylaw changes: Two women must be on all selection committees for major positions like division head and department head. In the future, the selection committee should mirror the gender distribution of the applicants.
Representation at the top: For the first time, a woman will hold the position of either the president or vice-president of the medical staff association following the upcoming spring election.
A leave policy for medical staff: The policy encourages medical staff to take—and department and division heads to grant— maternal and paternal leave, adoption leave, health-related leave, bereavement leave, leave for family care and leave for educational sabbaticals.
Amenities for nursing parents: Private breast pumping rooms were established for staff and physicians at the General and Civic campuses.
Ongoing surveys: The committee gathers valuable data from departments and divisions about women physician’s leadership opportunities and the barriers they face. Their successes are tracked and potential future initiatives can be identified.
The Ottawa Hospital has made impressive progress, but there’s still more to do. Thanks to dedicated women leaders like Drs. Gartke, Munro, and others, we’re making our hospital a more diverse and inclusive place to work, volunteer and receive world-class health care.
Support patient care and research at
The Ottawa Hospital
You might also like…
A special video message for International Women’s Day
Every year on March 8, we recognize International Women’s Day to celebrate how far we have come with equal rights and opportunities for women, and to acknowledge how far we still have left to go. This video is a short-but-sweet reminder that the women who work for our organization are driven, caring, innovative and powerful.
What does Black History Month mean to you?
To mark Black History Month, members of The Ottawa Hospital’s Black community share what this important month means to them. Learn about their experiences working in health care, the challenges they have faced and continue to face, and their hopes for the future.
Support aides: An entry point into a career in caregiving
Support aides help to provide relief to our care teams and companionship to our patients. It can be a challenging role, but it can also be inspiring. Just ask Jasmine, Keith and Ricardo. Passionate about helping others and guided by their mentors, they have all decided to further their training and grow their careers in health care.
“My craft is to make people happy”
As a shuttle bus driver at The Ottawa Hospital, Bill Nauffts knows that staying on schedule could literally be the difference between life and death—but it’s what Bill does during his break that brings him and others the greatest joy.
The Ottawa Hospital administers world-first in-utero treatment for rare genetic disorder
Before Ayla was born, she had already made history. Last year at The Ottawa Hospital, she received a world-first in-utero treatment for Pompe disease, a rare genetic disorder that had taken the lives of two of her siblings. Now 17 months old, Ayla is healthy and happy.
Staff, physicians, volunteers celebrated at The Ottawa Hospital’s Long Service Awards
In this day and age, it’s rare to see an employee stay at the same organization for five years, let alone 30 or more. This year, The Ottawa Hospital recognized more than 1,900 employees at its Long Service Awards. In celebration of everyone receiving an award this year, we bring you the stories of six Long Service Award recipients.
Comment on this post