International Women's Day 2020
- Link to: Northwestern Now Story
International Women's Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and calls for accelerating gender equality. Several Northwestern experts are available for interviews on their research related to gender equality ahead of International Women’s Day 2020 on March 8.
Women grossly underrepresented in the music industry
Men release more songs than women, are signed to record labels more frequently and are aligned with more collaborators to produce music, according to a 2019 Northwestern study. “This study gives us a chance to reflect on challenges faced by female musicians,” said lead author and Northwestern School of Communication professor Ágnes Horvát.
Women get less federal funding than men
First-time women principal investigator scientists received considerably less funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) compared to first-time male principal investigators, according to a study from Northwestern Medicine and Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. “A funding disadvantage in the formative years of a woman scientist’s career can be especially handicapping because research shows that it is likely to snowball over time,” said Teresa Woodruff, co-corresponding author, the Thomas J. Watkins Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Feinberg and director of the Women’s Health Research Institute.
Most successful women surround themselves with other women
Women who communicate regularly with a female-dominated inner circle are more likely to attain high-ranking leadership positions, according to a 2019 study by researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Notre Dame. “Such an inner circle can provide trustworthy, gender-relevant information about job cultures and social support, which are very important to women in male-dominated settings,” said Yang Yang, leading co-author and research assistant professor at Kellogg.
Co-corresponding author Brian Uzzi, the Richard L. Thomas Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at Kellogg and co-director of Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO) is also available for interviews.
Black, Hispanic women report more postpartum pain but receive less opioid medication
Non-Hispanic black and Hispanic women were significantly more likely to report postpartum pain scores ranging from five to 10, received significantly fewer morphine milligram equivalents (a measurement of opioids) and were significantly less likely to receive a prescription for an opioid at postpartum discharge when compared to non-Hispanic white women, according to an Northwestern study published in November. “Acknowledging the presence of racial and ethnic disparities in postpartum pain management is the first step to addressing why it exists and how we can stop it,” said Dr. Nevert Badreldin, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Feinberg.
Women surgical residents suffer more mistreatment leading to burnout and suicidal thoughts
Women surgical residents suffer more mistreatment than men, which leads to a higher burnout rate and more suicidal thoughts, according to a Northwestern Medicine study. “The biggest driver of burnout was whether you experienced discrimination, abuse or harassment. The more you experienced it, the more likely you were to be burned out,” said Dr. Karl Bilimoria, senior author and John B. Murphy Professor of Surgery at Feinberg.