Balance For Better: International Women’s Day

Balance is not a women's issue, it's a business issue. On International Women’s Day, we support the #BalanceforBetter campaign to build a gender-balanced world – across boardrooms, government, clinical environments, academic spaces, media coverage...

Collective action and shared responsibility for driving a gender-balanced world are key.

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender balance.

As part of this year’s initiative, we asked women connected to Schulich Medicine & Dentistry what #BalanceforBetter means to them.

Dr. Shannon Venance, Associate Professor, Clinical Neurological Sciences

"By embracing the diversity of women’s bold, courageous voices and perspectives, the balance of power shifts. Possibilities open up. And a world that is inclusive, tolerant and equitable for all, shifts from being imagined to a realizable future."

 

 

Caroline Alpert, Dentistry Class of 2021

“I celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women every day. I am fortunate to have many strong and independent female role models in my life, especially my mother, grandmother and great grandmother. As the fourth generation of women in my family to study sciences, I appreciate the opportunity to pursue a career in dentistry in a world that is continually striving to successfully balance gender and equality. It does not matter whether you are a female or male, but it matters who you are, what you believe in, and what actions you take.

To cultivate a meaningful life, we need to find everyday balance – balance between women and men, family and friends, work and wellness, science and spirituality, creativity and conformity, giving and getting, and learning and listening."

Dr. Lesley Barron, MD’96

"I look forward to the day when I know my daughters will have the same opportunities as my son does – we are certainly not there yet.

Initiatives like this remind us of the ongoing challenges of inequity women face both inside the workforce and beyond it."

 

 Bojana Radan, Medicine Class of 2021

“Balance for better to me means equal access to opportunities. There are still too few female physicians in leadership positions and there needs to be systemic change. It has to start from the bottom up.

Balance for better means identifying the root causes of this inequity and making change. We see time and time again that when women are included in a conversation, we get better results, so balance for better also means more inclusion of female voices in important discourse.”

Savita Dhanvantari, PhD, Assistant Professor, Medical Biophysics

“Why #BalanceforBetter? Why do we need gender balance in science and medicine? Because if science and medicine are to improve people’s lives, then scientists and physicians must represent the whole of society.

Having more women in science and medicine is changing the culture. Women are asking different questions, challenging assumptions and questioning conventional ideas.

#BalanceforBetter is transformational. Gender balance in science and medicine will benefit everyone.”

Dr. Supriya Singh, MD’14, PGY5 Orthopaedic Surgery

“To me, balance is working hard to be the best person I can be, for myself, for others and for the world around me.”