Working to reduce the gender divide in FMLM Fellowship

Dr Sarah Schofield has been a GP in the NHS for more than 35 years. She is currently independent chair of Southampton Central PCN and, along with mentoring and coaching colleagues, she a Founding Senior Fellow of FMLM and an advising associate in general practice.

When she was invited to join one of the Fellowship assessment panels, Dr Schofield noticed that there were no Fellowship applications from women at that session.

As FMLM Fellowship is awarded to recognise leadership excellence, and works to advantage for fellows applying for medical leadership roles, Dr Schofield highlighted that women are already at a disadvantage by not applying for Fellowship at the same rate as male colleagues, as this is resulting in fewer female leadership role models. 

This has led to a working group being established to address the gender gap in Fellowship applications and leadership attainment and prevent a further reduction in the ratio of female senior leadership role models, who are so important in paving the way for others in medical and healthcare leadership.

The chart below displays the breakdown of gender within the FMLM Fellowship categories:

Dr Schofield has approached Professor Dame Jane Dacre, past President of the Royal College of Physicians, London, who chairs the gender pay gap implementation advisory group and is a pioneer in awareness of gender inequality in the the NHS and UK healthcare. 

Dame Jane has pointed to studies into the psychology of both language and job descriptions affecting the ratio of men and women who apply for roles advertised, which the Working Group are now looking at.

If you would like to be involved in the Fellowship Gender Gap working group, or would like to submit suggestions to support developments, please email fellowship [at] fmlm.ac.uk

Read more from Professor Dame Jane Dacre: Leadership and Gender Pay Gaps in Medicine by Jane Dacre – The official blog of BMJ Leader