Medicus April 2016

C O V E R S T O R Y

Dr Andrew Miller AMA (WA) Vice President

N ow and then, we experience a reset of our views on an issue that we thought we understood before. A famous local example would be that stomach ulcers no longer need surgery and ranitidine. This seems normal now but was still considered radical in the 80s. Some of the inertia on many issues is due to our natural reluctance to admit we are wrong, as well as the number of other urgent issues we all face, which leave us little time and patience for “causes”. But when the evidence is overwhelming we usually accept it, change our views and move on. Sexual harassment of our female colleagues is a scourge. It has been and remains endemic in society, but our business is medicine. Medical men have failed and continue to fail to respond adequately to calls to lift their game. Some male doctors remain publicly or privately resistant to this political correctness, this trendy agenda of the intelligentsia. If you don’t believe it is an important issue, then please read the results of the AMA (WA) survey. Then go and ask a few women if what it says is true, because it is shocking. A few weeks ago, I was in the change room when a respected colleague came in with a co-worker. I have chatted to them both before and they

Inherent bias toward male

are good guys, solid in their work. Both are popular and have families. They proceeded to have a good old fashioned 1970’s chat about a female colleague who had been in theatre with them. They were oblivious to my immediate presence, and that of two other men who were also in there. Men and women do this and in a social context, that is their business. But in the modern workplace, it can no longer be tolerated. We used to think this was harmless fun, boys being boys, a bit of a laugh. In fact, though, it has the potential to cripple a career and destroy peoples’ futures. If you wouldn’t say it in front of your wife or daughter or sister, then think twice before sharing at work. We need to find a new landscape in which men and women can still be human, still have fun, still tell a bad joke but remain professional. We should never have anyone uncomfortable because of our attitude or conversation. Science is wonderfully brutal and it is the most basic of statistics that confirm that many medical specialties are not just heavily but overwhelmingly dominated by men in the highest ranking and best paid positions. We have not managed to fix it yet with “merit based” appointment and advances made by many women who ignore or subdue the male dominance. Inherent bias toward male

appointees needs to be countered with quotas in my view

appointees needs to be countered with quotas in my view. Merit is not distributed predominantly to men. Those who are resistant to quotas as somehow demeaning or condescending or likely to dilute “quality” need to move beyond their hesitation or explain how they will deliver results. Once women have an even representation, perhaps we can remove the need for quotas, as others will feel welcome and know they do not need to fight every step of the way to succeed on an uneven playing field. An equal distribution of jobs has a moral imperative, but also it has benefits for all involved. A diverse range of thinking is important in complex organisations and problem solving at any level. We owe it to our patients to ensure that they have the opportunity to be looked after in a system that has the best chance of solving their problems. So for the men out there who think there is no problem, or that they are not part of the problem, sorry but I think the science is pretty clear it was us all along. Let’s all just get on with fixing it. ■

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 M E D I C U S 29