Link & Grow
Link and Grow aims to address gender inequity in health and medicine, and to create a global interdisciplinary peer support program for women health professionals
Women represent the majority in the global health sector workforce (70%). However, they are significantly under-represented at leadership levels, with only 30% of leadership positions within healthcare being occupied by women. It is now apparent through emerging literature, that the COVID-19 crisis has worsened these disparities, as women have shouldered extra care burdens during the pandemic. This includes roles in the workplace and at home.
Women with diverse backgrounds, especially those in early phases of their career represent an important group to target in promotion, leadership development, support, and mentoring. Spaces for women to share their stories and to learn from colleagues remain limited. Link and Grow will fill this gap and provide interactive and inspiring platforms for women health professionals across Australia, NZ, Asia and the Asia Pacific. This project aims to offer women in healthcare access to peer opportunities through networking and mentoring events and projects.
There are 2 projects planned as part of this limb - mentorship and diverse stories from the pandemic.
Women in Healthcare: breaking the bias
Moderator: A/Prof. Dipti Talaulikar. Panel: Associate Professor Anna Olsen; Dr Marrwah Ahmadzai, Dr Sandra Krishnan and Associate Professor Sanjaya Senanayake.
If you have any questions or would like to be involved in the Link and Grow initiative you can contact the team on: international.health@anu.edu.au
Link and Grow Mentoring Program
Mentorship is an investment for growth and development for both mentees and mentors. By providing the opportunity for collaboration between mentors from a variety of backgrounds and culturally diverse women, especially those in the early phases of their careers, this initiative seeks to contribute to increasing diverse women's leadership in healthcare. Both mentees and mentors will be provided with support and resources to assist with working towards the goals of the collaboration.
Learn about our mentoring program
Link and Grow Podcast Series
The Link and Grow Podcast Series gives voice to the experiences of diverse women in the health workforce. This series is hosted by Tanvi Nangrani, an ANU post-graduate student completing a Master of Clinical Psychology, who speaks with several successful women health professionals who share their career journeys and the challenges they have overcome. Each guest provides invaluable advice for navigating gender and cultural discrimination within the health sector.
Link and Grow Blog/Vlog: Diverse Stories from the Pandemic
This initiative aims to address gender inequity for women from diverse backgrounds. Diversity is known to be associated with innovation, increased productivity, improved accuracy in risk assessment and with improved patient health outcomes.
The diversity blog/vlog will aim to showcase and amplify untold experiences of diverse women in health. It will capture stories from across the world and from a variety of healthcare backgrounds.
Panel discussion held on International Women's Day (#IWD), 8 March 2022
How to submit a blog entry
Are you a female healthcare professional from a non-Anglo-Celtic culturally/ethnically diverse background?
Do you want to share your story with a global audience?
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
‘Link and Grow’ is seeking stories for its blog, hosted through the Australian National University website, showcasing the experiences of ethnically diverse women in healthcare. We want to highlight diverse real-life voices, and capture stories from across the world from all healthcare fields. We aim to:
- Amplify the untold stories of ethnically diverse women in healthcare
- Redefine impact and leadership
- Inspire women from diverse backgrounds to take on leadership roles in healthcare
Blog entries should be 500-800 words or a 3-minute video and address the following:
- Tell us about yourself.
- What healthcare contribution or personal perspective would you like to share?
- What barriers have you faced? How did you overcome them?
- What is your message to other women in healthcare who may be reading this?
Instructions
- Please provide a title for your blog
- Text should be left aligned, no returns unless it is for a new paragraph, Arial or Times Roman font, 12pt size, in a word document
- We will check/review and edit your submission prior to posting
- Please provide a high resolution, landscape orientation photo in jpg format to accompany your blog. (resolution: approx. 1000 x 750 pixels)
- Please email the blog entry to international.health@anu.edu
- Link & Grow
Dr Elijah put her career on hold to raise her family. When the time was right she returned to fulful her dream of becoming a GP.
- Link & Grow
The pandemic has taught Dr Mathur about resilience, her desire to implement her scientific knowledge, and the importance of support systems.
- Link & Grow
Dr Talat Uppal created a multidisciplinary care model for her healthcare service Women's Health Road, during the pandemic.
- Link & Grow
In her early career, Dr Bhende moved from job to job to accommodate the demands of a young family. As a result her resilience and professional experience proved invaluable when COVID-19 hit.
- Link & Grow
Dr Marrwah Ahmadzai found meaning and connection through the COVID-19 peer support program at a time when uncertainty was rife.
- Link & Grow
The need to adapt during uncertain times is challenging but it has taught Zalak Desai skills she'll use in future.
- Link & Grow
Professor Beena Kumar has used words of advice about 'talking to the computer screen' to build her confidence when presenting.
- Link & Grow
In Gujarat, India, Dr Pankti Pandya had to deal with a real life storm as a metaphorical storm hit the hospital at which she works.
- Link & Grow
Shabnam, a medical intern, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer during the pandemic.
- Link & Grow
A lack of practical information on how to manage COVID at home led this doctor to create YouTube videos providing much needed advice.