Page 55 - ISAKOS 2020 Newsletter Volume 2

She is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic surgery at the University of Calgary and serves as the Director of Research at Banff Sport Medicine Foundation. Dr. Hiemstra is an Executive Committee member of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association (COA) and the Arthroscopy Association of Canada (AAC). She currently serves on the COA Member Board of Directors. She recently was voted in as 2nd President-Elect of the COA and will be the first female president of the organization. Dr. Hiemstra is an active member of numerous orthopaedic societies and sports medicine organizations (COA, ESSKA, AANA, AAOS, AOSSM, AAC) in addition to ISAKOS, including the International Patellofemoral Study Group. She was the 2014 ISAKOS Patellofemoral Travelling Fellow and now serves on the Board of Directors of the Patellofemoral Foundation.
Dr. Hiemstra is passionate about diversity and increasing the representation of females in orthopaedic surgery and in leadership positions within the field of orthopaedics. She has been leading the gender diversity advocacy initiatives within the COA and now is continuing to do so at ISKAOS. In 2019, the Journal of ISAKOS published her article on the trends for women on the podium at the COA Annual Meeting.2
“To improve female representation in our society, we must first create a culture of equity and inclusivity,” says Dr. Hiemstra. “We need to address the systematic disadvantages that exist for women in this male-dominated profession. By engaging female members and providing equality of opportunity, ISAKOS will be able to take full advantage of the diversity within its membership and become a stronger organization.”
The first goal of the ISAKOS Gender Diversity and Inclusion Task Force is to increase the number of female members and improve engagement by highlighting the lack of gender diversity within the society. Increasing the number of female members and clearly demonstrating inclusivity and acceptance within all areas ISAKOS will help to reduce any potential negative perceptions regarding lack of inclusivity. Having more female participation in the organization not only will positively reinforce this progress but also will contribute a wealth of different experiences and innovative ideas to drive further change.
The second goal is to increase female representation in educational activities, the biannual Congress, and the executive structure of ISAKOS. The inclusion of a larger number of women in the ISAKOS scientific meetings and biannual Congress will create a wider range of ideas and viewpoints, and, as a result, improved teaching and learning for our members. As Julie Silver, MD, from Harvard University so eloquently says, “For any award (or position or lecture or role) in medicine, there are more than zero women who deserve it.”
The 2021 Cape Town Congress is an excellent example of how a focus on achieving gender diversity can induce change. Under the leadership of Volker Musahl, MD, Mark Clatworthy, MD, and ISAKOS CEO Sue Reimbold, MA, Cape Town promises to be the most inclusive meeting to date, with the number of women participating in the Congress far exceeding those in previous years.
• The program in Cape Town anticipates 29 female speakers (compared with 13 of 832 in Cancun).
• There are up to 450 opportunities for podium paper presentations (compared with approximately 200 in Cancun).
• An Instructional Course Lecture entitled “Gender & Diversity—Meet the Experts” is scheduled for Wednesday, December 1, under the leadership of Dr. Liza Arendt. The panel includes Drs. Camilla Cohen Kaleka, Margaret Fok, Laurie Hiemstra, Magaly Iniguez, Jason Koh, and David Parker.
A reception is planned for the women members and attendees to provide a fun, interactive venue for the women of ISAKOS to meet each other, create and renew friendships, network, and make lasting contacts and connections.
As with all initiatives, the Gender Diversity and Inclusion Task Force cannot succeed without genuine support from male allies. The vision of the “#heforshe” leaders in ISAKOS (Willem van der Merwe, Guillermo Arce, David Parker, Jason Koh, Volker Musahl, and Mark Clatworthy) is extremely important. Working together toward a stronger, more diverse ISAKOS should be the goal of all of our members. We urge support, encouragement, and action for this important initiative.
Recommended Twitter Hashtags:
#ISAKOS #womenofISAKOS #womeninortho #diversityandinclusion #womeninmedicine #needherscience #womenleadership
References
#gendergap #ilooklikeasurgeon #genderequality #diversitymatters #heforshe #shecan #weareallortho
COMMITTEE REPORT
1. Green J, Chye V, Hiemstra L, et al. Diversity: Women in orthopaedic surgery – a perspective from the International Orthopaedic Diversity Alliance. Journal Of Trauma and Orthopaedics. 2020;8(1):44-51. 2. Hiemstra L, Wittman T, Mulpuri K, Vezina C, Kerslake S. Dissecting disparity: improvements towards gender parity in leadership and on the podium within the Canadian Orthopaedic Association. Journal of ISAKOS: Joint Disorders & Orthopaedic Sports Medicine 2019;4:227- 232.
ISAKOS NEWSLETTER 2020: VOLUME II 53