Dr Ayesha Mian, chair of the department of psychiatry and dean of students at Aga Khan University, is one of just 40 senior academics from around the world to be selected for the prestigious Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) programme for women.
This competitive one-year programme run by Drexel University, USA, recognises women in senior academic positions who have demonstrated the potential to become influential leaders at their institutions.
Fellows in the programme are required to develop an initiative that they will spearhead at their university and will receive advanced training in strategic planning, change management, resource planning and organizational dynamics to help them achieve this goal.
Dr Ayesha Mian’s initiative will see her develop a national leadership programme for women in academia in Pakistan, based at AKU, which will coach women on how to navigate the cultural, social, organization and psychological barriers that prevent them from climbing the career ladder.
“The workplace isn’t an even playing field for men and women, said Dr Mian. “There is a wide gap across all industries and women face a number of micro-aggressions every day that limit their ability to break the glass ceiling.”
For instance, it is rare for a man who takes up a challenging project to be asked how he’ll balance his family responsibilities. One hardly hears about a man taking a break from his career to start a family and they rarely face criticism when they ask for promotions or stretch assignments, Dr Mian adds.
In contrast, women often hold themselves back or feel pressured to resolve differences with team members to avoid being labelled as ‘bossy’ or ‘aggressive’ .
“I’ve witnessed how the mistakes by male or female doctors are treated differently,” Dr Ayesha explains. “When a man makes a mistake it’s seen as a complication and is ascribed to the learning curve; the same error in a woman is seen as incompetence. These unconscious biases restrict women’s ability to learn and grow.”
Dr Mian hopes to launch her initiative as a pilot workshop which will then be developed as a comprehensive course.
“Our initiative will give women in mid and senior level positions a chance to understand intrinsic and contextual factors that hinder their progress, and to meet experienced mentors who can help them navigate key career challenges,” she adds. “The glass ceiling is real and tough; we want to give women the tools to recognise the hurdles and to break through.”
