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Le Rhun E, Boele F, Minniti G, Galldiks N, Taphoorn M, Piil K, Rudà R, Niclou SP, Geurts M, Preusser M, Weller M, Short SC, Dirven L. Gender balance and suitable positive actions to promote gender equality among healthcare professionals in neuro-oncology: The EANO positive action initiative. Neurooncol Pract 2024; 11:46-55. [PMID: 38222048 PMCID: PMC10785600 DOI: 10.1093/nop/npad064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Background The proportion of women among healthcare and biomedical research professionals in neuro-oncology is growing. With changes in cultural expectations and work-life balance considerations, more men aspire to nonfull-time jobs, yet, leadership positions remain dominated by men. Methods The European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) disparity committee carried out a digital survey to explore gender balance and actions suitable to promote gender equality. The survey was distributed among EANO members in 2021, with responses analyzed descriptively. Results In total, 262 participants completed the survey (141 women, 53.8%; median age 43). Respondents were neurosurgeons (68, 26.0%); neurologists (67, 25.6%), medical oncologists (43, 16.4%), or other healthcare or research professionals; 208 participants (79.4%) worked full-time. Positive action to enforce the role of women in neuro-oncology was deemed necessary by 180 participants (68.7%), but only 28 participants (10.7%) agreed that women only should be promoted until gender balance is reached. A majority of respondents (162, 61.8%) felt that women with an equivalent CV should be prioritized over men to reach gender balance. If in the future the balance favored women at higher positions, 112 respondents (42.7%) agreed to apply positive action for men. The top indicators considered relevant to measure gender balance were: salary for similar positions (183/228, 80.3%), paid overtime (176/228, 77.2%), number of permanent positions (164/228, 71.9%), protected time for research (161/227, 70.9%), and training opportunities (157/227, 69.2%). Conclusions Specific indicators may help to measure and promote gender balance and should be considered for implementation among healthcare professionals in neuro-oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilie Le Rhun
- Departments of Neurosurgery, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Florien Boele
- Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St James’s, St James’s University Hospital, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Giuseppe Minniti
- Department of Radiological Sciences, Oncology, and Anatomical Pathology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Norbert Galldiks
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Center Juelich, Juelich, Germany
- Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO), Universities of Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, and Duesseldorf, Cologne, Germany
| | - Martin Taphoorn
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Karin Piil
- Department of Oncology, Centre for Cancer and Organ Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Roberta Rudà
- Division of Neuro-Oncology, Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Simone P Niclou
- Department of Cancer Research, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, Luxembourg
- Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Marjolein Geurts
- The Brain Tumour Center at the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Matthias Preusser
- Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine 1, Medical University, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael Weller
- Department of Neurology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Susan C Short
- Leeds Institute of Medical Research, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- Department of Clinical Oncology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK
| | - Linda Dirven
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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