Cultivating Well Workspaces for Women of Color

Nine months after the onset of the COVID pandemic, Dr. Deborah Saint-Phard penned these words, “I am a Black woman physician…and I live at the intersection of physician burnout, the COVID-19 pandemic and systemic racism.” The global COVID pandemic coupled with increased requests for antiracism initiatives necessitated rapid adaptations across medicine and disproportionately intensified the demands placed on women of color. In a 2019 article in Academic Medicine, Tiffany Carson, et. al. suggested that many institutions’ well-intentioned diversity and inclusion efforts unduly burden faculty from underrepresented groups. The authors concluded that this minority tax extends beyond committee work to include disproportionate mentoring demands and is even greater for individuals who exist at the intersection of multiple minoritized identities. While the events of the last year have caused widespread physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion, women of color are absorbing more of the impact. This webinar is designed to identify equitable institutional practices and to advocate for healthy workplace models where women of color can thrive.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Describe the impacts of multiple, simultaneous traumatic experiences (such as the global health pandemic and sustained, systemic racism) on the mental health of women of color
  2. Minimize the disproportionate burden placed on women of color for diversifying white spaces
  3. Advocate for inclusive compensation, tenure, and promotion models that reward women of color for “invisible labor”
  4. Explain the vital role that experienced mentors, sponsors, and coaches play in fostering sustainable well workspaces for women of color

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Altha Stewart, MD
Senior Associate Dean for Community Health Engagement
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Sara Tariq, MD 
Associate Dean for Student Affairs, College of Medicine
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

LaConda Fanning, PsyD, LPC, RN
Director, GME Early Assessment and Mentoring Program
Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine
Eastern Virginia Medical School

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