AAMC Bestows National Leadership Development Award on GWIM

Posted in GUMC Stories

SEPTEMBER 25, 2014— Just in time to help mark its 20th anniversary, Georgetown Women in Medicine (GWIM) has received a high national honor from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

The AAMC’s Group on Women in Medicine and Science has bestowed its Leadership Development Award to GWIM for the organization’s contributions to advancing women leaders in academic medicine.

“We are incredibly proud of this award. It validates all the effort over the past two decades on the part of many women faculty members at Georgetown who have invested so much time and energy to make GWIM the organization it has become,” says GWIM President Stacey Kaltman, PhD , associate professor in the department of psychiatry.

Advancing Women Leaders

Each year, just one individual and one organization are selected to receive the Leadership Development Award. The selection committee felt GWIM embodies the values and characteristics of the Women in Medicine and Science group.

“GWIM has shown a longstanding history of commitment to advancing women, demonstrated through the influence and outstanding success of this important group on campus,” says Diana Lautenberger, director of the Women in Medicine and Science program at AAMC.

With Kaltman accepting the award, GWIM will be honored at the GWIMS Leadership Development Awards Reception during the AAMC’s annual meeting in Chicago on Nov. 10.

Seeds for the Future

GWIM began as a grassroots organization within the department of medicine. A task force convened by John Eisenberg, MD, MBA, then chair of the department, began to study the issues of salary equity and professional advancement opportunities between male and female faculty members. The task force determined there was a need for more consistent and institutionalized advocacy on behalf of women faculty, and eventually GWIM was born.

While GWIM has achieved many of its goals thanks to hard work of many faculty members over the past 20 years, this is not the time to rest on its laurels, Kaltman says.

“We have worked hard and made great strides. However, there is still a lot to do regarding compensation equity, equity in leadership and the professional development of young women faculty members,” she says.

The AAMC award is particularly meaningful in light of GWIM’s 20th anniversary this year. GWIM will host a keynote speaker, panel discussion and reception to mark its anniversary on Oct. 23; all members of the GUMC community are invited.

“The 20th anniversary is a major milestone for us as an organization.  This award makes the celebration that much sweeter and inspires us to work even harder in the future,” Kaltman adds.

By Lauren Wolkoff
GUMC Communications