LAUSR

As a pioneering female in cardiology, Karen Sliwa will, in 2019, become the first woman president of the World Heart Federation and the first from Africa. Gender occupies an important place in her clinical and epidemiological work. She is known for her work on peri-partum cardiomyopathy and has in recent years been engaged in raising awareness on rising rates of late maternal deaths. Her advice to women working in cardiology is to step forward and be counted. ‘I think there are two things that need to happen for women to make progress: they should have more confidence in who they are and how well they are trained. They should also put themselves forwards and consider putting other female colleagues forwards based on their excellence, not on the fact that they are women. It’s clear that women are not doing enough in this respect and this could go back to their upbringing and being taught to stay in the background’. Sliwa points out that with legislation in place to support females and a new generation of male colleagues who have trained alongside their female peers, there are no real barriers other than those, which may still exist in women’s minds. She suggests women need to adopt a different mindset if they are to embrace change. ‘If you take 100 men and women who are all equally well-trained, there will be more men who say: ‘I can do that, I can lead that’, than women’. Women also need to be prepared to compete for senior roles and accept that they may lose out to a man because he is a better candidate, not because of any in-built gender bias. She says: ‘You have to accept that if you don’t succeed you need to get better and try again. Women should learn not to personalise losing a competitive race. You cannot make a career if you cannot lose with grace’. Out-dated perceptions about the importance of avoiding confrontation and being amenable should not stand in the way of women’s professional advancement. By putting themselves forwards they can get to understand what skills and qualities they have in comparison to their peers. By not putting themselves forwards, Sliwa suggest, they won’t be able to gauge their skills so, standing on the side-lines is a self-defeating activity. ‘We really need to focus on the positives and how to overcome past problems which are now part of history. There are many very well-trained women with brilliant leadership skills around and progress can and does happen. As more women become successful, the easier it will be for others’. Sliwa also suggest humour and a sense of perspective can go a long way in coping with professional hurdles. She says: ‘Move on, try to be upbeat, even about things that are holding you back, opportunities will come.’