ABSTRACT
Women comprise the majority of pediatricians in the United States and yet there has been slow progress in leadership diversity and equity in the field overall. While there have been many academic journal articles that examine women's roles, challenges and successes in the field, there is not one, overarching book that follows the path of women into the profession, the challenges they encountered in the early years - and still encounter - the successes they've had, and what the future might look like. This book fills that gap in medical literature. Because women are so well-represented in the field, one would think that pediatrics should be leading the way in gender equity achievements, but this is not the case. This text examines the disparities, the boundaries that are in place, the impact of intersectionality on equity, the toll gender discrimination has on the health and wellness of women in pediatrics, and best practices that can help achieve gender equity in the field. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the disparities that women, and in particular women with intersectionality, face. This book also examines the immediate impact of the pandemic on women in pediatrics, what future implications may be, and how we can potentially mitigate them. Equity strategies that can be implemented by healthcare institutions, professional societies and other medical organizations are also discussed. The book is divided into three main sections. The first section gives an overview of the history of women in pediatrics by describing stories of early leaders and the early days of women in pediatrics. The second section reviews the current state of affairs in women in pediatrics. Chapters in this section detail women entering and practicing in pediatrics;leadership;women of color;women conducting research;national campaigns and efforts focused on gender equity;and childbearing, adoption, motherhood and eldercare by women in pediatrics. The final section describes the future of women in pediatrics. The seven chapters in this section discuss leaders in pediatrics supporting women;policies and programs to advance equity;allies in gender equity efforts;research, funding and publication for women;networking, mentorship, sponsorship, coaching, and career development activities;advocacy efforts;and supporting the health and wellbeing of women in pediatrics. Written by experts in the field, Women in Pediatrics is a valuable resource for all pediatricians in academic or community-based medicine, as well as those involved in pediatric sub-specialties. On a broader level, this text is also of interest to all other women involved in medicine and science. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: To gather insight into how graduating business students are preparing for the workplace and their future careers and how this has been impacted by COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 144 business students at an Australian university who had recently completed an internship and were nearing graduation took part in the study. Group A was surveyed before COVID-19 had emerged and Group B undertook their internships during a COVID-19 lockdown when the related economic downturn had become apparent. The responses were analysed using career construction theory (CCT). Findings: This study concludes that graduating students do not generally place greater emphasis on career planning in times of economic downturn. However, they do devote more effort to job search and networking activities. They also display more career decisiveness and are less willing to seek out information about potential careers or their suitability for them. Their confidence in embarking on a career was not impacted. Research limitations/implications: This enables us to form a more complete picture of how graduating students perceive their work-readiness and the action they feel is important in order to improve their employability. Practical implications: This has implications for career practitioners and employers of graduates as it adds to the knowledge of employability and the decision-making process in times of economic crisis and is particularly important for the tertiary education sector as it seeks to better target initiatives to aid employability in graduates. Originality/value: The results increase the understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on early career development and argue that early-career decision-making is a specific area requiring investigation. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.