"Medicine Has Made Strides Toward Egalitarianism"
When Leesa Galatz, MD, professor and system chair of orthopedics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai became system chair of Mount Sinai Health System’s orthopedic surgery department in 2015, she was the only female head of an orthopedic surgery department at a major U.S. academic center. She’s now one of four. Dr. Galatz said she thinks she knows why female surgeons are so outnumbered. “There hasn’t really been strong mentorship for women. “Only in the past decade have inclusivity and diversity become a priority.” She added, “Early in careers, these are our childbearing years, but also when productivity is most expected. There are a lot of competing priorities, and we see a lot of women falling off the tracks, research-wise. As a woman, for me, having a supportive partner and family was unbelievably important.”
— Leesa Galatz, MD, Professor, Orthopedics, System Chair, Leni and Peter May Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai