It takes a lot of chutzpah to offer up my concept of the model of perfection when it comes to women in the health care workplace. Why? Because not only is the ideal highly subjective, in many cases it is thought to exist only in the mind or to be imaginary. So what is my ideal? Will it resonate with yours?
First, the basics: Let’s start with some essential American values—freedom, fairness, diversity, generosity, and mobility—what it means to be an American in the land of the free and the home of the brave. And indeed, you do have the ability to take advantage of these values, to direct your own destiny. There is no one roadmap, no one right way. There is only the freedom to choose. It is only when that freedom is infringed upon that we cannot reach our ideal.
The concept of the ideal often conjures up something perfect. Thinking that things must be perfect to be worthwhile is both shortsighted and foolish, because true perfection does not exist. What does exist is the concept of perfection—a goal toward which you are always striving but can never quite achieve, because there is always something more, something better, some other way.
Frustrating? You bet. But it is much more frustrating is to stay in one place. So striving toward a goal based on shared principles and values is the hallmark of a culture worth emulating, worth supporting.
Thus, the ideal for a Woman’s Nation (or a Woman’s World) is to equally value a woman’s work in whatever form she chooses to express herself, to value her specific biological role, in whatever form she may choose, to value her unique and different perspective in order to enhance the life of every human being—and the same goes for men.
We are all stakeholders in this world. Our mutual successes are far more important to survival than any other state of being. This is the ideal. To raise us all up so no matter what your gender, your race, your religion, your political persuasion, or your ethnic background, you have a full shot at realizing your potential for your personal agenda and ultimately for the greater good of humankind.
Imagination has no limitations. When we pursue our ideals, we all win.
We cannot lament cultural and biological imperatives that separate the sexes. Strength no longer determines whether one will triumph over another. As brain replaces brawn as the coin of the realm, we have to find ways to support everyone so that we can enjoy the mutual benefits of a society that values human enterprise and human achievement in any and all of the multiple roles a person can and will choose during the finite time we are given on earth. A prosperous society depends on making the most of every one of our human resources.
Thus, we will explore what is the reality of work for women in health care. And we will imagine what it can be when we overcome cultural barriers and what it will be like as we work toward the ideal—toward a place where everyone reaches their highest human potential, chosen freely and exercised with care.
This post was written by Linda Brodsky, pediatric otolaryngologist and advocate for gender and pay equity. Her blogs can also be read at The Brodsky Blog.
