Paper Example on Women as Agents of Change: Advancing Gender Parity in Leadership and Innovation

Introduction

Women are very critical agents of change and the diversity of gender parity in the field of innovation and decision-making in all industries. Women are progressively making an impact on leadership and innovation at both national and global levels. However, in other parts of the world, women continue to be under-represented in the decision-making of various decision bodies including the courts, executive bodies, councils, and legislatures among others. Therefore, women are constantly developing and continue attaining important milestones in the international spectrum in contemporary society. This paper will focus on highlighting the contribution of five women leaders and why their contribution was vital.

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Virginia Apgar, M.D., developer of Agar Score

Dr. Virginia Apgar devised the famous Agar Score, a standardized method of assessing a newborn’s transition outside the womb. Newborn babies significantly benefited from her innovative research in 1952 to prevent birth defects. However, since she was a woman, her career as a doctor was shadowed with frustrations and discouragement. In the early 90s, women in America struggle to enter the field of medicine. Although medicine had gradually become a respected during the early 90s, medical schools regulated their admissions, women were often discouraged from such specialties and Apgar had a difficult time receiving her training (pbs.org, 2017). She was the first woman to attain the status of a full professor at the Columbia University of Physicians and Surgeons (U.S National Library of Medicine, n.d).

Regina Benjamin, U.S Surgeon General

Regina Benjamin served as the U.S surgeon general between 2009 and 2013, being appointed by President Obama. She achieved her distinction and recognition due to her commitment to providing healthcare services to the underserved community, whose majority of the patients were not insured and often unable to cater to the treatment costs. Regina was the president of the Medical Association of Alabama from 2002 to 2003, where she was the first African American woman to lead the state medical society (reginabenjamin.net, 2010). As the founder of Bayou La Batre rural clinic in Alabama, she aimed to make a difference in the community by providing healthcare with dignity.

Selma Kaderman Dritz, Epidemiologist

Selma Kaderman Dritz was the first epidemiologist to identify and track the mysterious and stigmatizing HIV disease in the 1980s after its outbreak within the gay community. She was the first person to provide clear information for the United State Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Loewenberg, 2008). Her data was vital as it provided better knowledge related to HIV and AIDS and the warning signs. Selma Kaderman Dritz was among the first individuals to theorize that AIDS was an infectious disease transmitted sexually. In her 60s, she tracked the transmission of the disease effortlessly by being methodical, straightforward, and never emotional.

Clara Barton, Founder of Red Cross

Clara Barton is amongst the most respected women in the history of America. She was amongst the first women to be employed in the national government as a clerk and earned the same wage as men. Also, she endangered her life while supplying and supporting wounded soldiers during the civil wars. She brought them food supplies, medical drugs, and saved the lives of various injured soldiers during the war. She was the founder of the American Red Cross in 1881 and served as the president for twenty-three years (redcross.org, 2020). Throughout her entire life in the Red Cross, she was guided by her knowledge of the necessities and methods of providing for individuals in distress. Although it was rare for women to venture into ‘men’s jobs’, Clara risked her life at the war fronts. Also, as a woman, her home was the first to be dedicated as a National Historic Site.

Gertrude Bellen Elion, Chemist

Gertrude Bellen made an incredible contribution to the biochemist and pharmaceuticals by developing a drug to treat leukemia, malaria, herpes, and other illnesses. Between 1918 and 1999, Elion used a rational drug design method to effectively alter cell growth to offer various methods of efficient drugs of treating herpes, malaria, leukemia, and other diseases (American Chemical Society, n.d.). For the first time, Hitchings and Elion developed a treatment, which could inhibit the development of leukemia cells thereby putting leukemia patients in retardation. Additionally, Elion developed a 6-mercaptopurine by substituting a sulfur atom with one oxygen atom to reduce the toxicity and severe vomiting caused by chemotherapy drugs. Also, she made a discovery of azathioprine that enabled patients with a weak immune system to get a successful organ transplant.

Conclusion

Historically, women's participation in the medical profession was challenging. However, they made an impact in the medical profession to ensure equal access to medical services and education to other women. Although gender equality has not been fully achieved in the medical specialty, tremendous progress has been achieved, courtesy of previous contributions by women to medicine in the United States.

Reference

American Chemical Society. (n.d.). Gertrude Elion (1918–1999) - American Chemical Society. Retrieved June 11, 2020, from https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/women-scientists/gertrude-elion.html

Loewenberg, S. (2008). Selma Dritz - The Lancet. Retrieved June 11, 2020, from https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(08)61539-1/fulltext

National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2020, from https://www.nlm.nih.gov/

Pbs.org. (2017). Who Made America? | Innovators | Virginia Apgar. Retrieved June 11, 2020, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/apgar_hi.html

Redcross.org. (2020). About Clara Barton | Red Cross Founder | American Red Cross. Retrieved June 11, 2020, from https://www.redcross.org/about-us/who-we-are/history/clara-barton.html

Reginabenjamin.net. (2010). About Me | 18th U.S. SURGEON GENERAL - Regina Benjamin. Retrieved June 11, 2020, from https://reginabenjamin.net/about/