Women in IAOMS
FIRST GLOBAL CONGRESS OF WOMEN MAXILLOFACIAL SURGEONS: A REPORT By Taranjit Kaur Jamnagar, India
On August 1st, 2020, INDIA hosted a global online meeting for women in maxillofacial surgery. The event was designed to celebrate the journey of women in maxillofacial surgery in various aspects through a series of presentations and discussions, inviting great female maxillofacial surgeons from across the world. Dr Vanaja opened the event by commemorating the first female maxillofacial surgeon in India, followed by a presentation by Dr Neelima Mallick, an honored female maxillofacial surgeon in India. Dr Sabine Girod, a Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, continued with a presentation titled “Where are the women?”, highlighting the global status of women in oral and maxillofacial surgery in the modern world. The presentation was followed by Dr Patricia Radaic, a Consultant and Professor at Sirio Libanes, Brazil, and an AO faculty delivering a topic on “Professional Life experience of women as maxillofacial surgeons”. Dr Divya Mehrotra, Professor, KGMC, Lakhnow, India, also spoke about “The power of role models”, emphasizing the importance of equality in the professional life of a woman. Finally, Dr Victoria Beale, the President of the Society of Women in Maxillofacial Surgery (SWiMS), UK left a special message to young female maxillofacial surgeons on the values of a right attitude, perseverance, and commitment towards the field. The event lasted for about 2 hours 50 minutes and was attended by more than 700 delegates of both women and men from all over the world. As what Dr Patricia Radaic put in her presentation, a quote from Dr Daniel Laskin “Women do not need special attention, but equal treatment“, this global joined force of women in maxillofacial surgy has burned the spirit of gender equality in our field. Thank you to Stryker India for supporting this event.
“Women do not need special attention, but equal treatment” 20 iaoms.org
December 2020
