September may be , but the year has been a good one for women in cardiology leadership positions. MedPage Today received the above photo and the following message from Mary Norine Walsh, MD, president of the American College of Cardiology:
"Though women remain underrepresented in the field of cardiology, this year several major cardiology societies are led by women.
"Dr. Sarah Clarke is president of the British Cardiac Society, Dr. Cathy Kells is the president of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Dr. Khalida Soomro is the president of the Pakistan Cardiac Society, and I serve as president of the American College of Cardiology.
"In addition, Dr. Barbara Casadei is president-elect of the European Society of Cardiology. She will be the first woman to be president of that organization.
"We had several opportunities during the ESC meetings to discuss issues relating to women in cardiology as well as to network. It is our collective hope that the visibility of women in such leadership positions will encourage other women on a path to leadership."
put the of female cardiologists in the U.S. between 10% and 20%. Sandra Lewis, MD, of the Northwest Cardiovascular Institute, who authored one of those estimates, said in a last year that two decades ago, "we acknowledged a need to increase the number of women in cardiology, and 10 years ago we saw an increase, but we've hit a wall."
"We need to understand the barriers to women entering cardiology and work toward breaking down those barriers," she said.