Advancing women in healthcare

Dame Carol Black DBE FRCP FMedSci

keynote given at the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on women’s development and leadership, Tokyo, Monday 16 May 2016

by Dame Carol Black DBE FRCP FMedSci, Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge University, and Expert Adviser on Health and Work, Department of Health and Public Health England

(Summary of Dame Carol Black’s keynote written by Gerhard Fasol)

Dame Carol Black DBE FRCP FMedSci
Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge University.
Dame Carol Black has held top positions in medicine and now holds high-level policy advisory positions on health and work in the United Kingdom.

• Dame Carol Black: Profile on the website of Cambridge University
• Dame Carol Black, Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_M._Black

Women in healthcare – Women in the British National Health Service

The gender imbalance in the National Health Service is reflected by the facts that 77% of the total workforce is female, while only 7% of female staff are doctors or dentists, ie only 5.4% of total workforce are female doctors or dentists.

41% of Chief Executives are women.

81% of non-medical staff are women.

Alison Wolf and the XX Factor

Alison Margaret Wolf, Baroness Wolf of Dulwich CBE, is a British economist, and the Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management at King’s College London, see:

• King’s College, London: Alison Wolf, Baroness Wolf of Dulwich, Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management
• Alison Wolf, Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_Wolf,_Baroness_Wolf_of_Dulwich

In her book “The XX Factor: How Working Women Are Creating A New Society” (Profile Books 2013), Alison Wolf writes that women are split into two groups: one group sacrificing family for rapid professional advancements, while the other group of women opts for having children at a young age, and remain in low level positions. As a result, inequality is growing faster among women than among men, and low status and low paid jobs are predominantly done by women:

• 97% of secretaries are female
• 92% of registered nurses are female
• 89% of nursing, psychiatric and home health aides are female
• 90% of maids and housekeeping cleaners are female

The fundamentals: what are the essential characteristics of “good employment”?

• Good work: is stable and safe, allows individual control, is flexible, gives opportunities, promotes wellbeing, reintegrates sick or disabled people if possible.
• Good workplaces: have visible senior leadership and well trained managers, enable staff engagement, empower employees to care for their own health

Good news for medicine, less good news for academic medicine

Generally we have achieved a good situation regarding gender equality in medicine. We have achieved meritocracy, and their are no reports providing evidence for systematic barriers against women’s professional advancement. Both intake and retention for women in medicine is high, and the pay scales are the same.

A study (Royal College of Physicians (RCP) Working Party 2009), investigated the female share of Consultants (= established Senior Medical Professionals in the UK), and showed the ratio of women is highest (38% – 49%) in “more plan-able” and “more people oriented” specializations such as general practice or paediatrics, while women’s share is lowest (8% – 23%) in “more technology oriented” and “more unpredictable” specializations such as anaesthetics or surgical specializations.

There is far less progress in academic medicine, and cultural stereotypes and bias remain, see:

• Carol A. Isaac, Anna Kaatz, Molly Carnes: Deconstructing the Glass Ceiling
• Molly Carnes, MD, MS, Christie M. Bartels, MD, MS, CAROL ISAAC, PhD, Anna Kaatz, MPH, PhD, and Christine Kolehmainen, MD, MS: Why is John More Likely to Become Department Chair Than Jennifer?

Women’s advance into top leadership positions suffers from “cultural” prejudices, e.g. prejudices that women too kind, too caring, not logical or strong enough, or otherwise unsuited to lead.

Prominent leadership roles for women, Prominent medical leadership

Prominent leadership roles need investment in the “extras”, leads leadership dimension in each speciality, and requires career single-mindedness.

Prominent medical leadership requires investment of time “over and above” the ordinary duties, requires professional “stewardship contributions”.

The top 200 leadership positions will naturally go to those who pursue their career goals with a high degree of single-mindedness.

Women choosing the route towards prominent leadership roles need encouragement and support, they need:

• role models
• mentors, and
• sponsors

Role models: Prominent women leaders in UK medicine

• Una O’Brien, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health
• Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer
• Dame Julie Moore, CEO, University Hospitals Birmingham, NHS FT
• Claire Murdoch, CEO, Central and NW London NHS Foundation Trust
• Professor Jane Dacre, PRC Physicans
• Clare Marx CBE, PRC Surgeons
• Dr Suzy Lishman, PRC Pathologists
• Dr Maureen Baker, Chair, RC General Practitioners

Need to debunk leadership myths

Its important not to fall into the traps of common leadership myths, e.g. that leadership is inborn, that leadership is that of a lone genius, that they must inspire others to follow their vision, the leadership requires formal authority, or that all leaders have common personality features.

We need to avoid similar leadership myths in medicine, e.g. that men naturally make better leaders.

Dame Carol Black: From a shoe-making village in decline to Government Advisor

Dame Carol Black is born in the shoe-making village of Barwell, Leicestershire, went to Grammar School in Market Bosworth, were she became Head Girl, despite her working class background.

Dame Carol Black studied first History, then Medical Social Work and finally Medicine at the University of Bristol, specialized in Rheumatology research, focusing on Scleroderma. Later advanced to Medical Director, Royal Free Hospital, President of the Royal College of Physicians, Chairman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Chair of the Nuffield Trust on Health Policy, then advising Government as National Director for Health and Work, and now Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge.

A major step was Dame Carol Black’s advancement to Medical Director of the Royal Free Hospital, since this meant not just responsibility for an institution or a group or a department, but also responsibility for the health of a population.

Leading the Royal College of Physicians

The Royal College of Physicians was founded by Royal Charter by Henry VIII on 23 September 1518 with the aim to promote the highest standards in medicine.

The skills required were: understanding a wide landscape, consensual leadership, standing ground when necessary, negotiating with Whitehall (= British Government) and building trust.

Chairing all the Medical Royal Colleges – The Academy, 2006-2009

Dame Carol Black from 2006-2009 chaired this group of 21 independent organizations. As Chair, Dame Carol Black had no executive powers, needed to lead by persuasion and with consensus.

Advising Government

Dame Carol Black shared several of her experiences advising Government and highest ranking Government officials and Ministers.

Key was to become valuable in the eyes of Government officials by giving independent advice based on scientific evidence, in combination with remaining totally unpolitical.

Dame Carol Black became a champion for the “cause” of health and work, and kept totally out of politics, never revealing any political views or opinion, and wrote three major reports.

The Confidence Code – forget perfection…Striving for perfection can waste women’s time, and hold back the best from reaching the top

Perfectionism and lack of confidence is large a female issue, see Katty Kay and Claire Shipman: The Confidence Code – the science and art of self-assurance, and what women should know.

Women tend to be held back by striving for perfection, while men tend to take more risks. Striving for perfection can waste women’s time, and hold back the best from reaching the top.

Women in healthcare, Women and careers, women in scientific careers

The issue of Women in Scientific Careers was examined in the “Science and Technology Committee – Sixth Report – Women in scientific careers” by the British House of Commons Science and Technology Committee in February 2014, which can be downloaded here as a pdf file:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmsctech/701/701.pdf

This UK House of Commons report finds some common traits which hold women back from reaching top leadership positions, including that women may perceive promotions as undesirable, wait until they meet all perceived criteria for promotion while men often take higher risks and may behave more speculatively, and women may think that “political” skills are required to reach the top.

Finally, to reach top leadership positions, we need:

• self confidence
• aspiration
• risk taking
• resilience
• speaking out
• staying motivated after failure
• mentors, sponsors, role models
• networks
• personal values aligned to organisational values

Notes

Summary of Dame Carol Black’s keynote written by Gerhard Fasol

Copyright 2016 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved

Gender inequality in Japan: a case report of women doctors

Kyoko Nomura, MD, MPH, PhD

keynote talk presented at the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on women’s development and leadership, Tokyo, Monday 16 May 2016

[Japanese version 日本語版　野村恭子、医師・医学博士、日本の男女共同参画：女性医師を事例に]

by Kyoko Nomura, MD, MPH, PhD: Director, Support Center for women physicians and researchers, Associate professor, Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Teikyo University, School of Medicine, and Associate professor, Teikyo School of Public Health

In 2016, Japan’s elderly population, aged 65 years or older, comprises 26%, which is one-fourth of total population. By contrast, the younger generation, aged 0-14 years, comprises only 14%. Why so low?

Nowadays, the birth rate in Japan is estimated at 10.3 per 1,000 population, meaning that one woman bears only one child over her lifetime on average. The Japanese Health Ministry estimates that the nation’s total population will fall to 95.2 million by 2050. The aging of Japan is brought about by a combination of low birthrate and longevity.

Now we understand that Japan faces an aging society. Who is going to take care of this quickly growing aging population? Of course, younger people and women! This is the fundamental reason why women are encouraged to work as much as men to support the aging society.

However in Japan, our traditional gender roles that men should work outside and women be good house wives is strongly embedded in our mindset and hard to get rid of.

According to the Gender Gap Index by the World Economic Forum, Japan ranks at 105th near the bottom among 135 countries in terms of gender equality, mainly due to the underrepresentation of women in economic and political leadership.

In the medical area, Japan faces a physician shortage because the number of physicians per 1000 population is 2.2 which is lower than the average of OECD countries, 3.2 per 1000 population. This means, if you reside in a remote area and suppose you have a cancer, it is less likely to find a medical doctor who can treat your cancer in your neighborhood. Hence, Japan needs higher numbers of medical doctors to meet patients’ needs and definitely women medical doctors are expected to work more to take care of patients.

Actually the number of women entering into medicine is increasing and now constitutes 20% of total number of medical doctors. But this value is still low among OECD countries (actually it is lowest) and thus, we need to set up an urgent strategy to improve working conditions for women to work as much as male counterparts and pursue their potentials as well.

Dr. Nomura conducted a surveys of alumnae from 14 medical schools and found that 98% of men worked in full-time positions, but only 70% of women worked in full time positions, and that men work longer hours per week compared to women. In her another survey with colleagues, they also found that many women quit working at the time of life events like marriage and child birth or rearing; the retirement rate from full-time labour was 44％ in 5 yrs and rose up to 85％ in 10 yrs. To make matters worse, once they switched from full-time to part-time positions, only one third of these people will return to full-time work.

As a consequence, women are underrepresented in medicine. We have 80 medical schools in Japan and each has one dean but there are only 2 women and women constitute only 2.6% of full professors in medicine in Japan, which is far behind of USA (19%) and UK (16%).

Dr. Nomura and her colleagues have recently published an article to the international scientific journal “Surgery” in February 2016 and this epidemiological study based on 8,000 surgeons who are members of the Japan Surgical Society demonstrated that married men earn more than unmarried women after adjusting for covariates including working hours; as the number of children increases, annual income increases only for men but decreases for women. 

In another study, she also demonstrated that the length of weekly domestic working hours is much longer for unmarried women than for married men and men do not work at home even if they have children (the average household working hours for men is only 3 hours per week).

These findings suggest that Japan’s stereotypical gender role, where men should work outside and women should be housewives still prevails even among highly qualified professionals like medical doctors.

One of the top scientific journal “Nature” recently published a special issue called “women in science”. This article states that Science remains institutionally sexist. Despite some progress, women scientists are still paid less, promoted less frequently, win fewer grants and are more likely to leave research than similarly qualified men.

Dr. Nomura has launched a women support center at her University in 2014 and provides various kinds of support to women researchers and physicians including

• to provide a nursery for children including sick children
• to provide social support like mentorship
• to provide various seminars and workshops on research skills
• to promote gender equality campaigns

With these efforts, Teikyo University has successfully increased the numbers and percentages of women faculty members. Dr. Nomura concluded by saying “in order to support women, environmental support at the workplace is not enough, but a combination of workplace support with educational intervention and career development works very well.”

Kyoko Nomura, Teikyo University, Profile

Education:

MD, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan, April 1987-March 1993

Master of Public Health: Quantitative Methods, Harvard School of Public Health, MA02115, USA, June 2001-June 2002

PhD: Dep. of Hygiene and Public Health, Teikyo University School of Medicine , April 1999-March 2003

Current position:

• Associate professor of Dep. of Hygiene and Public Health and Teikyo University School of Medicine, and Teikyo School of Public Health
• Director of Teikyo Support Center for women physicians and researchers

Kyoko Nomura, Teikyo University, publications

Kyoko Nomura, List of publications (partly in Japanese language)

Copyright 2016 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved

The current state of female doctors in Japanese Obstetrics and Gynecology

「日本の産科婦人科における女性医師の現状」

Kiyoko Kato

加藤聖子、教授。九州大学大学院医学研究院。生殖病態生理学

keynote given at the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on women’s development and leadership, Tokyo, Monday 16 May 2016

by: Kiyoko Kato, Professor
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Graduate School of Medical Sciences
Kyushu University

(Summary of Professor Kiyoko Kato’s keynote written by Gerhard Fasol)

Improving medical care in obstetrics and gynecology requires gender equality – higher numbers and higher retention of women medical doctors

• 18% of medical doctors in Japan in 2008 are female, 82% are male. Back in 1976 only about 10% of medical doctors were female
• Medical school: in 1976 about 13% of medical students were women, this ratio increased up to about 35% peaking around the year 2000, and subsequently decreases slowly to around 32% in 2008.

Thus the ratio of women medical doctors are slowly increasing in Japan.

The M-curve

About 90% medical doctors enter employment after graduation, remain employed at that level until about 35 years after graduation, when employment ratios slowly decrease due to retirement.

For women medical doctors, the employment ratio curve is M-shaped, with a minimum at about 76% employment approximately 11 years after graduation, at an age around 36 years, after this minimum many women medical doctors enter employment again, reaching similar employment ratio’s as men about 35 years after graduation.

62% of women medical doctors leaving their employment do this because of pregnancy, child birth or child care (80% in case of women younger than 45 years age).

Obstetrics and gynecology medical doctors older than 40 years are predominantly men, while doctors younger than 40 years are predominantly women

For medical doctors aged 40 years and over, obstetrics and gynecology specialists are predominantly men: women obstetricians and gynecology make up less than 10% of doctors at higher ages.

This ratio is reversed for obstetricians and gynecologists younger than 40 years of age: women outnumber male doctors, below 30 years age, women doctors outnumber men nearly by a factor of 2.

There is a clear trend: older medical doctors in the obstetrics and gynecology field are predominantly male, while below the age of 40 years, women dominate by an increasing ratio.

Kyushu University Hospital: Professor Kiyoko Kato is the one and only woman Full Professor of Medicine

Kyushu University has 135 female doctors, and 81.5% are on part-time contracts, only 18.5% have full time employment.

Ratio of women at different levels of the career pyramid:

• Part-time intern doctors: 36.3% are women
• Part-time doctors: 30.1% are women
• Full-time doctors: 8.6% are women
• Assistant Professors: 22 women vs 187 men (11.8% are women)
• Lecturers: 1 single woman vs 48 men (2%)
• Associate Professors: 1 single woman vs 31 men (3%)
• Full Professors: 1 single woman vs 24 men = Professor Kiyoko Kato (4%)

Only one single woman has achieved promotion into each of the higher ranks of Lecturer, Associate Professor and Full Professor, indicating that any women at all in these higher academic medical Professor ranks are rare exceptions rather than the rule (no mention here of still higher ranks, such as Hospital Directors, Deans, Heads of Department, or University President).

Professor Kiyoko Kato then explained her own career, where she spent time studying in the USA, gave birth to her first child in the USA, and then to her second child after returning to Japan. She had to cope with several challenges, e.g where one of the hospitals she worked was shut down. Finally Professor Kiyoko Kato was appointed Full Professor at Kyushu University Medical School.

Professor Kiyoko Kato proposes that three issues need to be solved:

• improve the work environment during pregnancy and child bearing
• re-integration assistance: re-education and support after leave of absence
• remove obstacles to career improvements

Improve the work environment during pregnancy and child bearing: the “Kyushu University Perinatal period cradle net project” 「周産期ゆりかごネットプロジェクト」

With support from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Kyushu University created the “Kyushu University Perinatal period cradle net project” (2013 – 2017). In Japanese 「周産期ゆりかごネットプロジェクト」, the website is here:
http://www.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp/yurikago/
and an overview of the project can be found here:
http://www.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp/yurikago/data.html

As the websites show, the “Kyushu University Perinatal period cradle net project” is carefully designed, structured and provides a depth of support for women medical doctors to give birth and pursue their career. Women doctors are given part-time positions in the out patient department after returning from leaves of absence.

So far seven women doctors have taken advantage of this program, and several have been assisted to return to full or part-time employment, two are still absent because of a second pregnancy. Part-time work in the outpatient department assisted them to return back to full time employment. Experiencing the hospital as a patient during birth also provided valuable experience.

Re-integration assistance: re-education and support after leave of absence. The Kyushu University Kirameki Project.

To support re-integration after absence, Kyushu University created the “Kirameki Project” (Kirameki = glitter, shine). The Kirameki Projekt is described on the website here:
https://www.kyudai-kirameki.com/

2007-2009 the Kirameki Project helped female medical workers, female doctors, dentists and nurses to re-integrate after leave of absence.

From 2010 the program (“Kyushu University Hospital Kirameki Project”) was expanded to support continuation of the career for doctors, dental doctors, nurses for both men and women, because of delivery, child care, or disease / medical leave.

The aims of the project are to promote women doctors, dentists, and nurses who would have to resign their positions due to family reasons including marriage, children, husband’s job transfer etc, and to help them pursue their career after marriage.

Activities of the Kirameki Project are:

• survey the problems of women doctors, dentists and nurses after marriage
• recruit qualified but “hibernating” female medical personnel
• learning programs
• promote “high spirits”, encourage
• on the job training in the out-patient department

Structured programs of the Kirameki Project:

• Administrative: refresher program
• Reestablishment: getting back to work program
• Suspension/leave: web based education
• Medical specialist: continuing specialist medical education
• Marriage, child-care: continuing education
• Residents, newcomer nurses: basic training
• Students: gender equality education

Remove obstacles to career improvements

Assist women researchers after child birth and during child rearing: support attending international conferences, support system for hiring research assistants and technicians for research support.

Construct a support system:

• Return support after child-care leave: day nursery, team medical care including emergency mutual help system, flexible working time, e.g. 9-5 work day
• Improvement of career: system of supporting female researchers during child bearing and child rearing, grants for female researchers to support technicians

Professor Kiyoko Kato’s wishes and expectations for female doctors

1. responsibility and awareness
2. gratitude to all who helped
3. contribution to medical progress

Notes

(Summary of Professor Kiyoko Kato’s keynote written by Gerhard Fasol)

Copyright (c) 2016 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved

Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership – workshop objective

Gerhard Fasol

keynote given at the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on women’s development and leadership, Tokyo, 16 May 2016

by Gerhard Fasol PhD
CEO, Eurotechnology Japan KK,
Board Director, GMO Cloud KK.
former faculty Cambridge University, and Trinity College, and Tokyo University

Objectives for the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s Development and Leadership

There are two immediate objectives for the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s Development and Leadership:

1. empower women leaders with global leverage
2. lets change mind sets

I am building the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum as global leadership platform honoring my great-grandfather, and the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s Development and Leadership is part if this initiative:

• drive innovation based on science and technology
• “there is no other forum for open discussions among leaders in Japan other than the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum” (said one of Japan’s top technology leaders, former Board Director of Japan’s largest Telecommunications Operator, former President of a large University, and former President of one of Japan’s most important technology organizations)

and as an additional bonus we will create new cooperations and new initiatives.

Japanese women leaders forum – my actions so far

Several confidential preparations with Japanese Ministry officials and foreign Embassies in Japan.

One key conclusion from preparations: top priority and most difficult is to change mindsets in Japan regarding empowering women and gender issues

At the 8th Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on 18 February 2016 at the Embassy of Austria in Tokyo, honored by the participation of Her Imperial Highness, Princess Takamado, and Nobel Prize Winner Shuji Nakamura, invited Professor Kyoko Nomura to give the keynote “Gender inequality in Japan: a case report of women doctors“.

Next step is today’s (16 May 2016) “Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership”.

How to change mindsets? Expand the solution space and add new dimensions!

The basic issues, empowering women and men to combine child care and professional development, work towards greater equality and improving decision making by implementing diversity of decision makers are similar all over the world, especially in Europe and Japan.

Learning solutions from each other, expands the dimensionality of the solution space.

Expanding the solution space: learning about The Federal Ministry for Families and Youth

When we are looking for solutions to solve difficult problems, our search for solutions is limited by our experience, knowledge and imagination. Our search for solutions is in space of limited dimensionality. In many cases solutions exist outside the space we are considering.

Therefore to reach better solutions, its necessary to expand this solution space. Looking how other countries solve similar problems is one straight forward way to expand the dimensionality of the solution space, and that is where the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum aims to contribute.

As an example, many people in Japan do not know that most European countries have a Family Ministry (家族省), which represents Families at the Cabinet level. In fact, most Japanese people I have been discussing this issue with are perplexed by the possibility of a Family Ministry (家族省), and usually in response ask, what the tasks of a Family Ministry would be.

If your country does not have a Family Ministry, if you have never heard about a Family Ministry, its difficult to come up with the proposal to create a Family Ministry, and its difficult to imagine what a Family Ministry should do.

At the same time, in today’s internet age, its in theory only a click away to have a look at a Family Ministry: here is the webpage of Austria’s Family Ministry: Das Österreichische “Bundesministerium für Familien und Jugend” (The Austrian Federal Ministry for families and youth, オーストリア連邦家族・青年省)

And here is the current Austrian Minister for Family and Youth, Dr. Sophie Karmasin. 49 years old, with two children, Dr Sophie Karmasin has achieved a Doctorate in Psychology on “consumer behavior in the health market”, from 1993 to 2013, for 13 years she has pursued a very successful career in industry, most recently as Managing Director/CEO of a major market research company, before becoming party independent Minister of Family and Youth. She is not affiliated with any political party, but independent politician since 2013.

Expanding the solution space: wouldn’t it be better to have at least one woman on a committee promoting women’s empowerment?

Compare Family and Youth Minister Dr Sophie Karmasin with the almost all-male “woman act.” committee promoting women’s equality in Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, wouldn’t it be better to have more women on the committee promoting women in leadership? But unless you are familiar on how this is done in other countries, your solution space is limited to what you know.

Why did today’s Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership happen? Because of Trinity College Cambridge

At a recent event of Trinity College Cambridge in Hong Kong, I met with Dame Carol Black, and our meeting led to today’s Forum.

Trinity College was founded By King Henry VIII in 1546 by combining the two older colleges King’s Hall and Michael House and seven Hostels. Sir Isaac Newton worked at Trinity College and about 32 Nobel Prize winners are or were members of Trinity College. Trinity College is part of the University of Cambridge

More about Trinity College Cambridge, for example on the website of our Trinity in Japan Society.

Why Ludwig Boltzmann Forum? Who is Ludwig Boltzmann?

Ludwig Boltzmann is one of the world’s most important physicists and we use his results and tools every day. Here are some examples of his work:

• How we measure temperature (Kelvin, Celsius) is directly linked to Boltzmann’s constant k, especially after the new definitions of the SI International System of measurement units
• S = k log W, linking macroscopic entropy to the microscopic statistics of molecules, and linking statistical mechanics with measuring information, and the arrow of time
• the Stefan-Boltzmann radiation law
• Boltzmann transport equations are used to design jet engines and aircraft and in semiconductor physics and many other areas
• philosophy of nature
• and much much more….

I am developing the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum a global leadership platform in honor of my great-grandfather.

Ludwig Boltzmann and women’s development and leadership

1872 Ludwig Boltzmann met Henriette von Aigentler (my great-grandmother), who was refused permission to unofficially audit lectures at Graz University, where Ludwig Boltzmann later became University President. Ludwig Boltzmann advised her to appeal, in 1874 Henriette passed the exam as high-school teacher, and on 17 July 1876, Ludwig Boltzmann and Henriette von Aigentler married.

One of Ludwig Boltzmann’s students is Lise Meitner (November 1878 – 27 October 1968). She was only the second woman to be awarded a PhD in Physics from the University of Vienna. Later she was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission, Otto Hahn was awarded the Nobel Prize for this work. Element No. 109, Meitnerium, is named after Lise Meitner.

Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership – outlook and next steps

• Lets build the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on women’s development and leadership together
  • Lets empower women leaders
  • Lets change mind sets
• Lets build the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum into a global leadership platform based on science and logic
  • lets expand the solution space for important problems, and work towards implementing these solutions

Notes

Summary written by Gerhard Fasol

Copyright (c) 2016 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved