Working Groups
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Join a WIMS Working Group
ALL are welcome to join one or more working groups
Select a group below to learn more.
Diversity & Equity
WIMS Diversity & Equity
Our mission is to promote diversity and inclusion for minority women and especially for women of underrepresented minorities. Our goal is
- Respect the dignity of all members of our community and aspire to ensure that all feel supported.
- To work with the leadership to promote cultural competence throughout different departments and divisions;
- Create an environment that embraces and values our differences
Activities
The WIMS Diversity & Equity group meets every two months. If you are interested in joining, please email Lindsey Bruce at lbruce@som.umaryland.edu to be added to the group's mailing list.
Calendar
January 27
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
February 5
Dr. Martin Luther King Junior and Black History Month Celebration
February 20
World Day of Social Justice
February 21
International Mother Language Day
March 8
International Women Day
March 20
International Day of Happiness
March 21
World Down Syndrome Day
March 24
International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims
Past Events:
UMB Diversity and Advocacy Council: Diversity Speaker Series
UMSOM Annual "Celebrating Diversity" Dinner
Videos
Inclusion Starts With I
#InclusionStartsWithI is a discussion around the importance of a positive, inclusive work environment. Starring a group of Accenture people, this video demonstrates that bias can appear in both expected and unexpected ways—and that each of us has the power to make a difference.
How Diversity Makes Teams More Innovative (ted.com)
Are diverse companies really more innovative? Rocío Lorenzo and her team surveyed 171 companies to find out -- and the answer was a clear yes. In a talk that will help you build a better, more robust company, Lorenzo dives into the data and explains how your company can start producing fresher, more creative ideas by treating diversity as a competitive advantage.
Resources
Campus Resources:
UMB Diversity and Advocacy Council (DAC)
Provides recommendations to the president that promote the University’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
UMB Speaker Series: Diversity and Advocacy Council
DAC invites speakers to UMB to talk about using diversity, and related topics.
Latinos Unidos @ UMB
Contact José Bahamonde-González
UMSOM Diversity and Inclusion
Serves as advisory to the Dean, and charged with the responsibility of providing feedback and guidance to support new and existing UMSOM initiatives.
UMBrella
UMB Roundtable on Empowerment in Leadership and Leveraging Aspirations.
UMB Interprofessional Student Learning & Service Initiatives: Diversity & Inclusion
Provide a unique setting for broad social, cultural, recreational, and educational programming for the UMB community and its surroundings.
Contact Us
Mentorship
Mentoring and Career Stage Working Group
Working Group members:
Shannon Takala-Harrison, PhD and Rose M. Viscardi, MD (co-chairs); Jennifer S. Albrecht, PhD, Mary A. Johnson, PhD, Kristi D. Silver, MD, Graziela Z. Kallil, PharmD, Linda B. Horn, PT, DScPT, MHS, E. Ana Lia Graciano, MD, Anayansi Lasso-Pirot, MD, Erin L. Giudice, MD, Lydia S.Y. Tang, MB,BCh, Joni M. Prasad, PhD, Sarah Anne Mcavoy, MD, and Deborah M. Brooks, MD.
Mission:
To provide women faculty with the support, skills development, and resources necessary to achieve their academic and leadership goals and progress to their next career stage.
Activities:
The WIMS Mentoring & Career Stage group meets monthly. If you are interested in joining, please email Rose M. Viscardi, MD at rviscard@som.umaryland.edu or Shannon Takala-Harrison, PhD at STakala@som.umaryland.edu to be added to the group's mailing list.
Background:
While increasing numbers of women are entering academic medicine, the number of women in senior faculty ranks and leadership positions is disproportionately low. This pattern is likely the result of multiple barriers facing women faculty, including stereotyping, implicit bias, disparity in compensation and resources, and a larger burden of family responsibilities (Carr et al., 2018). A lack of access to mentorship and sponsorship is also a critical barrier to career advancement for women in academic medicine.
WIMS Mentoring and Career Stage Working Group Initiatives:
- Provide online resources for mentors and mentees on the WIMS website
- Mentoring toolkit
- Links to training seminars/workshop offered on campus
- Provide short-term training experiences focused on mentoring to develop specific skills required for success in academic medicine
- Quarterly lunch seminar series geared toward women faculty
- Mentoring opportunities
- Speed mentoring
- Meet the Professor Mentoring
- Facilitated Peer Group Mentoring
- Coaching groups on specific topics: form small groups that meet for finite number of weeks to work on specific skill such as negotiations, grant-writing, etc., using similar format to writing accountability group (WAG).
- Provide recommendations to institutional leadership to aid the development and implementation of formal mentorship and sponsorship programs.
Mentor Resources
Common Expectations for Mentors
Evaluating and Giving Feedback to Mentors: New Evidence-Based Approaches
Initial Mentoring Conversation: Preparing the Relationship
Mentoring Best Practices - Communication
Supporting the Research Process
Mentee Resources
Common Expectations for Mentees
Individual Career Development Plan
Making the Most of Mentors: A Guide for Mentees
Making the Transition From Mentee to Mentor
UMB ICTR Faculty Individual Development Plan
Suggested Reading
Gender Differences in Academic Medicine
Having the Right Chemistry: A Qualitative Study of Mentoring in Academic Medicine
Measuring the Effectiveness of Faculty Mentoring Relationships
Mentoring in Academic Medicine
Mentoring Toolbox Suggested Reading
Sponsorship: A Path to the Academic Medicine C-suite for Women Faculty?
Sponsorship: A Path to the Academic Medicine C-suite for Women Faculty?
Wellness & Work Life Balance
Wellness & Work Life Balance
Our mission is to promote the health and wellness for all women faculty. Our goals are:
- Promote tools and content that help women faculty to balance multiple priorities
- To facilitate women faculty to engage with wellness activities
- To work with our partners in the Medical Center and on Campus to encourage and support mental and physical health as priorities
Working Group resources
Lactation Map UMB Campus
Lactation Map Midtown
Are you a single woman who is interested in fertility options that are not covered under your insurance. If you’d like to self-advocate, we’ve drafted a sample letter to your State representative for you to use. For your State Representative, go to the website for Maryland Government General Assembly and click on the right hand “Who represents me?” icon.
Campus resources
UMMC Resident and Fellow Wellness
UMMC Health & Wellness Programs
UMMC Employee Assistance Program