“When the quota was lifted, it took just three years for the proportion of female students to become roughly 50%,” said Associate Professor Sophia Archuleta, Assistant Dean of Equal Opportunities and Career Development.

But the number of women in academia and healthcare dwindles with seniority, in what is termed the “leaky pipeline” phenomenon. “Many of us reached a point in our careers where we increasingly sat in rooms where men outnumbered women,” said Assoc Prof Archuleta, who is also Senior Consultant in the Division of Infectious Diseases at National University Hospital. “There was some sort of attrition going on, and we wanted to figure out why.” That led to the formation of Women in Science & Healthcare (WISH), a voluntary group within the National University Health System (NUHS), in 2017.

Removing barriers

What the group found was a mix of social and cultural norms, systemic constraints and unconscious bias. “No one is trying to exclude women,” Assoc Prof Archuleta explained. “Men in senior positions often rely on their network (which is predominantly male) when reaching out to potential collaborators or talent, which may unintentionally influence who gets approached for opportunities. The system is also structured such that crucial stages of career progression may coincide with women’s very personal decisions about starting or caring for their families, amplifying the effects of taking time away.”

While unintentional, such instances can have far-reaching consequences. “Unless we address them deliberately, these biases will remain,” Assoc Prof Archuleta said. She and WISH members compiled their findings into a White Paper and presented it to Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean of NUS Medicine.

“Dean Chong was incredibly supportive,” she recalled. As a result of the meeting, NUS Medicine’s Office of Equal Opportunities and Career Development (EOCD) was officially established in 2019 to look at policies and best practices to promote equity for women faculty. Different from WISH (a voluntary group), EOCD is an official entity under the Office of Academic Affairs which is resourced accordingly.

It’s not just about women

Today, EOCD actively works with WISH to advance awareness of gender equity—holding cognitive bias training workshops and a quarterly Lunch and Learn series to share about diversity and inclusion. Noting the prevalence of “manels” (all-male line-ups at conferences and events), EOCD released diversity and inclusion guidelines for conference planning.

The positive impact of EOCD events and initiatives goes further. “Many of the issues we tackle—such as parental leave or caregiving—don’t just affect women,” Assoc Prof Archuleta said. “Research has also shown that diversity fosters greater innovation and better quality of care. This means the entire organisation stands to gain when we address these equity gaps.”

To that end—in addition to EOCD’s ongoing initiatives—cross-promotion and collaboration are underway with other divisions such as the Global Centre for Asian Women’s Health and the Centre for Healthy Longevity.

Assoc Prof Archuleta is also on the lookout for successors and allies. “Not because I’m ready to call it a day,” she said with a smile. “We are on the right track now. And if we can get more young blood from various specialties and healthcare professions, I hope we can continue creating a ripple effect of positive change that leaves things better than we found them.”