Emerging Women Leaders

The Estelle Wolfson Emerging Women Leaders Course 

Course Background

Women are predicted to become the majority of the medical profession in the next few years; however, they remain under-represented in senior leadership positions.  

The Department of Health and Social Care’s independent review into the Gender Pay Gap in medicine, led by the course co-director, Professor Dame Jane Dacre, has shown that there is a 16.8% pay gap for doctors. Thankfully, that is coming down, but still has a way to go. Contributors to this gap include the fact that there are fewer women in leadership positions in medicine. 
UCL Medical School (UCLMS) has a history of supporting women in medicine.

UCLMS has produced some truly excellent female alumnae, for example, the late  Dame Clare Marx,  who was the first woman President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and first female Chair of the GMC; Professor Jenny Higham, the first woman Chair of the Medical Schools Council, Professor Dame Lesley Regan, the first Women’s Health Ambassador for England, Professor Wendy Reid, the first Medical Director of Health Education England, Professor Dame Clare Gerada, who has been both Chair and President of the Royal College of GPs, in addition to  Professor Dame Jane Dacre, former Director of UCLMS and former President of the Royal College of Physicians, who is our course co-director.

Developing and delivering this programme at UCLMS and working with these successful women in medicine allows a new generation of doctors to benefit from the expertise and insights gained by these extraordinary women in their careers. They have all given their time to the course.

Programme Outline

The course outline is as follows:

1. Participants will attend Development Days on Microsoft Teams to take part in the following: Exploration of personal leadership characteristics and style; Hear from inspirational speakers; Engage in peer mentoring. 
2. They will be matched with a senior woman as a mentor, from amongst a pool of UCLMS alumnae and associates, who will provide six months of mentorship.  
3. They will be taught how to participate in action learning sets, where they will be encouraged to develop and share solutions to real life challenges.
4. They will be encouraged to network within the group and given opportunities to develop networks externally.
5. They will be encouraged and supported to attend meetings and events to observe leadership in action at appropriate meetings, tailored to their interests
6. They will be required to participate in online learning as part of the course and to share their views and experiences with others.