ENYGO-ESGO Task Force: Embracing Gender Equality in Gynaecological Oncology

Equity - Diversity - Inclusion

As part of our ongoing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, ENYGO and ESGO are committed to erasing inequalities in our subspecialty that stem from gender biases. The ENYGO-ESGO Mentorship Programme is the inaugural project of this ENYGO-ESGO Task Force. It is a 24-month-long programme in which ENYGO members as mentees will match with distinguished ESGO members as mentors. The mentors will offer one-to-one support and counselling in the areas of interest for the mentees and during a specially tailored plan will guide their clinical and scientific development. The programme is expected to contribute to the improvement of mentees’ clinical and operative skills, realization of their own research ideas and publishing, and obtaining desired workplace positions after receiving career advice. This programme is designed especially for ENYGO members who do not have access to mentors at their home institutions. In the first stage, the programme will be open to female mentees only; and, subsequently, to all.

Testimonials

Prof Nicole Concin
Innsbruck Medical University
Austria

“As a woman, it took me several years and sacrifices before I could really say: yes, this is what I wanted to do, but now it is great! I hope that this important ESGO initiative will lead to an easier career path for the future generations of physicians, regardless of their gender. Through this project we aim to have an impactful role for an inclusive society where all of us have the same opportunities.”

Prof Anna Fagotti
Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS
Italy

"There is only one gynaecological oncologist and that is a gynaecological oncologist who is 100% committed to the patient and her disease. The gender of this gynaecological oncologist is simply irrelevant."

Prof Toon Van Gorp
University Hospital Leuven
Belgium

Mission

+ Embrace equality and enable equal opportunities for female and male surgeons, physicians, academics, and scientist

+ Reduce the pay gap between women and men in our subspecialty

+ Enable and support women and men in reaching a family AND career balance

+ Enable equal opportunities for women and men to reach leadership positions

+ Raise awareness about inadvertent wording and term definitions in communication and publication that may work against equal treatment

+ Design and enforce a Zero Tolerance Policy on sexual harassment

Ways to Achieve Our Mission

  • ENYGO-ESGO Mentorship Programme
    Building a mentorship network for rising female leaders
  • Publishing evidence and data related to gender imbalance in gynaecological oncology
  • Webinars on communication, female empowerment, time management and well-being
  • Facilitating attendance of young parents at ESGO and ENYGO educational activities
    - provision of daycare for children at annual ESGO congresses

ENYGO-ESGO Mentorship Programme

Goals

  1. Development of leadership skills, including academic roles
  2. Career advancement via individual career advice
  3. Improvement and development of work-life balance skills
  4. Learning new ways to expand international collaborations and maintain them

Definition

  • Global scope
  • Maximum 24 months per mentee
  • One mentor can coach 1­–2 mentees
  • Each mentee can have only 1 mentor
  • Mentees select and rate 3 mentors as their top preferences (assign a ranking from 1–3)
  • The task force matches the mentor and mentee pairs. Once matched, the mentor-mentee pair will preferentially meet in person at the ESGO annual congress to kick off their mentor-mentee relationship
  • Mentor-mentee pairs commit to ~1-hour one-to-one meetings every 4 months
  • All mentors and mentees are invited to a networking event at the ESGO annual congress
  • Webinars on communication, empowerment, time management, and well-being are planned and will be offered to the mentees every 3–4 months
  • The mentor and the mentee need to always maintain confidentiality
  • The mentor should be a positive role model supporting their mentee by giving academic and life advice, sharing experiences, and caring about their mentees' successes
  • Any costs linked to participation in the programme are the responsibility of the participants
  • The mentor and the mentee should provide regular feedback to the ESGO office on the success and operation of the programme
  • The mentees and mentors will receive ESGO certificates

 

How to apply

Criteria to become a mentee

  • Active ESGO or ENYGO member
  • Female
  • Still in training/ junior position or younger than 44 years of age
  • Active job position with focus in gynaecological oncology
  • Sufficient English language skills to be able to communicate
  • Access to a computer and high-speed internet

Application process

  • The call for application is now closed

Mentors-mentees matches were announced in January 2024

All confirmed mentees will be asked  for:

  • Submission of an anonymous survey before and after the programme
  • Commitment to the study on ENYGO-ESGO Mentorship Programe

The Mentorship programme 2024

The program kicked off during the March 2024 Barcelona Conference, during which time mentors and mentees met and obtained detailed written tips and goals on the roles of their respective roles and obligations following with the Mentorship webinar.

Mentees will focus on three to five realistic goals as agreed with their mentor. The mentees and mentors will together create an action plan, record their progress, keep a meeting agenda and use evidence-based tools and methods to improve outcomes based on mutual interests and the mentor’s capacity.

These tools and methods were addressed in the webinar titled “Mentoring for Success”.

Facilitated by a EDI professional, the webinar included specific advice for mentors and mentees on how to proceed through their journey with tips on goal setting, measuring their success, and activities/strategies that will help them reach their goals.

Watch the video and learn more!

 

ESGO 2024 Mentors and Mentees
The First Face to Face meeting between mentors and mentees during the congress in Barcelona 2024

Embracing Gender Equality in Gynaecological Oncology Task Force Members

“Mentoring is an indispensable requirement for the medical doctors’ growth. Our mentors will give you guidance, advice and support. They will empower you to see a possible future and believe it can be obtained.”

Tanja Nikolova, MD, PhD

Tanja Nikolova02

Tanja Nikolova, MD, PhD

Chair

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Heidelberg

Germany

Esra

Esra Bilir, MD, MSc

Co-Chair

Koc University School of Medicine

Koc University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Istanbul

Türkiye

“We take immense pleasure in announcing the inauguration of our latest initiative, ENYGO-ESGO Task Force: Embracing Gender Equality in Gynaecological Oncology. We invite all eligible colleagues to seize the opportunity and apply for our mentorship program, providing a chance to collaborate with distinguished mentors from the renowned ESGO community."

Esra Bilir, MD, MSc

ESGO Core Team
Nicole Concin

Prof. Nicole Concin

Innsbruck Medical University

Austria

Anna Fagotti (1)_Small

Prof. Anna Fagotti

Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli

IRCCS, Rome

Italy

Christina_Fotopoulou

Prof. Christina Fotopoulou

Imperial College London

UK

mansoor mirza

Prof. Mansoor Raza Mirza

Rigshospitalet Copenhagen

Denmark

Toon van Gorp-2

Prof. Toon Van Gorp

University Hospital Leuven

Belgium

ENYGO Core Team
Joana (1)

Joanna Kacperczyk-Bartnik, MD, PhD

Medical University of Warsaw

Poland

Nicolo

Nicolò Bizzarri, MD

Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli

IRCCS, Rome

Italy

Zoia

Zoia Razumova, MD, PhD

Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm

Sweden

Ola

Aleksandra Strojna, MD, PhD

Evangelische Kliniken Essen Mitte

Germany

Sara

Sara Nasser, MRCOG

Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin

Germany

Ilker

Ilker Kahramanoglu, MD

Private Clinic of Gynecologic Oncology, Istanbul

Türkiye

Tibor

Tibor Zwimpfer, MD

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne

Australia

Richard

Richárd Tóth, MD

Semmelweis University, Budapest

Hungary

Khayal

Khayal Gasimli, MD

W. Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main

Germany

This project was created on the basis of a survey

Poster presented at the ESGO 2022

ESGO and ENYGO leaders and members during the ENYGO-ESGO Embracing Gender Equality in GO Task Force Meeting at ESGO congress in 2022 in Berlin, Germany

1st_meeting_in Berlin

ESGO: Childcare Services

ESGO fully supports working parents, and is delighted to offer complimentary childcare to all ESGO registered delegates. This initiative was first introduced at the ESGO 2023 congress in Istanbul and will be continued in the upcoming annual congresses.

This means that you could fully enjoy the ESGO 2024 congress experience, knowing that your little ones are well looked after. We believe that providing this support fosters an inclusive environment for all delegates.

Experienced and certified childcare providers will look after your beloved child in a separate room located at the congress venue, and designed for children with toys, games, and other equipment, such as a changing table. Age-appropriate activities will be organised as well.

Children from 1-12 years of age are welcome, however, places are subject to availability and on a first-come, first-served basis.

How to register for childcare services?

Parents are encouraged to pre-book childcare places.

Please first select the option of free childcare services as you register for the congress, and then indicate the dates and desired hours of childcare services in the childcare registration form HERE

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