Prof. Dr. med. Dr. phil. Nikola Biller-Andorno directs the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland, which serves as WHO Collaborating Centre for Bioethics. She co-leads the PhD program Biomedical Ethics and Law and serves as Vice-President of the Clinical Ethics Committee of the University Hospital Zurich. She is also a member of the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and an expert advisor to the Swiss Medical Board, an HTA agency providing clinical and cost effectiveness analyses of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. From 2009 to 2011 she acted as President of the International Association of Bioethics.
She has been a Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow (2012-13), a Safra Network Fellow (2013-14) and a Visiting Professor of Biomedical Ethics (2012-14) at Harvard University. In 2016, she was elected Fellow of the Collegium Helveticum, an Institute of Advanced Study sponsored by the University of Zurich, the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and the Zurich University of the Arts. In 2018, she obtained an additional qualification in Health Business Administration (MHBA).
We talked with Prof. Biller-Andorno about female leadership in medicine with all its pros and cons.
Nikola Biller-Andorno
Photo: Frank Brüderli
You are coming to the Prague School of Bioethics to talk about women’s leadership in medicine. Are there still many prejudices about it? I mean, when women are often discouraged from leadership positions due to maternity or the demands of certain positions.
It is still harder for women than for men to take leadership positions in medicine, even though today there is much more openness and awareness for gender equality, non-discrimination and the benefits of diversity. The percentage of women at many medical faculties or in hospital C-suites speaks to that problem. The challenges are complex, they are a combination of existing stereotypes and biases (how women are perceived), social environments (women being the minority in leadership positions), and established norms (for instance about working hours). A lot of factors are coming together, and this is why the issue is so hard to address.
What can society do to encourage women to attempt highest position jobs? Probably, it is a long-term task.
Well, we have been working on these tasks for so long already, haven’t we? It’s about time we got this issue resolved. I think society and politics can contribute by providing education to all children that is inspiring and empowering. It would be a pity if women on their way to top positions had to compromise their own distinctive goals, values and priorities. We want female leadership not only because it's fair but because we hope women bring new perspectives. So it’s important that they dare to be different. Diversity is often perceived as disruptive, but it can actually promote excellence.
Is there a field of medicine that is the least friendly to women from this point of view?
It’s hardest to enter where it’s about a lot of status, prestige and money, and where structures are very hierarchical, with a very narrow set of behavioral norms and career paths.
You personally are a very successful lady not only as the Director of the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine and as the Vice-Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich. Can you share with us, what has been hardest on your way to a successful career?
I think the hardest is perseverance and staying true to yourself. When I started out as a student, everything still seemed easy to the point where I thought there were no gender-related obstacles and feminist concerns were a matter of the past. But once I got kids, things started changing. It was no longer a matter only of being smart and working hard. You have less time, can be less available for networking and other activities that make it easier to advance. In such difficult phases it is important not to lose out of sight what matters to you personally and to use your own individual measures of success.
How would you motivate women to try for leadership positions?
I would not want to impose the wish to take a leadership position on anybody. It is not always a lot of fun. But if women strive for a leadership position it is important to provide support in difficult phases, “when the going gets tough”. You can do so much more when you know you have people who support you.
And what would you say to all those doubters to finally give women their chance to prove their job qualities?
Just get out of the way :)
