ÌÇÐÄvlog

[Skip to Navigation]
Sign In
On the Brain
October 5, 2020

Toward a Smoother Rocky Road

Author Affiliations
  • 1National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Maryland
JAMA Neurol. 2020;77(12):1481. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.3622

To be sure, the road I took to establishing my career in academic biology and medicine was easier to traverse and surer to lead to success than the roads taken by my predecessors. Over the last several generations, women have gone from not being allowed to pursue an education at all to being permitted to pursue knowledge privately but not to have a career; then from being able to pursue a career but not in all fields to finally gaining access to the fields of science and medicine. And still, women do not enjoy equity with men in these fields. My generation includes many women who were driven away from science and medicine in anger and frustration, carrying posttraumatic stress and loneliness with them. I fervently hope that my sons, 2 of whom are pursuing careers in biomedical research, will fight to prevent this from happening to another generation of women in science and medicine.

Add or change institution
1 Comment for this article
No mention of minority women
Jayashri Srinivasan, MD |
I enjoyed reading this opinion piece. I totally understand that this is about the author's personal experience. It is impressive how much she has achieved despite consistent roadblocks in her career path. I only wish she had mentioned, even in passing, the discrimination faced by Black and other minority women in medicine.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None Reported
×