“It’s a boy’s club. If the only examples of success are men, it becomes harder for women to envision themselves in those positions.” These were the words of Miyuki Sone (National Cancer Center, Tokyo, Japan)—head of interventional radiology (IR) and consultant radiologist—during her honorary lecture at the Global Embolization Oncology Symposium Technologies (GEST) annual conference (16–19 May, New York, USA).
Sone’s talk covered a plethora of issues faced by women in IR, including visibility and social and cultural barriers. Speaking to Interventional News following her lecture, Sone first and foremostly emphasised empathy in the IR suite.
“Women are more capable of empathy than men,” Sone explained, describing the 2023 report published in Nature which found women to be superior to men in displaying empathy and compassion, but found men and women equal when expressing theory of mind— the inference of others’ emotional status. “If you include women in your IR team, you can build an empathetic environment which is translated to the patients,” Sone said. “This nurturing environment is crucial for the development and retention of talent, particularly in women who may face unique challenges in their career.”
Recruiting women to the team however remains Sone’s initial challenge. In her talk, she shared data from a 2019 survey carried out by the Japanese Society of Interventional Radiology (JSIR) which compared membership, leadership, and mentorship with that of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE). Of the 304 women who were members of JSIR, 63 responded—79% of whom did not hold a leadership position and 55% reported having a mentor, of which 88% stated that their mentor was male.
These numbers have remained low, Sone reporting that in 2023, only 40% of Japan’s new medical students were women, and further, only 13% of those with JSIR membership were women. “When women see other women thriving in IR, they can envision themselves in those roles,” she said. “We need to promote a self-reinforcing cycle where more women are encouraged to join and excel in the field.”
However, women who have gone into IR in Japan report high job satisfaction, Sone stated, having conducted another survey to measure this regardless of gender. Receiving 901 responses from a total of 2,824 recipients, 56% reported high job satisfaction, which was positively associated with a higher number of IR procedures and negatively associated with salary, overtime and the absence of an “IkuBoss”—a person who manages the working environment and supports work-life balance.
“My young colleagues have a different mind as they are of another generation,” Sone explained. “They care more about their family and believe that if they are not happy, the patient can’t be happy. It’s my belief that happiness should come from both work and private life, so I always tell my colleagues: ‘your life and your family are your first priority—if you want to go early to take care of your children or go out and enjoy a concert, just manage your time and we can manage the team together.”
To her point on time management, Sone then used the 2017 paper titled ‘Women’s challenges in IR: #ILookLikeAnIR’ as an example of the positive retentive outcomes that occur when work-life balance is prioritised. The paper discussed the six-strong team of women interventional radiologists at Memorial Sloan Ketting Cancer Center in New York, USA, who organise their team according to preferred working hours. Their team channels add-on inpatient cases to prespecified rooms, ensuring that colleagues who require a scheduled finish are able to leave on time, enhancing the quality of life of their male and female colleagues.
Through her honorary lecture, Sone highlighted the crucial “drivers of change” that will be led by “individuals, allies, sponsors, institutions and through organisation structures”.
“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to speak at GEST particularly on the topic of women in IR. The conference organisers were early adopters in terms of diversity and inclusion. It was excellent to connect with people around the world and talk about strategies to increase the number of women in our field.”
