8 plaintiffs in a sex, age and race discrimination case against Mount Sinai stand with City Officials to honor Women in Medicine month, bring to light larger systemic issues of sexual harassment across the city, and support a new bill for NYC Gender Equity Advisory Board.
WHAT: Press Conference
DATE: Wednesday, September 30, 2020
TIME: 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
WHERE: Corner of Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street
SPEAKERS:
Jumaane D. Williams, NYC Public Advocate
Helen Rosenthal, NYC Council Member, Chair, Committee on Women & Gender Equity
Michelle Booker, Deputy District Director (Office of Rep. Adriano Espaillat)
Marina Ortiz, East Harlem Preservation and the Committee to Empower Voices for Healing & Equity
Anu Anandaraja MD, Plaintiff in Atkinson et al vs. Mount Sinai
September is national Women in Medicine month, and the theme for 2020 is “Advancing Equity, Creating Change.” On Sept 30th, healthcare workers and city officials come together to expose the pervasive sexual harassment of and discrimination against women in the healthcare workforce, and announce the introduction of a bill for the formation of a Gender Equity Advisory Board to advise the Mayor and City Council on actions to ensure safe and equitable healthcare workplaces for all genders.
In April 2019, eight current and former employees of Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) filed a federal lawsuit against MSHS and four of its male employees for sex, age and race discrimination. Since filing the lawsuit, the plaintiffs have been contacted by scores of women from across Mount Sinai and other NYC healthcare institutions reporting similar experiences of gender-based mistreatment and abuse in their workplaces.
Female healthcare workers make up close to 80% of the healthcare workforce, yet hold less than 20% of executive leadership positions in major healthcare institutions. National studies show that 70% of female physicians experience sexual harassment during career, and up to 50% of medical students report sexual harassment. The impact of lack of PPE and poor working conditions during the COVID pandemic also disproportionately impacts women healthcare workers – data collected early in the pandemic showed that more than 70% of COVID cases in healthcare workers were in women.
Now, healthcare workers and city officials are standing together to catalyze change. After hearing of the struggles of the plaintiffs in the case against Mount Sinai, Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Chair of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity, introduced legislation to establish the Gender Equity Advisory Board for New York City’s hospitals. The bill will bring healthcare professionals and students from diverse disciplines and across the city together, to shine an ongoing spotlight on gender discrimination and overall working conditions for women on the healthcare front lines.
Further Contact Info:
Contact [email protected] for information or press
inquiries, or call (917) 318 9834.
Find out more about our case on their website
Follow us on twitter at @EquityNowSinai
Interviews with speakers may be arranged upon request.
Additional Info:
CM Rosenthal Introduces Legislation to Address Systemic Sexual Harassment & Gender Discrimination in NYC’s Hospitals
National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine – 2018 Report on Sexual Harassment summary