On March 8, we celebrated International Women’s Day. It’s a day I take to heart, especially in my industry. Women play a tremendous role in health care. In fact, statistics show Massachusetts leads the country with the highest percentage of active women physicians. This will continue to grow, as according to a report from the American Medical Association (AMA), more than 53.5% of MD applicants in 2019-2020 came from woman.
Obstetrics in particular, has seen a significant rise in the number of women. My father was an obstetrician, as many of you know, and I remember a time when there were almost no women in that specialty. Today, almost 80% of ob/gyns in the US are women.
These are just a couple, albeit powerful, examples. Here at Copley, a large percentage of the staff are women. COVID has not been easy on any of us. But it is women who took on the brunt of it. They are the caregivers here at Copley, but they are most often the caregivers at home, too. They carry the emotional workload for everyone. For many, that burden got to be overwhelming at times. These have not been easy times, but they would have been much harder without their commitment to making the best of everything.
If there’s a clear takeaway, it is we should do more to support the women in our lives. That’s something that we can do every day, at work and at home, and not just once a year.
Author Margaret Cousins said it best:
“Appreciation can change a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into all into words is all that is necessary.”
So thank you to all women, especially those who are so dedicated and committed to caring for our Copley residents. We literally could not do what we do without you!
Steve Tyer