Gender and Chiropractic
PERSPECTIVE
Leslie Hewitt
DC
Over 50% of chiropractic college graduates are women. It is time to rebrand chiropractic with a new culture and metrics. If 50% of the chiropractic demographic is comprised of women, it makes sense that a focus on that demographic is important for the future of the profession. The most used metric in chiropractic offices is how many patients a doctor sees per week. Although it may have been a good measurement of success in the past, it is not the best performance indicator anymore because it does not include new metrics women use today to “create a robust life that integrates work, family, and self,” as stated in a book titled, “The Orange Line: A Woman’s Guide to Integrating Career, Family, and Life.” The authors uncovered how “women trap themselves with outdated but pervasive ideals and rigid behavioral rules.” Women will opt out of chiropractic practice if we don’t turn our belief system(s) around to support them.
There are three categories where women can, without a doubt, have tremendous power and influence in chiropractic:
1) Speaking: In the hallways of all chiropractic conferences, women are whispering, “We need more women speakers!” Meanwhile, the creators of conferences are asking, “Where are the women speakers?” Women are not boldly stepping onto chiropractic stages because the current teachings are outdated paradigms poised as gospels. In other words, women want to share their personal and very busy lifestyle paradigms, which include raising kids, sharing office space in multidisciplinary practices, working part time, community collaboration, patient dialogue that includes content-rich topics, expressing the chiropractic lifestyle in categories of fitness, nutrition, hormones, home births, baby and child ergonomics, etc. The truth is that
‘ ‘ Women will opt out of chiropractic practice if we don’t turn our belief system(s) around to support them. J J
most women are already speakers within then communities while building then practices solely from speaking as opposed to using the “spinal screening” model.
2) Leadership: The assumption is “women will excel at nurturing competencies such as developing others, inspiring and motivating others, relationship building, collaboration, and teamwork,” according to Businesslnsider.com. However, the competencies with the largest positive differences for women are taking initiative, displaying integrity, and driving for results. These are not nurturing competencies. These competencies highlight that women are seen as more effective in getting things done, being role models, and delivering results.
3) Political Action: Chiropractic state associations are the perfect place for women to step up politically to take the chiropractic profession to our legislators. “Ninety years after the 19th Amendment guaranteed women’s participation in American politics, women are still greatly underrepresented—even though new research shows they may be more effective than their male counterparts.” Eighty-five percent of all consumer purchases in the United States are made by women. In other words, women have buying power, and politicians are reelected based on that power. As the old saying goes, “follow the money.”
Now is the time to rebrand and redesign the chiropractic culture to include women doctors. This includes new metrics, new practice models, new language, speakers who share the blended family-work regime, leadership that gets things done, and women as state association representatives. Recall that over 50% of our grads are women, so this new chiropractic demographic has emerged, and like it or not, is now the cultural authority.
References:
1. The Orange Line—A Woman’s Guide to Integrating Career, Family, and Life by Jodi Ecker Deiten and Michelle A. Waters,
2. Think and Grow Rich for Women by Sharon Lechter (Authorized by the Napoleon Hill Foundation),
3. Businesslnsider.com,
4. BigThink.com
Dr. Leslie Hewitt, D.C. is the President of the California Chiropractic Association (CalChiro. org). She sees patients in her Danville, California practice atAnatomyPower.com. She is the CEO and Founder of TheWow Talks.com, a women of wellness network. Her life's work is to remindpeople to make
informed decisions, and to position the chiropractic profession with legislators as a conservative non-drug approach to wellness. She is the Author of the children's book, "Little Miss Sarah Tonin " and coming soon "Little Miss Sarah Bellum". She is a Keynote Speaker at women's conferences to remind women they are #1 consumers and decision makers in healthcare. In her spare time, Dr. Hewitt is a Master Trainer for the United States Water Fitness Association and teaches aerobics, loves nature, and hiking. She can be reached directly at [email protected].
