Current status and future strategies for mentoring women in neurology

The American Academy of Neurology's (AAN) 2017 Gender Disparity
Report identified improving mentorship as a key intervention to fill the
leadership and pay gaps for women in neurology. Here we summarize the
literature on mentoring women, provide an outline of ideal components of
programs geared toward closing gender gaps, and present a mentoring
program for AAN members. The strategies discussed share similarities with
those for closing gaps related to race, ethnicity and religion. Developing
effective mentorship and sponsorship programs is essential to ensure a
sufficiently diverse pool of academic faculty and private practitioners,
and to establish equal representation in leadership roles in this
field.