Leadership Message: Celebrating Women in Medicine and Health Sciences

Dear Colleagues,

Happy New Year! As we begin 2026, the UC Davis Women in Medicine and Health Sciences (WIMHS) program is honored to highlight two occasions that celebrate the contributions of women across medicine, nursing, research, and health sciences:

• National Women Physicians Day — Feb. 3
  A day to commemorate Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell’s legacy as the first woman in the U.S. to receive a medical degree and to honor women physicians whose leadership, clinical excellence, and mentorship enrich our academic health system every day.
• International Day of Women and Girls in Science — Feb. 11
  A global observance to affirm the vital role women and girls play in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

In celebration, WIMHS will host a virtual presentation from Dr. Rebecca Hellmann on “Being a Girl's Girl: How Women Can Uplift Other Women.”  Please register here.

Over the past 25 years, WIMHS has been proud to help build community, foster professional development, and advance opportunities for women faculty. In 2000, women constituted less than 20% of the School of Medicine faculty. This proportion has grown steadily, and women now outnumber men among our overall faculty — a milestone worth celebrating. Additionally, as of fall 2025, UC Davis has over 400 women faculty full professors in the School of Medicine and Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.

We have also seen meaningful progress in leadership representation, increasing from one woman department chair to seven over the past quarter-century. The leadership gap between men and women is narrowing, but the barriers women face in advancing to the highest levels of medicine and science remain real.

As the current political and legal landscape has created new uncertainties for everyone in medicine and health sciences, WIMHS continues to be essential — not just as a support system, but as an advocate and catalyst for change.

To that end, we invite all faculty to join us in two ways:

• Share your expertise in a session at the Sept. 10 WIMHS Faculty Retreat. We are looking for speakers on topics related to career development. Please apply here by Feb. 10.
  
  
• Join a WIMHS committee. We are launching three committees in 2026 with membership open to all faculty in the schools of medicine and nursing. We hope that you will consider joining the Retreat Program Committee, Mentorship Committee, or Research and Scholarship Committee when applications open soon!

Thank you for all you do to support our missions and to champion gender equity across UC Davis Health. We are deeply grateful for the faculty who participate in WIMHS events, share their expertise, and help advance our mission.

Warm regards,

Bryn Mumma, M.D., M.A.S.
Professor of Emergency Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine
Director, UC Davis Women in Medicine and Health Sciences Program 

Cat Cansino, M.D., M.P.H.
Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UC Davis School of Medicine
Associate Director, UC Davis Women in Medicine and Health Sciences Program