This month, we celebrate remarkable women in our community who have dedicated their lives and careers to healthcare and medicine. These women continue to make a difference through their compassion, hard work and dedication.
Dr Shiksha Gallow is a global pioneer in the medical cannabis industry. Her work is dedicated to transforming global healing with her holistic practices.
Q: How would you describe your experience as a woman in healthcare?
A: It has been a rewarding one, I have learnt so much about patient care, quality of life and disease prevention and treatment with natural plant-based medicines such as medical cannabis. Since I qualified as a cannabis clinician in the US, I learnt how the body is able to heal itself, by providing the correct medicines and nutrition to the body and mind. When patients can finally be pain free, be happy, have less anxiety and have an improved quality of life, it is a rewarding experience
Q: What challenges women in your field have to face? How have you overcome these challenges?
A: Advocating for transparency and equal pay for equal work is an ongoing effort. Efforts to promote more women into senior leadership roles in healthcare continue, with a focus on creating pathways for advancement and removing barriers. There’s a growing recognition of the need to foster a more inclusive and supportive workplace culture that addresses issues like harassment, discrimination, and work-life balance. Despite their numbers, women are underrepresented in leadership roles within healthcare organisations, such as in executive positions or on boards.
Q: In what way have you used your position in society to help others?
A: I have created my own training material to educate doctors on medical cannabis and its benefits. I completed the first medical cannabis clinical trial in SA, which investigated the replacement of opioids with medical cannabis for chronic pain. I have healed many patients from cancer and auto-immune diseases.
Q: What is your message to women this Women’s Month?
A: Remember, life will bring you challenges, but remain bold and passionate about reaching your dreams, and you will overcome many obstacles. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts” — Winston Churchill.
Dr Yentl Gamiet is a well-respected paediatric surgeon who has used her role in healthcare to advocate for various issues in her community.
Q: How would you describe your experience as a woman in medicine?
A: I have had the privilege of experiencing many contexts, and it’s not all the same. It’s been amazing to see how skills that are seen as traditionally feminine, such as empathy, communication and creating a healthy workspace culture, are having their moment.
Q: What challenges do women in your field have to face, how have you overcome these challenges?
A: Difficulties I have witnessed have been finding a good work-life balance as a primary caregiver and/or breadwinner and leaving space for support and humanity in a productivity-driven culture. These challenges are difficult to change in systems, but we all have huge capacity to be joyful and solutions driven. This is the strength of the women I see reflected around me.
Q: In what way have you used your position in society to help others?
A: I am relatively new in the specialist space in private sector in East London, which in terms of numbers has a strong male presence, but there are allies everywhere and support abounds. I hope I use my platform all the time as the need is great.
Q: What is your message to women this Women’s Month?
A: My message would be, thank you for showing up! And let’s keep doing it!
Dr Nontembeko Somlota is a compassionate and enthusiastic specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist, based in East London. She works closely with women and provides expert advice for women on various women’s health issues.
Q: How would you describe your experience as a woman in medicine?
A: I feel empowered to break into a male-dominated industry. I have not been treated any better or any worse in the industry because of my gender, which is a good sign that times are changing?
Q: What challenges do women in your field have to face, how have you overcome these challenges?
A: Luckily, in my industry, some women would prefer to be consulted and examined by another female. I always say, each person has their own preferences. There have been instances where I have been made to feel inadequate, but this does not deter me from offering comprehensive healthcare to my patients, if anything it only motivates me more.
Q: Why is it so important for you to focus wholeheartedly on women’s health?
A: What I am doing now has always been my dream. Sure, I have had setbacks but nothing and no-one was ever going to stand in my way. Women’s health is so complex and diverse, no two patients are alike. I thrive on offering solutions to patients who have not found answers on their journey. This keeps me motivated.
Q: What is your message to women this Women’s Month?
A: “Women will be hidden no more. We will not remain hidden figures. We have names. It was woman that gave you Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. It was woman that gave you Malcolm X. And according to the Bible, it was a woman that gave you Jesus. Don’t you ever forget it” — singer Janelle Monáe.
