Short report

Making the 2007-2010 Action Plan work for women in family medicine in the Asia Pacific

Jan Coles¹ , Amanda Barnard² , Amanda Howe³ , Jo Wainer⁴ , Zorayda Leopando⁵ and Sarah Strasser⁶

¹  Department of General Practice, Monash University, Australia

²  School of General Practice, Rural and Indigenous Health, Head, Rural Clinical School, Australian National University, Australia

³  School of Medicine Health Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, UK

⁴  Gender and Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Australia

⁵  Department of Planning and Development/Family and Community Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines

⁶  Faculty Affairs Unit, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Canada

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Asia Pacific Family Medicine 2010, 9:1doi:10.1186/1447-056X-9-1

Published:	7 January 2010

Abstract

The Wonca Working Party for Women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM) was organized in 2001 with the following objectives: to identify the key issues for women doctors; to review Wonca policies and procedures for equity and transparency; to provide opportunities to network at meetings and through the group's listserve and website; and to promote women doctors' participation in Wonca initiatives.

In October 2008, at the Asia Pacific Regional conference, the Wonca Working Party on Women in Family Medicine (WWPWFM) held a preconference day and conference workshops, building on the success and commitment to initiatives which enhance women's participation in Wonca developed in Ontario, Canada (2006) and at the Singapore World Congress (2007). At this meeting fifty women workshopped issues for women in Family Medicine in the Asia Pacific. Using the Action Plan formulated in Singapore (2007) the participants identified key regional issues and worked towards a solution.

Key issues identified were professional issues, training in family medicine and women's health. Solutions were to extend the understanding of women's contributions to family medicine, improved career pathways for women in family medicine and improving women's participation in practices, family medicine organizations and academic meetings.