Social Media: Flattening Hierarchies for Women and Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC) to Enter the Room Where It Happens

Abstract

Social media platforms are widely used to connect people across multiple settings, including country of origin, profession, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, seniority, and training. Groups that have been marginalized or historically excluded from decision-making encounters may lack formal mentors/sponsors because of a lack of representation of women and Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC) in senior leadership positions. This can serve as a barrier to professional advancement at all stages of career development. Identifying and connecting with these potential mentors/sponsors outside of one's institutional space can be challenging. For this reason, leveraging social media to develop these professional relationships through flattened hierarchies can allow for professional networking beyond traditional mechanisms. Here we aim to describe how individuals can connect through social media to advance their careers and scientific and clinical expertise, advocate for communities, and provide high-quality communication to the public.

Keywords: Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC); flattened hierarchies; social media; women in healthcare.

Figure 1.

Five roles in which one may engage with social media. Each of these roles includes overlap in which the same individual may engage in multiple ways or use these over different stages of their career. The “learner” is a consumer of information and uses this for education. The “educator” is a poster and curator who disseminates work for the education of others. The “advocate” is someone who uses social media to disseminate material on behalf of specific groups, individuals, and policies. The “mentor” serves as a resource for others in providing advice and guidance to others. The “networker” brings people together and builds their brand through dissemination of content.

Figure 2.

Social media benefits and challenges for women and BIPOC. There are numerous benefits to using social media for women and BIPOC, including professional development, building community, and advocacy. Because of existing disparities, social media has the power to transcend barriers to allow methods of advancement outside of those traditionally limited settings. There are also exist notable challenges faced by these groups. These include discrimination, harassment, and backlash. BIPOC professionals are more likely to be harassed, targeted by bots, or lose followers for posts about racism and social justice. Women and BIPOC individuals are more likely to face scrutiny and institutional consequences for “professionalism” concerns as compared with their colleagues. Abbreviation: BIPOC, Black, Indigenous, People Of Color.