Three female Indian neurosurgeons who currently or formerly worked at Brigham and Women's Hospital have filed discrimination complaints against the new chairman of the department, Dr. Arthur Day, a respected and nationally known neurosurgeon.
Dr. Sagun Tuli, a spine neurosurgeon at the hospital since 2000, filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination last month and a gender, color, and national origin discrimination lawsuit in federal court this month, asserting that Day asked her at a hospital dinner in 2004 if she would "get up on the table and dance for us to show the female residents how to behave?"
According to the lawsuit, Tuli, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, said that Day denied her promotions and continually made demeaning statements to her while she was operating, telling her during one surgery last May: "You are just a girl. Are you sure you can do that?"
Tuli said that Day retaliated against her for complaining to his superiors and supporting other female Indian neurosurgeons and gave her an extremely busy operating and on-call schedule, while paying her less than her male colleagues and not giving her adequate time to conduct research. She also alleged that Day damaged Tuli's reputation in the general neurosurgery community.
Day said in a statement yesterday that he was "deeply saddened to hear these falsehoods."
"I strongly believe that I honor the tenets of respecting all of my colleagues and trainees and that I do my best to support and promote each of them in their professional development and attainment of their personal goals," he said.
"As colleagues, we may not agree on all matters, but we do agree that providing the best care to our patients is our collective priority and the sole and guiding focus of our mission."
Specifically, Day denied the statements made against him, which he said are an attempt to damage his personal and professional reputation.
He added that he welcomes a thorough investigation. "Due to the fact that this is now in the legal system, I will not be able offer any further comment," Day said in his statement.
Two other Indian female neurosurgeons filed complaints with the MCAD, one in July, 2005, the second in April of this year.
In her 2007 complaint, Dr. Soni Deepa said that during the final year of her neurosurgery residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital, she was discriminated against in several ways, including being provided fewer hours than her male colleagues in the operating room in the critical area of cerebrovascular surgery and being denied time off to attend professional meetings.
She said that after she complained of discrimination to superiors, she received negative responses from potential employers after they called Day for references and that she was "black balled."
Another neurosurgeon, Dr. Malini Narayanan, complained in 2005 that Day, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Children's Hospital, where he directed the neurosurgery residency program that is affiliated with the Brigham, discriminated against her when she was in the final months of her residency.
In a statement, the Brigham said it has been "cooperating fully with the MCAD and will continue to do so."
"We believe a work environment must respect and support each of our employees, and we are proud of our steadfast commitment to this belief," the statement said.
"Due to the fact that the issue is before the MCAD, we will not be able to offer further comment."
Day, according to a Brigham online profile, was named director of the Cerebrovascular Center, director of the Division of Cerebrovascular Surgery within the Department of Neurosurgery, and associate chief of the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham in 2002. He was promoted to chairman of neurosurgery in July 2007.
The spokeswoman for the MCAD could not be reached for comment last night.
