Women account for an increasing number of medical school graduates and healthcare leaders, yet gender harassment and pay gaps remain, a recent report found.
The Association of American Medical Colleges highlighted findings from "The State of Women in Academic Medicine 2023-2024" report in a July 11 article on its website.
The report used AAMC datasets, which are collected throughout the year, and data from surveys including the WIMS Benchmarking Survey, which 91 medical schools completed.
Here is what healthcare leaders should know:
1. Women make up more medical school graduates, faculty members and leaders than in the past.
Women accounted for 52% of medical school graduates in the 2022-23 school year, compared to 43% in 2000-01.
Women also comprised 45% of medical school faculty members in 2023, compared with 38% in 2013. One in 4 health system CEOs were women in 2023, the report found.
2. Pay gaps remain, but they are shrinking.
The median compensation for women faculty on the dollar compared with men differed based on degree and rank.
The largest gap in the study was seen among associate professors of clinical sciences who had MDs. These women earned 78 cents for every dollar earned by men in the same role.
The smallest gap was seen among associate professors with a basic science PhD; these women earned 99 cents on the dollar.
3. Nearly 1in 3 women report gender harassment in the medical school workplace.
Three in 10 heterosexual women said they experienced harassment in the past 12 months, while 44% of LGBTQ+ women said the same.