Based on the current atmosphere for women in medicine and science, an editorial published in The Journal of the American Medical Association posits is not surprising women are less likely to succeed than men in academic medicine.
Authors Carrie Byington, MD, and Vivian Lee, MD, PhD, highlight other studies in JAMA that show women are 16.7 percentage points less likely than men to be full professors at academic medical centers, women have 13.2 fewer mean publications than men and women engaged in basic science earn start-up packages that are 67 percent less than those of men with similar degrees from similar institutions.
In the editorial, Drs. Byington and Lee suggest the following four strategies to improve gender disparities in academic medicine.
1. Reduce unconscious bias. Those in charge — principal investigators, division chiefs, chairs and deans — must strive to recognize and eliminate unconscious bias in making hiring and resource distribution decisions. This requires acknowledging the issue and implementing education and training programs.
2. Promote transparency. Drs. Byington and Lee write that transparency in the hiring process, such as establishing reasonable parameters of negotiation, can help women negotiate better and help hiring managers understand the candidates' requests are normative.
3. Revisit promotion and tenure policies. More diverse faculty members can advance if activities outside of basic science research are recognized, such as clinical scholarship, education, translational and team-based science, and technology commercialization, according to Drs. Byington and Lee.
4. Create flexible life-balance. Policies such as paid parental leave and temporary part-time work on the tenure track can help women who are supporting families stay in academic medicine.
5. Foster a culture of mentorship. While mentorship is often organic, Drs. Byington and Lee highlight a formal holistic mentoring program used at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City that increased inclusion and retention of women.
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