Just 20 percent of full-time faculty members in U.S. academic medicine are women, according to a study published in the Journal of Women's Health. While there has been some progress for females in academic medicine, results of the study indicate a lot still needs to change.
The qualitative study was conducted in conjunction with a longitudinal study of 24 randomly selected medical schools. Researchers interviewed 44 individuals from 23 of the schools to determine the gender dynamics within the institutions.
Here are five themes that emerged from the interviews.
1. The perception of the overall gender climate varies greatly between schools. Researchers found a variety of gender climates across the different medical schools, ranging from the "old-boys club" to "a culture and an environment where women are very frequently hired and brought in at senior positions."
2. There is a lack of females in tenured positions. While many respondents noted increasing numbers of women in leadership roles, often women are in the non-tenured clinical tracks instead of the tenured research tracks, which are seen as more prestigious, according to the study. Many respondents felt having more women in leadership positions would help improve gender parity in academic medicine.
3. Retention of women in academic medicine is low. Respondents noted a "leaky pipeline" for women at academic institutions, meaning they often leave at the level of assistant professor rather than stay until they move up to higher levels of professorship.
4. Compensation is not equal between genders. Respondents noted secrecy surrounding compensation, but the general feeling that women are underpaid. Some respondents felt the disparity in compensation was only limited to certain departments while others believed the issue stemmed from salary at the time of hiring.
5. Women still carry the burden of family responsibilities and work-life balance strains career progression. The idea that women are primarily responsible for bringing up their children persists in academic medicine. "When women have family issues or are being determined to make sure they get to their kids' soccer games and leave their clinics a little earlier as a result, you know department chairs may say, 'Well, you know, I can get a little bit more work out of a guy who's going to stay a little longer,'" one respondent said.
Though data was collected from a small sample of subjects, they represented 20 percent of medical schools, were evenly distributed across the country and evenly balanced between public and private institutions. The data collection method allowed for nuanced responses and several similar themes emerged.
"Our data are not new in content, but that is all the more reason that it is important," the authors wrote. "From our findings, we are concerned that there is complacency around the issues of women in academic medicine and a perception that gender issues have been addressed and are no longer a focus of attention."
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