Changing the Culture of Academic Medicine: Critical Mass or Critical Actors?

Helitzer, Deborah; Newbill, Sharon L.; Cardinali, Gina; Morahan, Page S.; Chang, Shine; Magrane, Diane

doi:10.1089/jwh.2016.6019

Cited by 59 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…10,26 As is the case for countries, we do not find a significant correlation between the FAP of a journal category and the distribution of prestigious authorships. Both findings contradict the theory of critical mass, 27,28 stating that once the proportion of women in a scientific field rises above a threshold of 30-35%, their impact on culture change would trigger an increase of female influence and career options. Remarkably, we also do not find a significant correlation between the 5-year impact factor of a journal and its Prestige Index measuring the distribution of prestigious authorships according to gender (Fig.…”

Section: Regional and Journal-specific Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…Pursuant to this forecast, an array of studies has recently reported a marked persistence in the female career dichotomy despite a considerable increase in female first authorships. 1,4,5,33 Possible causes for this leaky pipeline at transition points between doctorate, postdoc, and professor 34 include altered life priorities such as family planning, 10 a lack of role models, 34 an insufficient work-life balance, 1 differences in career preferences, 35 institutional obstacles, 27 and male-dominated networks. 10 In light of this, the analysis presented above offers a departure point for further research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gender equality in academic research on epilepsy—a study on scientific authorships

et al. 2017

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Section: Regional and Journal-specific Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender equality in academic research on epilepsy—a study on scientific authorships

et al. 2017

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“…3 This theory assumed that when women reached a 30%-35% threshold-critical mass-of representation among medical school faculty, the academic workforce culture would change and facilitate women's advancement. 3 Instead of focusing on critical mass, Helitzer et al suggested identifying ''critical actors''-leaders who will actively improve the culture of academic medicine. Although these leaders may be people from across the gender spectrum and have a variety of terminal degrees, we suggest that it is important to promote transformational women physician leaders to the highest levels, and ensure that they are equitably represented.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 Physician workforce gender equity in academic medicine has been slow. 3 Given that in the United States, >50% of matriculating medical students are now women 4 and there are many well-documented gaps for physicians in promotion, 5 compensation, 6 and recognition awards, 7 it is important to evaluate not only the under-representation of women in medical leadership roles but more specifically gaps in women physicians in these roles. The term ''gender'' is used throughout this report as ''sex'' is biologically determined and was not evaluated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Representation of Women Physician Deans in U.S. Medical Schools

Larson

Kan

Silver

2019

Journal of Women's Health

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Background: Among U.S. medical school deans, there is a wide gender gap, most prominent at the highest levels. We aimed to discover how well women physicians were represented within the pool of women deans compared with the pool of men deans. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 149 allopathic medical schools in the United States. For each school, information was collected on deans' names, titles, genders, and degree(s). Chi-square analyses were performed to determine association between gender and dean ranks. Results: Of the 2559 deans included from 149 medical schools, 1649 (64.4%) were physicians, and of these, women physicians accounted for 634 (38.4%), a significant under-representation (p < 0.00001). In comparison, the 626 nonphysician doctorate-holders of which women accounted for 291 (46.5%, p = 0.061) were equally represented. Of the 284 deans with bachelor's or master's degrees, women accounted for 180 (63.4%), a significant over-representation (p < 0.00001). This difference was most profound at the lower tier (assistant) dean level. A lower tier physician dean was 1.25 times more likely to be a man than a woman, and a higher tier (dean of medical school, senior associate, vice, or associate) physician dean was 1.16 times more likely to be a man. Conclusions: Women physicians were under-represented among medical school deans compared with men. This disparity held among lower tier and higher tier deans.

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“…The culture and leaders of academic departments may be influenced by regional attitudes toward gender roles, and this in turn may influence faculty satisfaction, success, and advancement. Regardless of geography, departments that promote equal access to opportunities and resources, work-life integration, freedom from bias, and supportive leadership are conducive to women's academic success (12,13). It is possible that academic culture varies by geography, which may, in part, explain the progress of women in the West Census Bureau region in achieving department-based leadership roles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic Comparison of Women in Academic Obstetrics and Gynecology Department-Based Leadership Roles

Ricciotti

Dodge

Aluko

et al. 2017

Obstetrics &Amp; Gynecology

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Objective To describe and compare geographic representation of women in obstetrics and gynecology department-based leadership roles across American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' districts (ACOG districts) and U.S. Census Bureau regions while accounting for the proportion of women practicing in each area. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional observational study. In order to more meaningfully quantify representation of women as leaders in ACOG districts and U.S. Census Bureau regions, we calculated representation ratios—the proportion of department-based leaders who were women divided by the proportion of obstetrician–gynecologists who were women. A ratio of 1.0 indicates proportionate representation and <1.0 indicates under-representation. We calculated 95% confidence intervals to compare representation of women in leadership roles across geographic areas. The gender of major department-based leaders (chair, vice chair, division director) and educational leaders (fellowship, residency, associate residency, medical student clerkship director) was determined from websites. Results The proportion of department chairs who were women was highest in the West and lowest in the South Census Bureau regions. Representation ratios for women in major department-based leadership roles demonstrated under-representation relative to the practicing base nationally and in all four regions. While women were under-represented in major department-based leadership throughout the country, there was significantly higher women's representation in major department-based leadership roles in the West (ratio: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.68-0.99) compared to the Northeast (ratio: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.42-0.59) and South (ratio: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.36-0.57). Similarly, in the division director role, the West (ratio 0.85; 95% CI: 0.68-1.1) had significantly higher representation of women compared to the Northeast (ratio 0.50; 95% CI: 0.40-0.62). Nationally, women were under-represented as fellowship directors, proportionately represented as residency program directors, and over-represented as medical student clerkship directors. Conclusion Representation ratios of women in major department-based leadership roles, which account for the proportion of women practicing in each geographic area, suggest that women were more likely to advance to the department-based leadership roles of chair, vice chair, or division director in the Western United States.

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Changing the Culture of Academic Medicine: Critical Mass or Critical Actors?

Cited by 59 publications

References 45 publications

Gender equality in academic research on epilepsy—a study on scientific authorships

Gender equality in academic research on epilepsy—a study on scientific authorships

Representation of Women Physician Deans in U.S. Medical Schools

Geographic Comparison of Women in Academic Obstetrics and Gynecology Department-Based Leadership Roles

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