Equity and Gender Issues Among Members of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology

Abstract

Background Gender equity has historically been a challenge within gastroenterology. Aims The Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG) developed a survey to identify issues pertaining to equity and gender faced by its membership and to determine areas of action. Methods In 2014, the survey was emailed to all 1155 CAG members, and the data were analyzed using statistical methods. Results One hundred eleven CAG members responded to the survey. Of those, 52% were male, 75% were between 26 and 45 years of age, and 55% were in their first decade of practice. More males held the status of full professor (21% versus 0%; P=0.022). Male CAG members reported working more hours per week than their female counterparts (58.3 ± 15.4 versus 52.3 ± 11.8, P=0.025). Regarding commitments outside the workplace, 81% of respondents had a spouse/partner, and 52% had children under 18 years of age, both of which did not significantly differ based on gender. Overall, 70% were satisfied or very satisfied with their career path. However, significantly more females felt their age/ethnicity/gender/marital status hindered career advancement (36% versus 14%; P=0.008). Furthermore, more females reported difficulties attaining work-life balance (45% versus 22%; P=0.015). Conclusions This survey highlights that gender and equity challenges continue to exist within gastroenterology. The needs assessment highlights that work-life balance, physician well-being, negotiation skills and mentorship are areas of importance to many CAG members.

Barriers and bias standing in the way of female trainees wanting to learn advanced endoscopy

“…However, research has shown that women possess equal desire to pursue surgery early on in their careers 15 . Few studies have looked at gastroenterology training from a gender perspective 16 , 17 . However, female gastroenterologists have lower engagement in leadership roles, 18 earn less money than male gastroenterologists, 19 are more likely to remain childless and receive significantly less training in endoscopy 20…”

Canadian Gastroenterology Career Pathway Experiences: Exploring the Gender Divide

“…The main conclusion was that professional success and satisfaction were attainable by female gastroenterologists, but it required greater personal sacrifice compared to males. Similar themes noted by Perera et al’s more recent survey included female gastroenterologists encountering difficulty with career advancement, achieving work-life balance and a lack of mentorship ( 10 ).…”

“…al. who had majority of respondents earning <$200,000/year ( 9 , 10 ). This could be explained by 20 years of inflation and a large proportion of non-physician respondents, respectively.…”

“…In Canada, two surveys administered by the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG) in 1994 and 2014 showed that gender-based challenges exist ( 9 , 10 ). Heathcote et al’s landmark study focused on gender disparity among gastroenterologists to understand barriers for females ( 9 ).…”

The Under-representation of Canadian Women in Gastroenterology from Residency to Leadership

“…The study concluded that professional success could be attained by either gender equally but it required disproportionate personal sacrifices on the part of women gastroenterologists ( 6 ). More recently, Perera et al found that female Canadian gastroenterologists continued to report more difficulty with career advancement and attaining work–life balance than their male counterparts ( 7 ).…”