Gender discrepancy in research activities during radiology residency

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the presence of gender disparity in academic involvement during radiology residency and to identify and characterize any gender differences in perceived barriers for conducting research.MethodsAn international call for participation in an online survey was promoted via social media and through multiple international and national radiological societies. A 35-question survey invited radiology trainees worldwide to answer questions regarding exposure and barriers to academic radiology during their training. Gender differences in response proportions were analyzed using either Fisher’s exact or chi-squared tests.ResultsEight hundred fifty-eight participants (438 men, 420 women) from Europe (432), Asia (241), North and South America (144), Africa (37), and Oceania (4) completed the survey. Fewer women radiology residents were involved in research during residency (44.3%, 186/420 vs 59.4%, 260/438; p ≤ 0.0001) and had fewer published original articles (27.9%, 117/420 vs. 40.2%, 176/438; p = 0.001).Women were more likely to declare gender as a barrier to research (24.3%, 102/420 vs. 6.8%, 30/438; p < 0.0001) and lacked mentorship/support from faculty (65%, 273/420 vs. 55.7%, 244/438; p = 0.0055). Men were more likely to declare a lack of time (60.3%, 264/438 vs. 50.7%, 213/420; p = 0.0049) and lack of personal interest (21%, 92/438 vs. 13.6%, 57/420, p = 0.0041) in conducting research.ConclusionFewer women were involved in academic activities during radiology residency, resulting in fewer original published studies compared to their men counterparts. This is indicative of an inherent gender imbalance. Lack of mentorship reported by women radiologists was a main barrier to research.

Is Empowerment of Female Radiologists Still Needed? Findings of a Systematic Review

“…All included articles were written in English and published between 1989 and 2020 [ 6 , 7 , 11 , 12 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , <...>…”

“…Five articles were published in Canada [ 86 , 98 , 99 , 111 , 126 ] and two in France [ 76 , 109 ]. One article was an international multicenter study [ 118 ], and two resulted from a collaboration between Australia and Ireland [ 89 ] and Vietnam and Malaysia [ 12 ], respectively. One article each was published in Italy [ 101 ], Switzerland [ 78 ], Saudi Arabia [ 72 ], the United Kingdom [ 120 ], and South Korea [ 125 ].…”

“…Most of the articles appeared in Q1 journals (80.3%), with an impact factor ranging from 0 [ 12 , 72 , 98 , 100 , 104 , 118 , 127 ] to 7.931 [ 80 , 81 , 94 , 97 ]. The three most common journals were the American Journal of Roentgenology (i.e., 15 articles) [ 71 , 83 , 84 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 90 , 95 , 96 , 105 , 107 , 111 , 114 , 121 , 125 ], the Journal of the American College of Radiology (i.e., 12 articles) [ 7 , 73 , 74 , 77 , 79 , 82 , 99 , 102 , 106 , 113 , 115 , 126 ], and Academic Radiology (i.e., nine articles) [ 11 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 103 , 108 , 116 , 117 , 119 ].…”

“…Mentorship was addressed in several studies [ 73 , 81 , 86 , 88 , 89 , 91 , 106 , 115 , 126 ]. Three articles noted that women with a mentor were underrepresented (range for women: 0–40.3%; range for men: 23.3–64%) [ 72 , 78 , 118 ]. One study showed that for female medical students, the influence of role models was one of the three most important factors in choosing a career in radiology [ 73 ].…”

Women in focus: advice from the front lines on how to enable well-being and build resilience

“…For example, data published in 2014 indicated that at American medical schools, women represented only 21% of full professors and 16% of deans [9], and currently, among the 428 department heads in the European Society of Radiology database, only 20.6% are women. As academic success tends to be linked to advancement to leadership positions, closing this gap will require, among other steps, consciously encouraging women's participation in research, which already lags behind men's at the residency stage [10].…”