Renewal of academic psychiatry without addressing gender equity will render it Jurassic rather than endangered

Abstract

While two editorials have raised concerns about the decline in Australian academic psychiatry, for a genuine rejuvenation to ever occur, we will need to re-examine how women can be better included in this important endeavour. While attainment of fellowship has reached gender parity, academic psychiatry has disappointingly lagged, with 80% of its senior leadership roles across Australia and New Zealand still held by men, with a similar situation in the United Kingdom and the United States as well as many other countries. Encouraging women into academic psychiatry is not only critical to progress as a profession but also will help address the current blindness to sex differences in biological psychiatry, as well the social impact of restrictive gender norms and the effects of gender-based violence on mental health. This potentially creates opportunities for significant gains and insights into mental disorders. However, addressing the barriers for women in academia requires tackling the entrenched disparities across salaries, grant funding, publications, teaching responsibilities, keynote invitations and academic promotions alongside the gender-based microaggressions, harassment and tokenism reported by many of our female academics. Many women must grapple with not just a ‘second shift’ but a ‘third shift’, making the burden of an academic career unreasonable and burnout more likely. Addressing this is no easy task. The varied research in academic medicine reveals no quick fixes, although promoting gender equity brings significant potential benefits. Areas such as academic psychiatry need to recognise our community’s growing discomfort with workplaces that choose to maintain status quo. Gender equity must be a critical part of any quest to revive this important area of practice for our profession.

Letter to the Editor regarding ‘Renewal of academic psychiatry without addressing gender equity will render it Jurassic rather than endangered’

“…I find much to agree with in (Galbally et al, 2023). However, I take issue with their comments on gender differences in National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding.…”

“…The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. I find much to agree with in (Galbally et al, 2023). However, I take issue with their comments on gender differences in National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding.…”

Research Letter: The state of academic psychiatry in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia: Data from a survey of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists membership

“…We need to build a closer liaison between universities and clinical services, creating more joint roles so that academic psychiatrists are embedded in the clinical services and vice versa. Furthermore, as discussed previously (Galbally et al, 2023), gender equity is essential for the rejuvenation of academic psychiatry. Our findings further highlight existing gender inequity and the need for ongoing efforts to address these issues.…”

“…Other key barriers were a preference for, or difficulty balancing, clinical work (22.2%, n = 45) and insufficient remuneration (15.7%, n = 32). We also asked about barriers known to have a gender bias (Arunogiri and Loi, 2022; Galbally et al, 2023). The most common gendered barriers were primary- or child-care responsibilities, reported by 22.1% ( n = 27) of men and 55.8% ( n = 43) of women.…”

Psychiatry and gender equity: Creating change for our profession

“…6 While not the focus of the GEWG, these are real barriers in the current structure of training and professional development and must also be considered in our profession as we strive towards equity. 7 Addressing gender inequity is a critical quest for psychiatry. The GEWG recognises that the lived experience of gender equity in psychiatry is more than about the balancing numbers alone.…”