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

Abstract

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.

Mind the gap: Gendered publication trends in oncology

“…Though the implications of degree distribution upon academic advancement are unclear, this work suggests that faculty positions are not currently aligned with degrees held by publishing authors. Because faculty promotions are closely tied to academic productivity, which is reflected by publications, this may contribute to only 41% and 34% of promotions to associate and full professor being attained by female faculty 1 and a minority of dean positions held by women 41 …”

Gender Discrimination Among Academic Physicians

“…7,8 Women physicians earn less than peers who are men [9][10][11] and are not promoted to leadership roles at the same rates as physicians who are men. 10,[12][13][14] Because personal lives are hard to separate from work lives, it is not surprising that physicians who are parents also experience workplace discrimination. Although studies have focused on how women experience discrimination once they become mothers, 15 citing a lack of formal maternity leave policies 16 and insufficient postpartum accommodations, 17,18 it is arguable that all physicians who are parents, regardless of gender, encounter discrimination when they engage in roles traditionally assigned to women, including child rearing.…”

Women and men in orthopaedics

“…One study concluded that women received only 1 in 10 awards in health and medicine, while another study found that female managers felt that their voices were not as respected as those of their male colleagues and also faced discrimination due to their younger age [75,76]. Another study proved that both women and men have a subtle bias towards women when it comes to hiring and promoting them [77]. These biases increase gender gaps in the health care sector.…”

“…These biases increase gender gaps in the health care sector. For example, women represent only 20% of deans in the top 25 global schools of medicine and 36% in the top 25 global schools of public health [77].…”