Sex Disparity Among Canadian Cardiologists in Academic Medicine: Differences in Scholarly Productivity and Academic Rank

Abstract

BackgroundWomen remain relatively underrepresented in all subspecialties of academic medicine. While sex disparity is prevalent in a number of specialties, the association between academic productivity and sex in academic cardiology has not been assessed in the Canadian context. MethodsAcademic faculty of accredited Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) programs were included from cardiology division websites across 17 universities. Cardiology faculty members' names, academic ranks, leadership positions, and sex were obtained from each institutions' website. The Elsevier database Scopus© was used to extract the Hirsch index (H-index), years of active research, and number of publications of each faculty member. The H-index was used as a metric of academic output and research productivity. Univariate regression was run with the H-Index as the outcome of interest, and multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with higher H-index. ResultsSex was identified for 1,040 members, of whom 836 (80%) were male. Male members had higher numbers of publications (p <0.001). There was a trend for males in a leadership position to have a higher H-index (p = 0.07). Median H-index was lower for women (p = 0.02). Males across assistant and associate professor ranks had a higher H-index. Women achieving professor rank demonstrated greater productivity with a higher median H-index (p = 0.002). ConclusionsThere is a prevalent sex gap in academic cardiology with regard to scholarly productivity and academic achievement. Factors that may help narrow the sex gap need to be identified and corrective measures implemented to enhance sex equity.

Características de la formación de los cardiólogos en América Latina: una encuesta de la Sociedad Interamericana de Cardiología

“…La edad promedio de los residentes encuestados fue mayor a la reportada en la 5. a Encuesta Nacional de Residentes de Argentina (ENARE V), publicada en el año 2018 6 , probablemente debido a que se priorizó incluir residentes de los últimos años de formación o cardiólogos jóvenes, de manera que hayan tenido la experiencia completa de la formación. Se detectó una menor proporción de mujeres, similar a lo descrito en otros reportes estadísticos [7][8][9][10][11][12] , en el cual las principales barreras para la práctica profesional de las mujeres incluyen la discriminación laboral, el acoso sexual, las preocupaciones familiares y la falta de progreso profesional [7][8][9][10][11][12] . Un estudio demográfico realizado en EE.UU.…”