Women in pediatric radiology

Abstract

Women represent a significant proportion of pediatric radiologists in the United States, as shown on surveys by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR). This review discusses the characteristics of this subgroup of specialists and issues uniquely related to them.

Assessing the Gap in Female Authorship in Radiology: Trends Over the Past Two Decades

“…The last author of an article is often the person responsible for the study, and this status may be an indicator of the progression of women into more senior positions in radiology. Interestingly, the percentage of female first authors is consistently greater than the overall percentage of practicing female radiologists, from 19.7% in 1993 to 32.1% in 2013, compared with 14% to 27% of practicing female radiologists from 1995 to 2010 in the United States [5,7], whereas the percentage of senior authors is consistently lower, from 13.6% in 1993 to 19.2% in 2013. Thus, we conclude that there seems to be maintained growth of female academic radiologists, paralleling their presence in the field, in both the participation in and supervision of research.…”

“…In contrast, an analysis of female practicing radiologists in 1995 demonstrated that only 14% of all practicing radiologists in the United States were women [5]. Although the overall percentage of practicing female radiologists had grown to 27% in the United States by 2010 [7], it is concerning that the percentage of female residents has remained constant at 27% [6]. If this trend continues, the gender disparity in radiology will not improve in the near future.…”

“…The unusual drop in overall female senior authorship representation in 2003, in addition to the slower growth in female first authorship, is likely due to normal year-toyear variation, as the overall growth is maintained and proportional to the overall growth of female radiologists in the United States [5,7].…”

“…We observed that overall, women constituted 20.0% of the authorship, 24.7% of first authors, and 15.2% of senior authors. This percentage parallels the percentages of practicing female radiologists (14% in 1995 and up to 27% in 2010) [5,7]. We examined the gender of first and last authors for several reasons.…”

“…Additionally, studies have examined the presence of female physicians in radiology societies and North American training programs [7,14] and of female authorship in academic medicine [8]. However, to date, no study has objectively reviewed the presence of female authorship in academic radiology.…”