Gender inequality in leadership and academic rank in academic reproductive endocrinology programs

• Published in: Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics Vol. 37; no. 8; pp. 1959 - 1962
• Main Authors: Selter, Jessica H., Spurlin, Emily E., Brady, Paula C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-08-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Academies and Institutes - ethics; Assisted Reproduction Technologies; College professors; Endocrinology; Endocrinology - education; Endocrinology - ethics; Endocrinology - standards; Fellowships and Scholarships; Female; Gender; Gender Equity; Gynecology; Gynecology - education; Human Genetics; Humans; Leadership; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Obstetrics; Pregnancy; Reproductive Medicine; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted - ethics; Scholarships & fellowships; Sex differences; Sex Factors; United States; United States; Academic leadership; Reproductive endocrinology and infertility; Women in medicine; Academic medicine; Professional development; Gender disparities
• ISSN: 1058-0468; 1573-7330
• DOI: 10.1007/s10815-020-01866-8

Purpose
To identify gender differences in leadership and academic rank within academic reproductive endocrinology (REI) programs with fellowships in the USA.
Methods
Official institutional websites of the 2017–2018 American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG)-accredited reproductive endocrinology fellowship programs were reviewed, and gender representation at each leadership position and academic rank (Division and Fellowship Director and Full, Associate, and Assistant Professor) was recorded. Univariate comparisons were performed using Chi-square tests, with significance at
p

<
 0.05.
Results
Among 49 ABOG-accredited reproductive endocrinology programs, 263 faculty were identified, 129 (49.0%) male and 134 (51.0%) female. Division directors were 69.3% male and 30.7% female (
p
 = 0.006). Similarly, fellowship directors were 65.3% male and 34.6% female (
p
 = 0.03). Full professors (
n
 = 101) were more frequently male (70.3% vs. 29.7%,
p
 < 0.001). There was no difference in gender among associate professors (
n
 = 60, 51.7% male vs. 48.3% female,
p
 = 0.79), while significantly more assistant professors were female than male (
n
 = 102, 73.6% vs. 26.4%,
p
 < 0.001).
Conclusion
While a majority of residents in obstetrics and gynecology and half of reproductive endocrinology academic faculty are female, women are still underrepresented among leadership positions and full professors in academic reproductive endocrinology programs with fellowship programs.