644: Gender differences in academic rank and nih funding among academic maternal-fetal medicine physicians in the United States

Abstract

To evaluate if there are gender differences in academic rank and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding among academic Maternal-Fetal medicine (MFM) physicians. This was a cross-sectional study of Board certified academic MFM physicians. Physicians were identified in July 2017 from the websites of academic institutions in the U.S. with MFM fellowship programs. Academic rank and NIH funding were compared by gender. Data on potential confounders were collected including years since Board certification, region of practice, additional degrees (PhD or Masters degree), number of publications, and h-index (a metric of scholarly productivity that combines the number of publications with the number of times the publications have been cited). Categorical variables were compared with the Chi-square test of independence, nonparametric continuous variables were compared using Kruskal-Wallis or Wilcoxon rank-sum as appropriate, and multivariate logistic regression was used to generate adjusted odds ratios. We identified 659 MFM physicians (312 (47.3%) male and 347 (52.7%) female) at 72 institutions. There were 246 (37.3%) full, 163 (24.7%) associate, and 250 (37.9%) assistant professors. Among the 154 (23.4%) MFM physicians with NIH funding, 89 (57.8%) were male and 65 (42.2%) were female (p=0.003). Adjusting for years since Board certification, NIH funding, region of practice, additional degrees, number of publications, and h-index, women were 51% less likely to be full professor versus male MFM physicians [aOR 0.49 (95% CI 0.29-0.84) p=0.009]. Adjusting for academic rank, years since Board certification, h-index, region of practice, additional degrees, and number of publications, there was no difference in NIH funding between male and female MFM physicians [aOR 1.28 (95% CI 0.8-2.3) p= 0.30]. When compared to male academic MFM physicians, female academic MFM physicians were equally likely to receive NIH funding yet 51% less likely to reach the rank of professor. Further efforts to identify and ameliorate disparities in academic promotion are needed in our specialty.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)