Female Excellence and Leadership in Pediatrics Subspecialties (FLEXPeds): Creating a Network for Women Across Academic Pediatrics

Abstract

While the gender gap for medical school admissions in the United States appears to be firmly closed, [1] Heiser S. More Women Than Men Enrolled in U.S. Medical Schools in 2017. AAMC; 2017. Press release. https://www.aamc.org/news/press-releases/more-women-men-enrolled-us-medical-schools-2017. Published 2017. Google Scholar female physicians continue to lag behind men in rank and leadership appointments, particularly in academic medicine. [2] Carr P.L. Raj A. Kaplan S.E. Terrin N. Breeze J.L. Freund K.M. Gender Differences in Academic Medicine: Retention, Rank, and Leadership Comparisons From the National Faculty Survey. Acad Med. 2018; 93: 1694-1699 Crossref PubMed Scopus (241) Google Scholar ,[3] Richter K.P. Clark L. Wick J.A. Cruvinel E. Durham D. Shaw P. et al. Women Physicians and Promotion in Academic Medicine. New England Journal of Medicine. 2020; 383: 2148-2157 Crossref PubMed Scopus (156) Google Scholar Although women currently represent 54% of all enrolled medical students, [4] Diversity Increases at Medical Schools in 2022. AAMC; 2022. https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/press-releases/diversity-increases-medical-schools-2022#:∼:text=Gender%3A,men%20matriculants%20did%20not%20decline. Published 2022. Google Scholar contemporaneous data show that women also currently represent less than a third of all full professors and department chairs [5] Faculty Roster: U.S. Medical School Faculty. 2022. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/faculty-institutions/data/2022-us-medical-school-faculty. Published 2022. Google Scholar and receive less NIH funding. [6] Oliveira D.F.M. Ma Y. Woodruff T.K. Uzzi B. Comparison of National Institutes of Health Grant Amounts to First-Time Male and Female Principal Investigators. JAMA. 2019; 321: 898-900 Crossref PubMed Scopus (109) Google Scholar Such gender disparities significantly affect physician wellness, [7] Hoff T. Lee D.R. Burnout and Physician Gender: What Do We Know?. Med Care. 2021; 59: 711-720 Crossref PubMed Scopus (6) Google Scholar as well as individual career compensation. [8] Catenaccio E. Rochlin J.M. Simon H.K. Addressing Gender-Based Disparities in Earning Potential in Academic Medicine. JAMA Network Open. 2022; 5: e220067-e Crossref PubMed Scopus (13) Google Scholar Women physicians in academic medicine have higher rates of burnout, lower rates of professional fulfillment, [9] Rotenstein L. Harry E. Wickner P. Gupte A. Neville B.A. Lipsitz S. et al. Contributors to Gender Differences in Burnout and Professional Fulfillment: A Survey of Physician Faculty. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2021; 47: 723-730 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (4) Google Scholar exposure to sexual harassment, enduring experiences of explicit and implicit gender biases, [10] Jagsi R. Griffith K.A. Jones R. Perumalswami C.R. Ubel P. Stewart A. Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Experiences of Academic Medical Faculty. JAMA. 2016; 315: 2120-2121 Crossref PubMed Scopus (263) Google Scholar and a persistent pay gap that translates into an estimated $2 million loss of lifetime earnings per physician. This financial disparity persists even after adjusting for work hours, clinical revenue, practice type, and specialty. [11] Whaley C.M. Koo T. Arora V.M. Ganguli I. Gross N. Jena A.B. Female Physicians Earn An Estimated $2 Million Less Than Male Physicians Over A Simulated 40-Year Career. Health Aff (Millwood). 2021; 40: 1856-1864 Crossref PubMed Scopus (30) Google Scholar