Gender-Based Analysis of the Academic Pediatric Radiation Oncology Workforce

Abstract

Pediatric radiation oncology represents a small yet essential aspect of the field. The demographic makeup of the pediatric academic radiation oncology workforce has not been previously investigated. The 51 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers were examined by internet investigation in September 2019. Data collected for each radiation oncologist included gender, year of medical school graduation, institution of employment, level of professorship, underrepresented minority status (African-American race and/or Hispanic ethnicity), and departmental leadership position (chair and/or program director). Variables were coalesced for statistical analysis using Fisher’s exact test. Among 993 total radiation oncologists, 79 pediatric radiation oncologists (8%) were identified, of whom 45.6% are women. 39.2% are assistant professors, 30.4% are associate professors, and 30.4% are full professors; 5% are underrepresented minorities. Eleven percent of pediatric radiation oncologists are department chairs, of whom 78% are men. Women comprise 42% of assistant professors, 54.2% of associate professors, and 41.7% of full professors, along with 50% of underrepresented minorities; these numbers exceed overall female representation in academic radiation oncology. Compared to the proportion of women outside of the pediatric academic radiation oncology workforce at each level of appointment, women were significantly less likely to be assistant professors (p = 0.007) and more likely to be full professors (p = 0.047), with no significant difference in the likelihood of associate professorship (p = 0.229). Overall, female representation was significantly higher in pediatric than non-pediatric academic radiation oncology (p = 0.012). Pediatric radiation oncology comprises less than 10% of the academic radiation oncology workforce, with the majority of academic pediatric radiation oncologists being men. The proportion of women significantly exceeds their overall representation in academic radiation oncology, which is statistically significant for full professorship. These findings indicate that unlike academic radiation oncology in general, women in pediatric radiation oncology find fewer barriers in achieving full professorship. These results deserve further investigation.