S3293 Women in Leadership Positions in Gastroenterology: A Study of Program Directors

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Gender disparities in the workplace have been prevalent within various fields, including medicine. Women in medicine have long been underrepresented in key leadership roles. The objective of our study was to examine the proportion of women serving as program directors within the field of gastroenterology. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional online study of gastroenterology fellowship programs identified by the GI Fellowship Program Search feature of the American College of Gastroenterology website. The genders of program directors were collected for gastroenterology as well as various subdivisions including hepatology, advanced endoscopy, and IBD. RESULTS: Our analysis found that there is a greater percentage of men compared to women who serve as gastroenterology program directors (Figure 1, 76% vs 24%, n = 163). Advanced endoscopy had a greater disparity between the number of men vs women serving as program directors (87% vs 13%, n = 66). Both hepatology and IBD program directors also had greater numbers of men vs women serving as program director (hepatology 67% vs 33%, n = 42; IBD 62% vs 38%, n = 18). CONCLUSION: Gender differences are present amongst program directors in gastroenterology and its various subdivisions. In particular, there is a significant overrepresentation of men compared to women within the subdivision of advanced endoscopy. Further research to evaluate the determinants of gender disparity for leadership positions will be required to close the gender gap within the profession.Figure 1.: Distribution of male vs. female program directors by subspecialty.