Increasing the Proportion of Women in Academic Medicine: One Institution's Response
Section snippets
Model Development
Data that described the size of the PCS, retirements, resignations, and hiring practices from 1980 through 1994 were collected from personnel records. The numbers of male and female physicians on the staff at MCR at the beginning of each year, together with the numbers of staff resignations, retirements, and new recruitments during each year, were obtained. The following key variables were calculated.
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The annual resignation and retirement rates for female PCS were calculated as the number
Gender Distributions of PCS From 1980 Through 1994
Administrative data that reflect the PCS at MCR from 1980 through 1994 are shown in Figure 2, and trends over time are summarized in Table 1, together with P values for associated Armitage trend tests. These data show that from 1980 through 1994 (1) the PCS grew at a mean rate of 2.4% per year, (2) mean resignation rates were 3.6% and 1.7% per year for women and men, respectively, (3) mean retirement rates were 0.8% and 1.8% per year for female and male PCS, respectively, and (4) the proportion
DISCUSSION
Despite intensifying pressures within academic medicine to downsize departments and reduce expenditures, in recent years academic medical centers have demonstrated a growing commitment to gender equity. Several explanations exist for this trend. First, numerous well-designed and meticulously conducted studies have conclusively demonstrated gender bias in academic medicine.1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 Second, medicine as a profession recognizes an ethical duty
CONCLUSION
We have described a systematic, quantitative approach to analyzing the gender distribution of PCS at MCR, comparing these data with national estimates for other academic medical centers, deriving a feasible target relative to the limitations of our setting, defining a hiring strategy to achieve this target, and identifying specific recommendations to enhance the professional experience of female PCS at MCR in order to increase recruitment and improve retention. We hope that this approach will
Acknowledgment
We gratefully acknowledge Deborah J. Fogarty for assistance with preparation of the submitted manuscript.
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