Women in Academic Pediatrics

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Abstract
The articles prior to January 2008 are part of the back file collection and are not available with a current paid subscription. To access the article, you may purchase it or purchase the complete back file collection here Jane G Schaller, MD In the past two decades, as more women have chosen medicine as a profession, a significant number of women have chosen pediatrics as a specialty and a significant number of women pediatricians have chosen to pursue careers in academic pediatrics.1 The perception of a dramatic increase in the numbers of women in academic pediatric departments has occasioned a number of questions and concerns. How many women are there in academic pediatrics, and will their numbers continue to increase? What roles will women play in academic pediatrics? Will the influx of women into academic pediatrics change the course of or the nature of academic departments? Are women as successful academically as men? What, if anything, needs to be done to preserve the academic standards of our profession? Some grave reservations have been expressed about the possible deleterious effect of increasing numbers of women in academic pediatrics, based on the perception that women faculty are not as successful in academic pursuits as are men faculty.2 To address these questions and concerns, a study of all women and men in academic pediatric departments in the United States was commissioned by the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs, Inc. (AMSPDC) in 1992.3 This article addresses these issues and presents a current look at the numbers and status of women in various stages of pediatric training and in academics. WOMEN IN TRAINING IN ACADEMIC PEDIATRIC DEPARTMENTS The absolute numbers of women applying to and accepted to U.S. medical schools roughly doubled between 1974 and 1998 (Table I).4 However, the numbers of women have been stable since 1992, and the number of women applying to medical school in the 1997-1998 academic year was actually 1,500 fewer than in 1995-1996. The percentages of men and women applicants who have been accepted to medical school have been similar since at least 1974. Approximately 40% of applicants of both sexes are accepted. It would thus seem that the number of women entering the medical profession has stabilized, with approximately 57% of those entering medical school classes being men and 43% being women. Table In attempting to find explanations for these differences and to explain the gender differences in academic achievement as measured by authorship of papers and research grants, academic rank, and salaries, we found the following significant associations. For both men and women, higher salaries and ranks were related to greater academic productivity as measured by publications and grants, to longer working hours, to more institutional support for research, to greater overall career satisfaction, and to fewer perceived career problems. Importantly, it was clear that in this sample, greater academic productivity for both sexes occurred when less time was spent in teaching and patient care. Women, at the beginning of their careers in the junior ranks of instructors and assistant professors, spent significantly more time in teaching and patient care than did the men in these ranks (Figure). Surprisingly none of the personal variables related to family concerns, marriage, or children had any significant correlations with academic success, rank, or salary. DISCUSSION It appears from available data concerning women in various stages of training that the numbers of women applying to medical school have leveled off in the past 5 or 6 years, and we are left with entering medical school classes that are currently 57% men and 43% women. Concerning the numbers of women entering pediatrics, the absolute number is up somewhat and the percentages of women residents have been increasing at approximately 2% a year during the past decade. The women we have been training tend to go into general pediatrics and primary care, and… 10.3928/0090-4481-19990301-12

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