Gender Trends in Radiation Oncology in the United States: A 30-Year Analysis

Abstract

Purpose/Objective Although considerable research exists regarding the role of women in the medical profession in the United States, little work has described the participation of women in academic radiation oncology. We examined women’s participation in authorship of radiation oncology literature, a visible and influential activity that merits specific attention. Methods and Materials We examined the gender of first and senior U.S. physician-authors of articles published in the Red Journal in 1980, 1990, 2000, 2004, 2010 and 2012. The significance of trends over time was evaluated using logistic regression. Results were compared to female representation in journals of general medicine and other major medical specialties. Findings were also placed in the context of trends in the representation of women among radiation oncology faculty and residents over the last three decades, using AAMC data. Results The proportion of women among Red Journal first authors increased from 13.4% in 1980 to 29.7% in 2012, and the proportion among senior authors increased from 3.2% to 22.6%. The proportion of women among radiation oncology full-time faculty increased from 11% to 26.7% from 1980 to 2012. The proportion of women among radiation oncology residents increased from 27.1% to 33.3% from 1980 to 2010. Conclusion Female first and senior authorship in the Red Journal has increased significantly, as has women’s participation among full-time faculty, but women remain under-represented among radiation oncology residents as compared to their representation in the medical student body. Understanding such trends is necessary to develop appropriately targeted interventions to improve gender equity in radiation oncology.

The state of gender diversity in medical physics

“…While physicist diversity in the field of radiation oncology has not been previously reported on, diversity among radiation oncologists has been studied and may offer insight increasing, women remain underrepresented in the field. 25 According to a 2017 report, 27.7% of radiation oncology faculty were women. 26 Knoll et al 20 directly addressed the issue of gender leadership disparity in radiation oncology.…”

Gender trends in authorship in oral and maxillofacial surgery literature: A 30-year analysis

“…The choice of these years was based on the current literature on the topic from other medical specialties in order to allow comparison of the results (Ahmed et al, 2014).…”

“…The number of women in medicine has rapidly increased during the last three decades (Ahmed et al, 2014). However, the distribution of women across medical fields and specialties is not equal.…”

“…In fields such as obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics or primary care women represent more than half of the full-time faculty. Conversely, they are substantially underrepresented in surgical disciplines (Ahmed et al, 2014). Although women will form >50% of all doctors in a few years, currently only 9% of the doctors who work in the field of surgery are female (Crolla et al, 2011).…”

Improving Diversity, Inclusion, and Representation in Radiology and Radiation Oncology Part 1: Why These Matter

“…Females are similarly underrepresented in the radiation oncology physician workforce, despite a history of prominent female physicians and scientists, including its matriarch, Marie Curie [28]. The underrepresentation also occurs in spite of prior acknowledgement of gender disparities in representation as practicing physicians [29], and more recently, increased primary and senior authorship among women in the medical literature [30]. Although increased proportions of female radiation oncology residents compared to practicing physicians and faculty demonstrate historical improvements, representation has increased only incrementally, averaging 0.3%/year over the past 20 years, presaging only continued subtle changes [31].…”