GRIT: Women in Medicine Leadership Conference Participants’ Perceptions of Gender Discrimination, Disparity, and Mitigation

Abstract

Objective To assess demographic characteristics and perceptions of female physicians in attendance at a medical conference for women with content focused on growth, resilience, inspiration, and tenacity to better understand major barriers women in medicine face and to find solutions to these barriers. Patients and Methods A Likert survey was administered to female physicians attending the conference (September 20 to 22, 2018). The survey consisted of demographic data and 4 dimensions that are conducive to women’s success in academic medicine: equal access, work-life balance, freedom from gender biases, and supportive leadership. Results All of the 228 female physicians surveyed during the conference completed the surveys. There were 70 participants (31.5%) who were in practice for less than 10 years (early career), 111 (50%) who were in practice for 11 to 20 years (midcareer), and 41 (18.5%) who had more than 20 years of practice (late career). Whereas participants reported positive support from their supervisors (mean, 0.4 [SD 0.9]; P <.001), they did not report support in the dimensions of work-life balance (mean, −0.2 [SD 0.8]; P <.001) and freedom from gender bias (mean, −0.3 [SD 0.9]; P <.001). Conclusion Female physicians were less likely to feel support for work-life balance and did not report freedom from gender bias in comparison to other dimensions of support. Whereas there was no statistically significant difference between career stage, trends noting that late-career physicians felt less support in all dimensions were observed. Future research should explore a more diverse sample population of women physicians.

Physician Work-Personal Intersection: A Scoping Review of Terms, Definitions, and Measures

“…A total of 4,018 studies were identified by the initial search, 580 were identified for full-text review, and 102 1,8,10,11,18,19,24–119 were included in the final analysis (Figure 1 and Supplemental Digital Appendix 2 at http://links.lww.com/ACADMED/B493). Table 1 summarizes the key characteristics of the included studies.…”

Evaluating the Women's Empowerment and Leadership Initiative: Supporting mentorship, career satisfaction, and well‐being among pediatric anesthesiologists

“…The presence of women in leadership roles has documented benefits in government and business. As of May 2020, states with female governors had fewer deaths from the COVID‐19 13 . Analysis of both global and American companies revealed that those with at least three women on the board of directors have a significantly greater financial return on investment 14 .…”

“…As of May 2020, states with female governors had fewer deaths from the COVID-19. 13 Analysis of both global and American companies revealed that those with at least three women on the board of directors have a significantly greater financial return on investment. 14 Gender equity in medical leadership should have a similar impact on medicine as a whole.…”

Knowledge of Fertility and Perspectives About Family Planning Among Female Physicians

“…In addition to delaying childbearing, female physicians may face inadequate support when ready to grow their family. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22] This perceived lack of support may cause women to alter their careers to accommodate childbearing. In a survey of 600 female physicians, more than 70% reported that having children had influenced their career.…”

“…In addition to delaying childbearing, female physicians may face inadequate support when ready to grow their family . This perceived lack of support may cause women to alter their careers to accommodate childbearing.…”