Perceptions and experiences of a gender gap at a Canadian research institute and potential strategies to mitigate this gap: a sequential mixed-methods study

Trends in the Proportion of Female Speakers at Medical Conferences in the United States and in Canada, 2007 to 2017

“…Gender disparities in medical academia have been described for compensation, the granting process, authorship, and career advancement. 1 , 3 , 8 , 23 , 39 Reports of gender disparities among conference speakers have been largely anecdotal. 28 Previous work to characterize the gender gap in medical conferences has been limited by the size and scope of conferences included, nonsystematic inclusion of conferences, and lack of a validated strategy to assess the gender of speakers.…”

“… 15 In medicine, a lack of role models and mentors has been identified as a barrier to advancement in surgical specialties and academic internal medicine that disproportionately affects female physicians. 1 , 6 Underrepresentation occurs when the number of female physicians in visible positions is less than the proportion expected based on the number of female physicians overall.…”

Closing the gender pay gap in Canadian medicine

“…Numerous studies, mostly from the United States and the United Kingdom, have shown a clear gender pay gap among phys icians. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] This effect is seen in clinical, 14 research 15 and aca demic 16,17 environments. Inequities start at the early stages of a medical career, 18,19 deepen with time, 20 continue into retire ment 21 and affect lifetime wealth, 22 with estimates as high as $2.5 million over a 30year career.…”

“…[40][41][42][43] Once female phys icians have graduated, they face subtle and often unconscious biases in recruitment and hiring. 44 There are fewer women in medical leader ship roles 45,46 and of higher academic rank. 47,48 Men in leadership ben efit from the higher income associated with leadership and can also perpetuate the policies and informal support networks that recruit, retain and promote other men at disproportionately higher rates.…”

Sweet, Sweet Science: Addressing the Gender Gap in STEM Disciplines through a One-Day High School Program in Sugar Chemistry

“…6 This perception can be found across all demographic groups, but is particularly acute for students who identify as members of under-represented groups in science, including women, 7 non-white minorities, 8 LGBT students, 9 and those from immigrant populations. 10,11 The lack of belonging is reinforced by the demographic profile of scientists, especially in the United States, which continues to be overwhelmingly male 12,13 and even more overwhelmingly white. 14 Efforts to combat the perception of exclusion and to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to pursue scientific majors and science-related careers can take many forms.…”