Representation of women plenary speakers at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine whether women have been equitably represented among plenary speakers at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) annual meeting by counting and categorizing speakers and comparing outcomes to AAN membership and US neurology workforce data.MethodsLists of plenary speakers between 1958 and 2019 (62 years) were obtained from the AAN. The primary outcome measures were numbers and proportions of men and women in aggregate and among physicians.ResultsWe identified 635 plenary speakers, including 148 (23.3%) women. Specifically, women comprised 14.6% (19 of 130) of presidential and 25.5% (129 of 505) of nonpresidential plenary session speakers. The inclusion of women plenary speakers was meaningfully higher (h, 0.33; difference, 14.9%; 95% CI, 4.2%–26.7%) for nonphysicians (27 of 74 [36.5%]) than physicians (121 of 561 [21.6%]). Although at zero levels for annual meetings held between 1958 and 1990 and at mostly low but varying levels thereafter, the representation of women and women physicians has been at or above their proportions in the AAN membership and US neurology workforce since 2017. Comparison of representation by plenary session name revealed an unequal distribution of women, with women physicians concentrated in the Sidney Carter Award in Child Neurology presidential session.ConclusionHistorically and recently, women and women physicians were underrepresented among AAN plenary speakers. As the AAN has taken active steps to address equity, women have been included in more representative proportions overall. However, notable gaps remain, especially in specific prestigious plenary sessions, and further research is needed to determine causality.

Diversity of invited speakers at endocrinology conferences

“…Each of the European bone meetings, ECTS and WCO, featured more than 25% repeat speakers. For the WCO, the median (range) number of presentations by repeat speakers of 3 (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11) | 909…”

“…The majority of research on diversity among speakers at medical conferences has focused on gender. Women are underrepresented as invited speakers, particularly in more prestigious speaking roles such as plenary and keynote sessions, 4,5 irrespective of discipline 6–11 . In comparison, there is a paucity of evidence examining the geographic location of speaker affiliation at medical conferences.…”

“…as plenary and keynote sessions, 4,5 irrespective of discipline. [6][7][8][9][10][11] In comparison, there is a paucity of evidence examining the geographic location of speaker affiliation at medical conferences. A study which primarily examined gender of invited speakers reported underrepresentation of speakers from institutions from some regions, including Africa, South America and Asia.…”

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“…Participation in scientific societies and receiving grant funding are pivotal to the development, growth and success of academic careers. Historically and recently, women have been underrepresented among the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) plenary speakers (12). While the AAN has taken active steps to address equity, notable gaps remain, especially in specific prestigious plenary sessions (12).…”

“…Historically and recently, women have been underrepresented among the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) plenary speakers (12). While the AAN has taken active steps to address equity, notable gaps remain, especially in specific prestigious plenary sessions (12). Women are also less frequently recipients of recognition awards (13,14), and women in academia are awarded less grant funding (15), which are key factors in progressing their academic careers (16).…”