Two decades of little change: An analysis of U.S. medical school basic science faculty by sex, race/ethnicity, and academic rank

Abstract

To examine changes in U.S. medical school basic science faculty over the last 20 years (1998-2018), we undertook an observational study utilizing data from the American Association of Medical Colleges Faculty Roster. Rank (Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor), sex (Female), and race/ethnicity (Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic, Latino, Spanish Origin, or Multiple Race-Hispanic, and White) were analyzed; this reflected a population of 14,047 (1998) to 18,601 (2018) faculty. Summary percent of faculty in various gender, race/ethnicity origin categories were analyzed across years of the study using regression models. We found that females (24.47% to 35.32%) were underrepresented at all timepoints and a minority of faculty identified as Black or African American (1.57% to 1.99%), Hispanic, Latino, Spanish Origin, or Multiple Race-Hispanic (3.03% to 4.44%), or Asian (10.90% to 20.41%). The largest population at all time points was White Male Professors (30.53% to 20.85%), followed by White Male Associate Professors (15.67% to 9.34%), and White Male Assistant Professors (13.22% to 9.75%). Small statistically significant increases were observed among female faculty and faculty at multiple ranks who identified as Black or African American or Hispanic, Latino, Spanish Origin, or Multiple Race-Hispanic. We then completed secondary analyses looking at the interaction of race/ ethnicity and Gender. We found: (1) a significant increase (p<0.0001) in both genders who identify as Asian although males had a higher rate of increase (6 point difference, p<0.0001); (2) a significant increase for Black or African American females (P<0.01) not found among males; (3) significant increases (p<0.0001) among both genders of faculty who identify as Hispanic, Latino, Spanish Origin, or Multiple Race-Hispanic although females had an approximately 1% higher rate of increase; and (4) among faculty who identify as White, males had a significant decrease (p<0.0001) while females demonstrated an increase (p<0.0001).

Promoting inclusive metrics of success and impact to dismantle a discriminatory reward system in science

“…Citation metrics, which have been widely used across most research areas due to their quantitative nature and easy estimation, influence career advancement at all levels including graduate opportunities, funding success, career positions, awards, distinctions, and tenure and promotion. However, a lack of diversity among the most cited scientific authors is driven by historical demographics of faculty and those in academic leadership positions [13][14][15][16]. While there have been recent successes in increasing diversity among trainees and early-career researchers [8,9], differential recruitment, retention, and promotion rates with respect to age, sex, gender, race, and ethnicity continue to perpetuate the lack of diversity among all career levels of scientists [14,[17][18][19].…”

Building a framework for inclusion in health services research: Development of and pre-implementation faculty and staff attitudes toward the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) plan at Mayo Clinic

“…4,5 For example, less than 5% of all US medical school faculty are Black or Latinx, and only 35.3% are women. 6 Beyond representation, serious disparities in funding, career satisfaction, formal compensation, and other opportunities persist. 7,8 Black investigators are 10 percentage points less likely than white applicants to be awarded NIH research funding, even after controlling for educational background, research productivity, and employer characteristics.…”

“…However, although the health services research workforce in the USA represents a multidisciplinary community of scholars with an expressed commitment to furthering equity in health care [3], many identities remain underrepresented in the ranks of academic medical centers and research institutions [4,5]. For example, less than 5% of all US medical school faculty are Black or Latinx, and only 35.3% are women [6]. Beyond representation, serious disparities in funding, career satisfaction, formal compensation, and other opportunities persist [7,8].…”

“There’s not much we can do…” researcher-level barriers to the inclusion of underrepresented participants in translational research

“…With the acceptance of bias as a factor in research engagement, as it is found in so many other contexts, comes the ability to address it through education, resource allocation, and the diversification of the scientific workforce itself. 49 Certainly, we cannot conclude that there is "nothing we can do" nor can we exclude researchers working in predominantly White communities from obligations to collect data and conduct analysis on diverse samples. Our path forward is in facing barriers on both the researcher and community sides of the problem and developing new solutions and innovative approaches.…”