Women in Intensive Care study: a preliminary assessment of international data on female representation in the ICU physician workforce, leadership and academic positions

Abstract

BackgroundDespite increasing female enrolment into medical schools, persistent gender gaps exist in the physician workforce. There are limited published data on female representation in the critical care medicine workforce.MethodsTo obtain a global perspective, societies (n = 84; 79,834 members (40,363 physicians, 39,471 non-physicians)) registered with the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine were surveyed. Longitudinal data on female trainee and specialist positions between 2006-2017 were obtained from Australia and New Zealand. Data regarding leadership and academic faculty representation were also collected from national training bodies and other organisations of critical care medicine.ResultsOf the 84 societies, 23 had a registered membership of greater than 500 members. Responses were received from 27 societies (n = 55,996), mainly high-income countries, covering 70.1% of the membership. Amongst the physician workforce, the gender distribution was available from six (22%) participating societies—mean proportion of females 37 ± 11% (range 26–50%). Longitudinal data from Australia and New Zealand between 2006 and 2017 demonstrate rising proportions of female trainees and specialists. Female trainee and specialist numbers increased from 26 to 37% and from 13 to 22% respectively. Globally, female representation in leadership positions was presidencies of critical care organisations (0–41%), representation on critical care medicine boards and councils (8–50%) and faculty representation at symposia (7–34%). Significant gaps in knowledge exist: data from low and middle-income countries, the age distribution and the time taken to enter and complete training.ConclusionsDespite limited information globally, available data suggest that females are under-represented in training programmes, specialist positions, academic faculty and leadership roles in intensive care. There are significant gaps in data on female participation in the critical care workforce. Further data from intensive care organisations worldwide are required to understand the demographics, challenges and barriers to their professional progress.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13054-018-2139-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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

“…Although women make up approximately 33% of the physician workforce in the United States and 42% in Canada, they are variably underrepresented in academia. 18 , 19 , 20 Approximately one-third of academic physicians in Canada and the United States are women, and the proportion varies greatly by specialty 1 , 5 ; only 8% of academic surgeons and 16.5% of academic cardiologists are women. 21 Female scientists have fewer total publications and are less likely than their male colleagues to be listed as first author, even when first authorship is shared by coauthors of different sexes.…”

Representation of women amongst speakers at the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society annual meeting: a retrospective analysis from 2007 to 2019

“…16 National and international recognition are an important aspect of academic conferences. Underrepresentation of women at academic meetings has been raised as one source of gender inequity and has been identified in critical care medicine, 17,18 the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meeting, 19 and other medical conferences in Canada and the United States. 20 To date, the representation of women speakers at the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society (CAS) annual meeting has not been examined in detail, nor the representation amongst different subspecialty symposia (i.e., ''panels'' with groups of two or more speakers in a session), subject areas, and symposia sizes.…”

Towards gender balance in the Australian intensive care medicine workforce

“…The gender imbalance in intensive care medicine is more pronounced in positions of leadership and academia, with women under‐represented on boards of critical care societies, as presidents of Colleges, on guideline panels and as speakers at critical care conferences …”